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Yardi, Robin. The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez
March 1st 2016 by Carolrhoda Books
Public library copy
Mateo and his friend Ashwin love to pretend that they are knights. They check out the same books on the subject from the library over and over, and even call their bikes names like "Steed". When Mateo sees two skunks steal his old tricycle, he gets in trouble with his younger sister, Mila, and his parents, so has to figure out where the trike has gone. He starts to realize that the skunks TALK, and soon he and Ashwin are involved in an animal territory war with the skunks Nuts and Buggies.
Strengths: This was a fun romp, fast-paced and humorous, and a good length. It is definitely fantasy because the skunks talk to Mateo, and I can see it doing well with readers who won't pick up anything but Erin Hunter's Warriors books, but also with students who just want a short, funny read.
Weaknesses: The local skunks and I have a complicated and very close relationship, so while I completely believe they would steal tricycles, I had one quibble: If Mateo had gotten sprayed in the face by a skunk, he would not have been able to hide this fact from anyone, much less his mother. We had a student a couple of years ago who had a skunk spray his garage when he wasn't anywhere near it, and he smelled like skunk for days.
What I really think: I'd buy this for an elementary library, but I don't see it doing well in middle school.
Spalding, Esta. Look out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts
May 10th 2016
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Four siblings (who have a variety of different mothers and fathers) live in a car on the beach of a tropical island because their mothers are unable to take care of them and their fathers are absent.Kim and Kimo, the oldest, try to make sure that Toby and Pippa get to school and are fed. Kim in particular would like very much to have a house of her own, since the car is getting a bit cramped, especially once they have a goldfish in a bowl and one of their mothers drops off baby Penny for them to take care of. The children eventually find a house that belongs to Kimo's father, who has supposedly been lost at sea, but even that isn't a place they can definitely live.
Strengths: This had a Boxcar Children vibe to it, down to washing plates with sand in the ocean. Children who like to imagine living on their own might enjoy this.
Weaknesses: This was just disturbing to me. Mr. Knuckles, a local store owner whom the children seem to know well, never calls Children's Services, even after the group ends up with a BABY? The children are allowed to drive the car around? The school seems to either not know that the children are alone, or not care. At first, I thought this was a British import, which would explain why the children are allowed to remain in these dire circumstances, but it doesn't seem to be.
What I really think: This had its amusing moments, but these were overwhelmed for me by the sheer horror of the children being on their own. At one point, Kim falls and they think she might be dead. Perhaps I am just not understanding the point of this one.
Timeslip Tuesday is a feature at Charlotte's Library. Today, we have a new and an old time travel book. Memo to self: never peruse the lists of "Time Travel Books from the 1970s" on Goodreads. I ended up buying the Pfeffer title because I HAD to read it!
Sales, Leila. Once Was a Time
April 5th 2016 by Chronicle Books
Copy received from the publisher
Lottie is growing up in England at the start of World War II. Her father is a scientist who is working for the government and thinks that he can unravel the secret of time travel. Lottie spends a lot of time with her friend Kitty, and the two are together when enemy agents kidnap Lottie and her father in order to get secrets out of him. Things look dire, and when Lottie sees a shimmering portal open, she dives through it, leaving Kitty and her father behind. She ends up in modern day America, and is helped by a boy named Jake, who takes her to the library. She sleeps there for a couple of days before being found out by Ms. Timms, the librarian, who hands her over to children's services. Lottie ends up with a very nice couple, Melanie and Keith, who have a grown daughter. They get her settled in and off to school, where she meets Sydney, Dakota, and Kiana, who are all popular girls. They are enthralled by her accent and quaint ways, but think that Jake is a geek and discourage Lottie from talking to him. Oddly enough, the three girls are just the type of students who would have bullied Lottie in her own time, but she sticks with the group in order to have friends with whom to hang out. She finds herself dragged into all manner of activities she would rather not do-- she'd rather hang out at the library with Ms. Timms. After finding a postcard from Kitty in the library copy of Burnett's A Little Princess, Lottie is determined to make her way to Italy to find Kitty. Jake's family happens to be going, so Lottie takes the money she has earned for working at the library for a number of years, begs Melanie and Keith to let her go, and sets out to find her friend, and also to try to uncover the secret of how she time traveled.
Strengths: This is a charming book not only about time travel, but about friendship. Lottie's struggles are dealt with realistically, and even her trip to Italy is believable. It is very different from other time travel books I've read, but I can see it being popular with readers who enjoyed Saunders' Beswitched or Farmer's Charlotte Sometimes. I wonder if that's why the main character is named Charlotte?
Weaknesses: I can't think of many books where people travel from other times to the present, and it's not the sort of time travel I would prefer to do!
What I really think: This book really stuck with me. I enjoyed Lottie's experiences in the modern times more than I thought I would, and was pleased with her quest for Kitty. I think it might be hard to find tween readers for this, however. Time travel books don't circulate well in my library, more's the pity.
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Rewind to Yesterday
August 1st 1988 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Kelly and her twin brother are fascinated when their father finally comes home with a VCR. They can watch one program while taping another! It's like magic! They know it's an expensive machine, and their father doesn't want them to break it, but Kelly still fools around with it late at night... and finds out that she can travel back in time when there's no tape in the machine. She shares this information with her best friends Miri, and the two conduct some experiments. They try to hide this from Scott, but he finds out as well, and the three debate whether they should try to sell the machine to the government. When Miri's grandfather is shot at his convenience store and the prognosis isn't good, the children try to travel to the past to prevent the shooting from occurring, then realize that meddling with events isn't a good idea.
