Oh Yeah, Audrey!

Shaw, Tucker. Oh Yeah, Audrey.
October 14th 2014 by Amulet Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Grieving for her mother, teenager Gemma runs away from home to spend the weekend in New York City, meeting members of an Audrey Hepburn fan club and recreating scenes from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's before going to a movie screening. Bryan is a wealthy boy from Bel Air, and Trina, a girl who has followed Gemma on her Tumblr blog, meet up and plan their trip. When the group meet up with the ultra rich Dusty at an auction of Hepburn's wardrobe, Gemma is swept off her feet by him, and abandons her ex friends and takes off with Dusty, who has purchased the black Givenchy feathered fringed dress for Gemma to wear. the two make the rounds of New York's underground social scene, and even while Gemma feels bad about leaving her new friends, she feels more like Audrey's holly Golightley than she has ever felt. in hue he need, though, she learns an important message- the beginning of the movie isn't glamorous, it's sad and lonely, and Gemma realizes that she needs to make her peace with her father and move on from grieving for her mother.
Strengths: I adore Shaw's Flavor of the Week, and keep waiting for him to write more romance with boys as more central characters. He writes very readable and engaging prose with a strong sense of place, and the life lessons learned in this are poignant and real. I enjoyed it a lot. A great purchase for public or high school libraries. I need to watch the movie again!
Weaknesses: I have absolutely no audience for this in the middle school. The romance with Dusty stops short of being inappropriate, but the whole premise of being enamored of Breakfast at Tiffany's will have my students shaking their heads.

Great Resource for NaNoWriMo!

Brooks, Regina L. Writing Great Books for Young Adults.
October 7th 2014 by Sourcebooks
Copy Provided by Katy Lynch at Sourcebooks

Writing books for adults is quite a different animal than writing for younger markets-- not easier, but very different! Brooks very clearly delineates some of these important differences, and then goes on to give good advice about writing in general. I thought that chapter on dialogue was particularly helpful-- there are a lot of established authors who could learn not to info dump and slow down the plot in the name of dialogue!

While the general information on writing is good, the parts of this book that will be most useful revolve around the publishing process-- editing, getting an agent and finding a publisher. It seems to me that the most difficult part of the entire book process is probably finding an agent!

This new edition of Writing Great Books for Young Adults will certainly be a big help in figuring out how to construct and market a books for the YA market, but it falls a little short if the information is applied to middle grade books, since the emphasis seems to be writing more literary books that might win awards. I'm curious to see if there is a book geared toward writing middle grade books.

About the Author: Regina L. Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and has been developing award-winning authors and books for over a decade. She has been highlighted in several national and international magazines and periodicals, including Poets and Writers, Essence, Writer’s Digest, and Sister2Sister, Forbes, Media Bistro, Ebony, and Jet. She lives in New York City.

Connect with Regina:

@serendipitylit

facebook.com/serendipitylit

serendipitylit.com 

  

This is a timely read for http://nanowrimo.org!

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Big Nate

Peirce, Lincoln. Big Nate: The Crowd Goes Wild
October 14th 2014 by Andrews McMeel Publishing
Copy received from the publisher

This collection of previously published comic strips differs from the Big Nate notebook novels of which my students are so fond. All of the panels are done in full color, and while there are some story arcs, most of the strips just cover whatever topic is being discussed for the day. There is a little development (Artur returns; he and Jenny are still a couple) in the characters and plot, but generally this is just for fun. This includes my favorite strip, where Nate is asking his science teacher what experiments they are going to do because of the very gross stuff on his desk... and of course, it's the teacher's lunch!

I still prefer the novels, since I think that they do a great job at capturing the spirit of middle schoolers who WANT to do the right thing and just can't seem to manage it, but of course my students prefer the cartoons!

Guy Friday- Urban Outlaws

Black, Peter Jay. Urban Outlaws.
October 7th 2014 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Jack, Obi, Charlie, Slink and Wren are all homeless orphans (for various reasons) who live in a high tech lair in London. They use their computer skills to transfer money from the accounts of wealthy evil doers to worthy charities. They are interested in a mythic computer called Proteus, but when they try to investigate, they bring themselves to the attention of not only the police, but also one of their former targets, Del Sarto. With the help of several adults who admire their work, they are able to escape many close calls and are no doubt onto their next adventure in another book (Yep, Urban Outlaws: Blackout , published June 2nd 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens), since this one ends with London's power grid being infected by a virus.

Strengths: The map of the secret lair made me feel 12-- who wouldn't want a secret lair with no parents? Even the cover shows a lot of action, and there's a lot of hacking and running and evil adults. There's even a more serious story, with trying to find Wren's father, and all of the children dealing with their various losses. A definite purchase for fans of Horowitz's Alex Rider series, but with the added bonus of computers.
Weaknesses: I just couldn't get into this one, because I couldn't get past FIVE homeless children with all of the high tech equipment. I guess that's just proof that I really am NOT 12.

Searching for Silverheels

Mobley, Jeannie. Searching for Silverheels
September 2nd 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Nominated for the Cybils by Audrey Vernick

Pearl is a big help to her mother in running the family diner in the early 1900s Colorado town of Como. Her father is off working, and things are changing. Her best friend Imogene is obsessed with finding romance, and Pearl has her own crushes, but she also has to deal with local eccentric, Josie, an older woman who passes out leaflets championing women's suffrage. When attractive tourist Frank comes to town, Pearl tells the local legend of Silverheels, a dance hall girl who supposedly nursed miners during a smallpox epidemic in the 1860s, but Josie ruins the story by insisting that Silverheels was opportunistic, and if she was so loved, why does no one remember her real name? Pearl and Frank start to investigate the mystery, and Josie chimes in with her own version. World War I is just beginning, so the town starts to see young soldiers passing through, and German families are given a hard time. Will Pearl be able to uncover the real story about Silverheels? And what was Josie's part in it?
Strengths: WWI home front stories are rare, and I'm surprised we aren't seeing more with the 100th anniversary upon us. This nicely blends local history with several national issues of the time, bringing in details such as the treatment of Germans, war bonds, and women's issues. Because I've read a lot of Lenora Mattingly Weber, the Colorado history was fun. The Beany books mention a lot of it.
Weaknesses: Could have used some editing. At 280 pages, it's a bit long, and historical novels are such a hard sell to my students. There could have been a lot of the variations of Silverheels story that were trimmed. I think the cover is great, but don't know how students will view it.

The Dirt Diary

Staniszweski, Anna. The Dirt Diary
January 7th 2014 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Nominated for the Cybils by anonymonkey.

Rachel's mother has taken a lot of jobs cleaning the houses of Rachel's classmates in the wake of Rachel's father's departure to Florida to "follow his bliss". The family had struggled previously, but now Rachel and her mother are in danger of losing their house. When Rachel ends up helping to clean the "mean queen" Briana's room, as well as Brianna's best friend, Caitlin. Brianna's boyfriend, Steve, asks Rachel to spy on her for him, and Rachel feels awkward about it, because she thinks that Evan, Brianna's brother, is really nice. Things get complicated when her mother starts flirting with the assistant principal at her school, and she has a typical falling out with her best friend, Marisol. Rachel also makes an uneasy friendship with the quiet Andrew, who is working on a zombie toy movie. There's a big dance coming up, but Rachel's main concern is getting enough money to go to Florida to visit her father. When another student finds all these details in Rachel's "Dirt Diary" notebook, can Rachel survive the humiliation? A sequel, The Prank List, came out in July 2014, and The Gossip File comes out in January 2015.
Strengths: I would have adored this in middle school-- it reads sort of like Betty Miles' Just the Beginning (1976), which I may still own! Very true to life with the different alignment of friends and crushes. Even the storyline about the father leaving will resonate with many middle school students.
Weaknesses: There was a lot going on in this book, but I will buy a copy if I can find a prebind. Paperbacks just don't hold up in my library.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks note: Rachel is half Korean, but that is only briefly mentioned. Do love the pictures of her on the covers! She looks a lot like one of my students!

Hmmm...

At Kidlitcon, we talked about whether we write "negative" reviews or not. I used to do a "not what I wanted Wednesday" feature where I discussed what lead me to pick books up and why I was somewhat disappointed in them. The following titles are ones that some people must like-- the first three were nominated for the Cybils awards-- but which didn't quite fill a need in my library collection. I do try to be constructive in my criticism of each book, but overall they were just more depressing than my students want. My students certainly do want sad books, but they want very particular sad books about certain issues, and these just didn't fit the bill.

Gantos, Jack. The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza (Joey Pigza #5) 
September 2nd 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Nominated for the Cybils by Cath in the Hat

In this fifth and final book, Joey's father is still on the lam and his mother is suffering from post partum depression. He goes back to his school, where the teachers and staff welcome him warmly, but his mother calls him and demands that he come home to take care of Carter Junior while she goes to the hospital for treatment, since she is concerned that she will hurt the baby. Joey accepts the challenge and cleans the house, which is filthy and roach ridden, and tries his best to take care of the baby, with the help of the pet chihuahuas and the occasional visit from pizza delivery man Mr. Fong. He also is visited by his former girlfriend, Olivia, who has run away from her school and wants to help take care of Carter Junior as well, even though she has several bad experiences with him because of her blindness. Joey unearths his medication from his mother's closet, which helps a bit, and finds money for food. His father reappears and tries to steal the baby, but Joey tells his father that before he comes home, he needs to clean up his act. Eventually, the family is able to organize itself a bit, but the future seems anything but certain for the Pigzas.
Strengths: Our 6th grade reads the first book in this series as a class novel, so there is always some interest in Joey's continued adventures, which are darkly funny and address a student with behavioral as well as possible mental health problems, a diversity issues rarely seen in children's literature.
Weaknesses: This was a very dark book, and Joey receives very little of the help he needs. I am Not Joey Pigza was sad as well, but much more slapstick-- the descriptions of roaches, of the baby's diaper rash, of Olivia's depression and so much else are just heartbreaking in a very realistic way. I almost feel like I should sit beside any student reading this in case they need to process what's going on in the book. This also makes me worry a bit about how Mr. Gantos is doing. Is he depressed? I bought this book without reading it, but now I rather wish I had taken a look before ordering it.

Rundell, Katherine. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms
August 26th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Nominated for the Cybils by Angiegirl

Wilhelmina lives an idyllic life in Zimbabwe where her widowed father who is the manager of a farm lets her run wild around the countryside with her friend Simon. She enjoys being outside and doesn't want to be civilized. (The original title of this was Girl Savage.) After the death of her father, the owner of the farm marries a woman bent on getting rid of Will, so she is sent to a boarding school in England. Since she has little schooling and no sense of personal cleanliness, and is quirky as well, the other girls give her a hard time. Will runs off and spends some time in the zoo before living in a garage of a boy she has met. After a short time, the boy's grandmother finds Will and tells her that sometimes it is braver to do what must be done, and Will returns to the school and tries to fit in a little more.
Strengths: The descriptions of life in Zimbabwe are very interesting, and it is a place about which not much is written. Will's desire to be true to herself is somewhat admirable, if unwise under the circumstances, and the grandmother's advice is one to take to heart.
Weaknesses: Will was an unlikable character to me, although others may find her more admirable. I thought that her father did her a great disservice in not teaching her how to adapt and cope with life among other people. It was sad and alarming that Will was so neglected, and the end of the book didn't make me think that her situation would ever improve, which was very sad.

Ellis, Deborah. The Cat at the Wall
September 9th 2014 by Groundwood Books

I adore Ellis' The Breadwinner and other books, and think they are fantastic for being "windows" into the lives of disadvantaged children in other countries. Ellis can write a sad story, but make it hopeful. I was hoping for something similar in this one, and the story of the cat in a Palestinian house would have been interesting and informative. When this took a turn into fantasy, it made the story much less effective and much more confusing for me.
From the Publisher:
"A cat sneaks into a small Palestinian house on the West Bank that has been commandeered by two Israeli soldiers. The house seems empty, until the cat realizes that a little boy is hiding beneath the floorboards. Should she help him? After all, she’s just a cat. Or is she? She was once a regular North American girl, but that was before she died and came back to life as a cat. When the little boy is discovered, the soldiers don’t know what to do with him. It is not long before his teacher and classmates come looking for him, and the house is suddenly surrounded by Palestinian villagers throwing rocks, and the sound of Israeli tanks approaching. As the soldiers begin to panic and disaster seems certain, the cat knows that it is up to her to diffuse the situation. But what can a cat do? What can any one creature do?"

MMGM- Nonfiction of all sorts

Oh, the struggle that is middle grade nonfiction! I love literary nonfiction like the great Blizzard of Glass, but my readers blanch when they see the length. They would prefer the 36 page canned nonfiction, and those are decent enough with information, but just no fun to read. Books like Poop Happened find a good balance. Here's a wealth of nonfiction for this week!

Dumont, Briana. Famous Phonies: Legends, Fakes, and Frauds Who Changed History
October 28th 2014 by Sky Pony Press
E ARC provided by the author

This well-researched and kid-friendly book covers a variety of important historical figures who were important, but whose legends have outstripped their realities. Included in this group are (copied from the Goodreads.com description): The Yellow Emperor * Gilgamesh * Homer * Pythagoras * Confucius * Mary Magdalene * Hiawatha * Prester John * William Shakespeare * George Washington * The Turk * Major William Martin. For the personalities I knew about, the chapters covered most of the salient characteristics of the legends, and did a good job of covering the reasons why the legends have come under attack at various points in history. I knew about much of the research surrounding Homer, Shakespeare and George Washington, but was glad to see lesser known people covered as well. The only problem with this was that the tone, which was deliciously flippant and made the book much easier to read, occasionally confused me, since I didn't have the background knowledge. This is a good book to keep on hand to use for units on the ways that history can be interpreted, would be useful if students are dealing with any of the individuals, and will be popular with history buffs who don't take history TOO seriously. There are some completely humorless Homerian scholars who would not be amused. (If said Homerian scholars are even still alive, since they were a bit mothbally when I studied Homer thirty years ago at the University of Cincinnati!)

Dipiazza, Francesca. Remaking the John: The Invention and Reinvention of the Toilet
November 1st 2014 by Twenty-First Century Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

I will have to buy this book because it is a wonderfully complete history of sanitation that will be used for a variety of projects. Even though this comes in at a mere 88 pages, it covers the history of toilets from earliest findings to revolutionary new techniques in waste management. I was especially interested in the chapter on the creation of modern bathrooms in the 1920s, since my mother had an outhouse at the farmhouse where she grew up! The downside to this book is that it is really dryly written. If there were more levity of presentation, I could easily triple the number of readers. Twenty-first Century Books seem to be a more academic press, and while it is great that they publish books on topics that interest students, they might give a little more thought to tone. This author's Friend Me is (again) a great resource on the history of social networking, but a bit long and serious for my students.

Stabler, David. Kid Presidents
October 28th 2014 by Quirk Books
ARC from Baker and Taylor

This book is filled with short, illustrated anecdotes about the presidents when they were children. Instead of going chronologically, it divides the stories up by type. A wide variety of presidents are represented, and at the back of the book there is a list of "fun facts" about each president. This would be a good gift for a president obsessed child (and I have a couple at school), or a good reference to have for augmenting history lessons. I prefer photographs to cartoons, and it would have been nice if a couple were included, since most children have only seen pictures of the presidents when they were in office. Still, young readers will enjoy the cartoons. This is sort of The Presidents ala Wimpy Kid. Not quite as in-depth as The Childhood of Famous Americans books, but fun to browse.


It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. 

What is NOT MG to me.

I had a parent ask me why I didn't have the book The Fault in Our Stars, and ask who made this type of decision. While things may change after the librarians in my district come up with a policy, so far it has always been the choice of the librarian at each school. My basic rule of thumb is this: since a huge majority of the books checked out in my library are ones that I HAND TO STUDENTS, if I am uncomfortable with something in the book, I don't buy it. And yes, I try to read everything before I buy it.

I have no patience for bad language, see below. While student are tremendously interested in books about drug usage, it seems wise to have only books that show how very bad drug usage is. Anything else seems antithetical to our school and community message. It's okay for there to be vague mentions of sex, but nothing graphic or instructional, and again, I have to be comfortable with the situations surrounding it, so I don't want main characters who think this activity is a good one at a young age. As for violence, I'm okay with violence by or against creatures that don't exist in real life, but not okay with human on human violence that is repeated throughout the book and treated lightly.

Arbitrary? Of course. Everything is. In the case of The Fault in Ours Stars, there was language and sex, but the main reason I didn't buy it was that it didn't feel like a middle school book-- not much happened.It was kind of... boring and whiny.

The bottom line is that I have to feel comfortable handing the book to an eleven year old who is not my own personal child. If I am not comfortable with that, it doesn't make sense to me to have the book in my library.


Magoon, Kekla. How It Went Down.
October 21st 2014 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Very disappointed in this. I know it is meant to be "gritty" and "realistic", but far too many f- words. I love this author and feel she does important work, but if my students can get suspended for using bad language, I shouldn't be handing them books that include it. I feel very strongly about this and therefore refuse to use my limited school budget, which is provided by the taxpayers, to buy books that make a conscious choice to include this kind of language.


Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Naturals (Click to read Goodreads description)
Published November 5th 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

Since the sequel, Killer Instinct, comes out November 4th, I thought I should read the first one. My students love murder mysteries, and I like Barnes' other work, but this had rather disturbing scenes of torturing women before killing them, and talking about how enjoyable the process was for the killer. A little too much for MG, I think, although it was quite well written and had a great twist. 



Wagner, Laura Rose. Hold Tight, Don't Let Go
January 6th 2015 by Amulet Books 
E ARC from Netgalley.com

This was a very interesting account of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake in 2010, from the point of view of a teenage girl who was living with an aunt (who got room and board for being the housekeeper of a wealthy woman) and cousin. When the aunt dies, she goes to live in a camp with an uncle. There were so many good details, but because of the age of the main character, the issue of sex in the context of prostitution came up several times, and specific acts were mentioned. I would love to see a MG appropriate book on this topic, but I'll leave this one for the high school to investigate.

Selzer, Adam. Play Me Backwards.
August 26th 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Public Library Copy

I really wanted this one to be middle grade appropriate because I adore Selzer, but...no.

Selzer is always brilliant, but this is SO not middle grade that I won't even recommend that one of my 8th graders check it out of the public library. Liberal use of f-bombs, which is disturbing enough, but I had to stop reading when Leon started recounting his, um, life experiences.

Funny as all get out, clever, and sure to appeal to 16 year old boys everywhere, but I can't even recommend it without blushing to one of our teachers who is a big fan of this author. Too much information. Drat.

Timmy Failure: We Meet Again

Pastis, Stephan. We Meet Again (Timmy Failure #3) 
October 28th 2014 by Candlewick Press 
ARC from YABC and reviewed there.

Timmy has been let back into his old school, although Principal Scrimshaw informs him that he is on probation and that any infractions will lead to permanent expulsion. Timmy's glad to be back with his best friend Rollo, but not pleased to see that his arch nemesis, Corinna Corinna, is not only still at the school but also will be his partner for a huge nature project that will make up a huge portion of his grade. Timmy has been approached by another student, Angel, who claims to have the "Miracle Report", a nature report from years ago that received an A+++++ that was found but now is missing. Timmy also has to deal with his mother dating his baseball coach, even though he feels that baseball is an unnecessarily violent game, and with Total, his imaginary polar bear and partner in his detective firm. When the school camps out in the wilderness to gather specimens for the nature project, Timmy's investigation comes to a head AND he must save himself from the dreaded scrum bolo chihuahua by the most horrendous and dreaded of means.
Strengths: The very first day of school, a student came in and asked me when this book would come out. He was thrilled to get the ARC. Few of my students read the comics in the newspaper, so are unfamiliar with Pastis' Pearls Before Swine, but they do love notebook novels, and they do love this series. I was glad to see the inclusion of a massive school project instead of a school election, dance, or something about bullying. I still remember that in the fourth grade (and this has been over 40 years ago!) we had a huge project about animals. I only got an A++ on mine because my pictures weren't very good! I've even camped with middle school students, so that was realistic as well, and does not appear in too many books. The reason my students love the books, however, is more because of the goofy stuff-- riding around on a Roomba vacuum, Flo the Librarian with his motorcycle gang attire, and even Total.
Weaknesses: The polar bear still bugs me. Is he real? No? Sometimes it seems that he is.

Guy Friday- Walking Wounded (Vietnam #5)

Lynch, Chris. Walking Wounded (Vietnam #5)
Scholastic, 28 October 2014
E ARC from Netgalley.com

As we start this last book in the series, Rudi has been killed by a sniper. Morris is there when it happens, and asks to be sent back as the mortuary escort. Beck has to stay at his job, and Ivan has been separated from his unit and runs into trouble trying to get back to it. Morris is significantly shell shocked, and has some trouble dealing with his family as well as Rudi's back in the US. Anti-Vietnam sentiment is running high, but Ivan's younger brother is getting ready to go back to war, even though Ivan is thought to be missing in action. Told from multiple view points, this story covers Morris' grief at Rudi's death, Ivan's continued fighting in Vietnam, Beck's sentiments, and even s few snippets of Rudi's perspective.
Strengths: Very good descriptions of what it was like to be fighting in Vietnam. Lynch must have some military experience of his own, or he has done extensive research, because his books have the most harrowing descriptions of war. The depiction of various levels and types of PTSD in this book are fascinating.
Weaknesses: I was a bit confused at the beginning of this, and felt like I had forgotten something that must have happened in a previous book. Spoiler alert: (highlight to see) Has Ivan killed Rudi? Why? Does this appear in another book? Still, the books holds together well, and is an excellent addition to even a middle grade collection, certainly essential for high school. 

#WeNeedDiverseBooks

I've been working on a Power Point about diversity in Children's literature, and came across this NPR article, As Demographics Shift, Kids' Books Stay Stubbornly White.


Within that article, it linked an article in the Saturday Review entitled "The All-White World of Children's Books".

What alarmed me was that that article came out the year I was born. After fifty years, we are still struggling with finding books with diverse characters.

The other thing that really bothered me as I was working on my presentation was the paucity of MALE writers of color in just about every ethnic category. This might be one of the reasons that Betsy Bird was so upset in this article: 2013 Middle Grade Black Boys: Seriously, People?

This sheds a lot of light on why there was a big push to get Varian Johnson's The Great Greene Heist preordered.

I've been looking for male authors all morning. For every Walter Dean Myers, there are about five to ten female African American writers. That's great, but since my focus is books for boys, I've been alarmed. Even at Kidlitcon, the group was overwhelmingly female, with the only male representatives being the awesome Mike Jung and ... Mr. Tanita Davis. Tanita's husband helped with technical issues and photography, and we had a great discussion about The Pagoda Building, but I don't know his name.

As a feminist, I have long struggled with focusing on books for boys. If we need books to be windows and mirrors, as Mitali Perkins talked about, we have to have people of all descriptions writing and being written about!

Unfriended

Vail, Rachel. Unfriended.
25 September 2014, Viking Juvenile

Truly used to be friends with Natasha, but after Natasha dumped her in 6th grade, she started hanging out with Hazel, who is a bit quirky, while Natasha joined the popular table and now (in 8th grade) has lunch with Brooke, Lulu, Jack, and Clay. When Natasha asks Truly to eat lunch with her group so they can work on a History Day presentation, Truly leaves Hazel without so much as an apology or backward glance. This isn't good, because Hazel is not only quirky; she's smart and quite vindictive. Truly treads cautiously in the new group, not believing that Natasha is up to any good, and having a pretty low sense of self esteem. Jack, who accidentally injures Truly at lunch, takes a liking to Truly but isn't quite sure how to let her know; Natasha and Clay have broken up, which makes it hard for Brooke, who may like Clay herself. Everyone has problems that they don't necessarily share with the group-- parents out of work or divorcing, difficult or absent siblings, trouble with school work. Natasha supposedly says nasty things online about some of the group, and then Truly picks up the reins and starts posting pictures and unflattering messages-- or does she? This is why you should never share your passwords with friends-- someone has broken into her accounts and used them to sow dissension in the group. Told from six different view points, this is a good picture of what happens when middle school students don't use social media responsibly.
Strengths: Very accurate picture of the ins and outs of middle school. The awkward romances, the using of secrets against people, the quirky students who cause a lot of their own problems. The messages about using social media are fairly good as well. Also, a painfully correct picture of some of the really awful History Day projects that unfold. No group plays with people playing multiple characters, people. Just don't do it!
Weaknesses: Maybe I was just too tired when I read this, but there were a lot of unanswered questions for me. Entirely possible that I was too tired! There were parents whose business was going under, parents possibly divorcing, a student struggling with school-- didn't feel that we got a lot of answers. I wasn't quite convinced of the resolution between Hazel and Truly, either. I had a friend who stopped talking to me after 6th grade, and we never really spoke again! Good book, just wish some of the multiple issues had been tidied up.

Secrets of the Mountain Dog- #WeNeedDiverseBooks

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. Secret of the Mountain Dog.
28 October 2014, Scholastic
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Jax lives on a mountain in the Catskills, but because of an accident that her younger sister, Kizzy, had, her mother is reluctant to let her explore outside her own yard. When a very large but tame dog shows up, Jax is glad of the excitement, and hopes that she can talk her mother into keeping the well-behaved animal. Jax also realizes that the building further up the hill from her home is now occupied, and when she travels up there, finds that it is a Buddhist monastery. The elderly Rinpoche and his student, Yeshi, are hoping to reopen it to other monks so that they may study. There is one problem, though-- there is a statue of a demon that has gone missing. The two hope to find it, but others from around the world are looking for the statue as well. Jax is glad to help go through boxes as well, and enjoys hearing about Buddhism from Yeshi. When the monastery is threatened, Jax defies her mother to go help, and learns a lot about how to deal with life.
Strengths: There are not a lot of books that talk about Buddhism, and this introduces some main concepts of the religion without being overly preachy. There is enough action and adventure to offset the philosophy. I was fascinated by Yeshi's story. This is similar to Kimmel's The Legend of the Ghost Dog, and vaguely reminiscent of some Peg Kehret stories.
Weaknesses: We never do find out where the dog has come from! Also, I loved Kimmel's Lily B. books so much that I want all of her titles to be that sort of book!

The Magician's Fire (Young Houdini #1)

Nicholson, Simon. The Magician's Fire (Young Houdini #1)
October 7th 2014 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Young Harry Houdini, an immigrant to New York City from Hungary who makes his meager living shining shoes, tries his hand at a variety of magic and escape acts with the help of his friends, the wealthy but unsupervised Artie and the musician from New Orleans Billie. When an older magician, Herbie, looks to be ill and then disappears from his room in the theater where he works, Harry and his friends investigate. Suspicioun first falls on the Bulgarian magician Zell, but when it turns out that Zell is one of Herbie's friends, the trio of friends must use all of the tricks at their disposal to identify and then thwart the real kidnappers. When they are eventually triumphant, they are approached by the Order of the White Crow, and their adventure is just beginning.
Strengths: Lots of good descriptions of magic acts and lots of daring escapes from a variety of harrowing situations, combined with a decent mystery set in late 1800s New York City. Houdini is an enduring historical figure who will appeal to a wide range of readers.
Weaknesses: The mystery was a bit weak-- very simple and linear, and I saw it coming a mile away. This might not bother the target demographic, but I expected something as complicated and mysterious as Houdini himself. I also found it hard to believe that a struggling street child would have befriended a wealthy boy, but stranger things have happened.

MMGM--The Alias Men (Double Vision #3)

Bradley, F.T. The Alias Men (Double Vision #3)
October 14th 2014 by HarperCollins
E ARC graciously provided by author upon request!

Linc is sure he is done with working for Pandora, and he's concentrating on his family problems, which include sharing a room with his grandfather. When he is once again approached to find a Dangerous Double, he's willing to take on the challenge as a way to get back at his lookalike nemesis, Ben. The fear is that the hat (which can make its wearers invisible) will be used to steal a drone-system prototype so the thief can sell it to a terrorist group. This time, the Dangerous Double is a bowler hat once owned by Charlie Chaplin. While trying to break into a costume repository on the property of Sterling Studios, Linc is spotted by famous director Nigel Floyd and asked to be in a movie that is a homage to silent films. Since he missed out on getting the bowler, this is a great opportunity to follow the trail of the artifact and to uncover the probably thief, Ethan Malais. Several people on the film, which is struggling due to financial difficulties, are suspect, and Ben manages to work his way into the situation as well. Luckily, Linc has help from his costar, the lovely Savannah Stone, as well as the various operatives at Pandora. Can Linc find the hat before it is used for evil?

Sequel to Double Vision and Code Name 711.

Strengths: This is a great action and adventure series that is also funny. I had a sixth grader whose mother was a little concerned because he was wanting to check out a lot of adult mysteries from the public library, and while he was a strong reader, she wasn't sure the content was appropriate for him. I recommended the first in the series, and he loved it. This book in particular has a lot of good funny moments involving Linc's family, the expected action and adventure, and a nice potential romance.
Weaknesses: Ben's presence wasn't quite as necessary, and I'm not sure from the ending whether the series is over or whether it will continue with Linc going to be trained as a spy!

Follow along with the Double Vision: The Alias Men blog tour:

Oct. 6-10: The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow features Double Vision: The Alias Men with a review, author interview, plus aGIVEAWAY..!

Oct. 13: Linc hangs out at the great Erik’s blog, This Kid Reviews Books. Linc talks about spy techniques he picked up on his Pandora missions. And there’s another GIVEAWAY…

Oct. 14: Double Vision: The Alias Men is released! Have a virtual party at the YA Sleuth blog…! And follow F.T. on Twitter @FTBradleyAuthor for more kid spy fun.

Oct. 16: F.T. Bradley gives you Five Ways to Bring MG into The Classroom at the Unleashing Readers blog, plus a GIVEAWAY.

Oct. 17: Linc is interviewed by Lizzy, Fairday and Marcus over at The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow blog. A fun post!

Oct. 20: Buried in Books lets F.T. Bradley talk about the Double Vision trilogy…

Oct. 20: Also this day, the fabulous Ms. Yingling reviews Double Vision: The Alias Men on her blog for Marvelous MG Monday…

Oct. 21: Another favorite blog, YA Book Nerd, hosts F.T. Bradley and the Double Vision trilogy, plus a GIVEAWAY

Oct. 21: F.T. Bradley hangs out at Sleuths, Spies and Alibis…

Oct. 24: F.T. Bradley gives tips for parents of reluctant readers, Seven Ways to Get Your Kid to Read, at Pragmatic Mom’s blog, plus a GIVEAWAY!

Oct. 25: At the Nerdy Book Club, find F.T. Bradley’s top 10 books for reluctant readers...

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.

Weekend Reading

Still recuperating from Kidlitcon, as well as Cross Country season, so gave myself permission to read a lot of books I had on my TBR and not review them. A lot of these were books in a series that came in our latest shipment of new books, but I also worked my way through some books about eating disorders, since my sixth grade girls started out the year interested in problem novels instead of working their way up to them in seventh grade!


Bunting, Eve. One Green Apple
Hoping it was a picture book with more content about a Muslim girl in a dupatta fitting in, but it was pretty elementary. Good for younger students.

Chew, Ruth. The Witch at the Window 
Chew, Ruth. The Would-Be Witch 
I still love these, and they do well with my 6th graders who are struggling.

Drew, Nancy. Mystery of the Midnight Rider (Nancy Drew Diaries #3) 
Drew, Nancy. Once Upon a Thriller (#4) 
Drew, Nancy. Sabotage at Willow Woods (#5) 
Drew, Nancy. Secret at Mystic Lake (#6) 
The first two in this series need to be read in order, but the rest don't, which is nice. I like that Nancy is old enough to drive herself around (albeit not in a blue roadster), but the books are for younger readers.

Magaziner, Lauren. The Only Thing Worse Than Witches 
Should have stopped at Mrs. Frabbleknacker. Too young for my readers, and twee in a faux British way.

Margolis, Leslie. Monkey Business (#5)
Annabelle's life has improved financially while her friend Rachel's hasn't. I liked this series, but Annabelle did seem ridiculously privileged in this one.

Metzger, Lois. A Trick of the Light 
Too YA for me, but about a boy with an eating disorder. Odd voice.

Payton, Belle. Double or Nothing (It Takes Two #3) 
Like this series, and in this one, Ava tries out for the boys' football team in Texas and meets opposition.

Segel, Jason and Miller, Kirsten. Nightmares! 
Nothing that knocked my socks off. May pass on this trilogy unless students ask for it.

Sheinmel. Alyssa. The Stone Girl 
Too much marijuana smoking and sex for middle school audiences.

Wolitzer, Meg. Belzhar
Too YA for my group, and time to let Sylvia Plath fade into obscurity.

brown girl dreaming

Woodson, Jacqueline. brown girl dreaming
August 28th 2014 by Nancy Paulsen Books

Born in 1963, Woodson traveled from Columbus, Ohio to South Carolina to New York City, living with different family members while problems were worked out. She was part of a pivotal time in Civil Rights history-- everything was supposed to be equal, but it wasn't, especially in the South. Her family had different perspectives on how she should act, and Woodson herself was torn between the different cultures, not feeling that she fit completely into any of them. Her family was very supportive, but faced many difficulties, such as her parents' divorce, the death of several members, and varying levels of prejudice and discrimination.
Strengths: As far as book length memoirs (or novels) in verse go, this was very good, and that's hard to do. The poems are lyrical to read and actually sound like poetry, but also give a good description of time and place and advance the story in a fashion that is not too slow. The feelings of longing and loss are palpable, and the view of history is quite interesting. I am only two years younger than Woodson, but there were very few black people in my school in Ohio, so I knew little of the equality issues during my childhood. I found the story of Woodson's youngest brother getting lead poisoning from eating paint chips particularly interesting-- I remember it being a huge item of concern in the late 1970s, but could never understand why a child would eat paint! (Interestingly enough, one of the projects that my daughter is working on as an intern with the City of Columbus is a lead paint abatement grant program!)
Weaknesses: As beautifully written and interesting as this is, I don't know that students will pick it up. I'll buy a copy, and recommend it, but there are just some books that I cannot gets students to read, and I fear that this will be one. Woodson's fiction is rather hit or miss in my library, with some titles being hugely popular, and others being ignored.

Loughead, Deb. Sidetracked.
November 1st 2012 by Orca Book Publishers

Maddy and Kat have been keen competitors in middle school, but the high school track team is even more fierce, and not everyone who ran in middle school gets on the team. To complicate matters, Maddy's brother Matt is acting rather suspiciously. Someone on the team is stealing things, and everyone is a suspect. Maddy had seen someone bullying Shauna (who is interested in Matt), and thinks that the people behind that might also be stealing. Is Matt involved, too? And will Maddy be able to keep her competitive edge?
Strengths: This had just enough drama to keep readers on edge, and is written in a straight forward style. The bits of romance, as well as descriptions of running are good as well.
Weaknesses: Maddy seems a bit too worried about everything!

A New Darkness

Delaney, Joseph. A New Darkness.
September 2nd 2014 by Greenwillow Books

After The Fury of the Seventh Son, Tom Ward returns to Chipenden to be the new spook. He is young, and people don't have the faith in him that they had in Master Gregory. They trust him to remove a few small problems, but when young girls show up dead in their beds, untouched except for being covered in blood, the people don't quite trust him. Luckily, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, Jenny, who has decent powers (including empathy for ghosts), approaches Tom and wants to be his apprentice. He is leery of a girl serving, but puts her through the same tests that he was put through. The girl does well enough, and it's a good thing; when the creature at large turns out to be a Kobalos, Tom will need all the help he can get, including the help of Grimalkin, whom Jenny doesn't trust.
Strengths: I'm not a fan of horror, but I read each of these new installments eagerly! There is something about the interplay of good and evil that is very well done and keeps me turning the pages. The addition of Jenny is excellent, and there's a lot of back story about her that could be told. Grimalkin is a fantastic character-- evil, but on Tom's side. She makes some huge errors in dealing with the Kobaloi(?) so Jenny doesn't trust her, which will make the next book interesting.
Weaknesses: The ending. ARGH! Not okay. Not okay! I don't want to spoil this, and I'm sure things will change, but... ARGH.

The movie, Seventh Son looks far too spooky for me! Now, if the student who checked out the nice, new copy of Revenge of the Witch on the first day of school could just FIND it...

Social Media, The Bane of My Existence

I hate Pinterest. It just annoys me. It takes so much time to add things to a board, and then there's no arranging anything the way I want it to be. Still, if this is a platform that will help teachers, parents, and librarians find books to get to readers, I guess it's worth it. Here's the board I have for Wimpy Kid readalikes.

http://www.pinterest.com/msyinglingreads/notebook-novels/



Pinterest seemed like a good way to make lists of books on specific cultures for the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign. My challenge is to make one board a day, then put the titles into a Waiver Day presentation Power Point presentation.

But I really should do a Prezi instead, because that's the cool new thing.

It's a teacher work day in my district. How much of this is pertinent to my job and therefore fair to do during contract hours? Oops. On the clock in a minute. Going to work on book orders, databases and other actual work things RIGHT NOW.