Strengths: Fun look at a technology that has come and gone. I love the font-- why doesn't that font mean "technology" anymore? Also, the giant television and bathrobes. I think that there are some cords missing on the back, though. Where are the red, yellow and white VGA cables?
Weaknesses: Has horribly dated interior illustrations, and the book ends rather abruptly, with no real conclusion.
What I really think: Might be fun to have in the library when we do books from different decades.
Ringgold, Faith. We Came to America
May 10th 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Copy received from the publisher
With a refrain of "We came to America, every color, race, and religion, from every country in the world", Ringgold uses bright backgrounds to frame her folk art illustrations of a variety of immigrants throughout US history. She also includes that fact that "some of us were here already " with illustrations of Native Americans. The text mentions vaguely reasons that people left their own countries, and addresses the contributions of others cultures and concludes with the sentiment that no matter what our differences are, "We are ALL Americans".
The illustration style is very vibrant, and the text of the book lyrical, since the refrains make it sound like a song. This would be a good book to use to introduce a unit on immigration to elementary school students.
I am always looking for informative picture books for my middle school students, and this doesn't quite fit the bill for that, since there isn't very much information; it's just an introduction to the concept of immigration. I'm not sure if the illustrations are culturally accurate, and no particular culture is assigned to any of the pictures.
My only objection to the book is the use of "America". From what I understand, citizens from SOUTH America and Canada often take umbrage when people from the US use this term, since they are also technically "Americans", just not ones who dwell in the United States of America.
Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach
January 16th 1991 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Copy received from the publisher
This 25th anniversary edition is a book adaptation of Ms. Ringgold's story quilt of the same name. In it, a young girl living in Harlem in the 1930s enjoys socializing with friends and family on the roof of her building, and imagines that she can fly over the city and see everything that is going on. These sights include the George Washingston Bridge, which opened on the day of her birth, and the new union building that her father is helping to build but won't be able to join because of he is not white. Times are tough, but the girl imagines what life would be like if she could afford the niceties of life.
Like We Came to America, this is a lavishly illustrated and lyrical picture book, but is more evocative of mood than explanatory. There are notes at the back of the book that explain some of the imagery and Ms. Ringgold's history, on which the book is based. This could be used with classes to introduce the Great Depression or the challenges faced by African Americans at this time.
If you recall, I had a ninja spy injury in the fall that may or may not have occurred while jumping from building to building while being chased by spies from Belarus. After this, a federal agency I can't name decided to upgrade my foot, and I had surgery to install an accelerometer and GPS unit on March 22. There were some issues syncing the two units, and a TON of training involved at undisclosed government facilities, some of which caused me to be absent from school because of the air travel involved.
Since then, I've also had to experiment with the USB port in my foot, which SHOULD allow me to download books directly into my brain, but the software has been glitchy and not as successful as I would like. Between that, recruiting students for foot upgrades (that result in a variety of crutches and fun orthopedic shoes), and planning a major mission to London this summer, my reading and reviewing has suffered.
The last day of school is 25 May. Before then, I need to get all of the library books back, inventory the collection, get equipment back from teachers, clean out the back room and overhead projectors, and set up and stock a Makerspace in my library.
Bionics is a highly complicated science. Please bear with me while we work to upgrade to Librarian 3.0!
(And yes, this is the story I tell the students. Since I averred all fall that I was a certified Magical Unicorn, they just shake their heads and back away slowly!)
Alexander, Kwame. Booked.
April 5th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers
The Crossover was very, very popular with my students and definitely deserved the Newbery award. This was okay-- every middle school library should have a copy, because readers who enjoyed The Crossover will beg and plead until they have this one.
Afraid readers won't like this one quite as well, though. I know I didn't. My issues are somewhat quibbling-- I have few requests for soccer books, Nick was worried about bullies and his parents' marriage problems, which are both overdone in middle grade literature, and then he is hospitalized and learns to not hate reading when his hipster librarian brings him books to read in the hospital. (And he reads Out of the Dust in order to connect with a girl!) Great things all, and I imagine that the cool librarian is Mr. Alexander's thank you note to librarians and teachers everywhere, but this just didn't "wow" me the way that The Crossover did.
Keep in mind the beginning of the post; it is possible that very little is wowing me these days!
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. It's also Nonfiction Monday.
King, Bart. The Drake Equation
May 10th 2016 by Disney-Hyperion
E ARC from Netgalley.com
Noah has a busy life-- he has interested, if odd, parents; good friends and neighbors in Jason and Jenny; and a huge interest in birding. When he tries to follow the path of a rare black swift through the local woods, things get complicated. The horrid Coby decides he really has it in for Noah, and Noah finds a weird, shiny round object ((like a hockey puck rolled in glitter!) that makes him able to freeze things, then set them on fire, with disastrous yet hysterical results. When Noah finds that the swifts' territory is going to be built up, he decides to use the "quincux" to help him save the area, but the alien (Zorcha T'Wirpo) who has sent the object and who is communicating with Noah doesn't make it easy. Nor does Coby, who finds out about the device, or Noah's crush, Anemona, who at one point steals the object and late ends up with one of her own. Will Noah be able to save the swifts and control Zorcha's science project gone wild?
Strengths: This debut novel from the prolific nonfiction writing King has a lot to recommend it. Great, well-developed characters, including quirky parents, give this novel a solid footing. Noah's interest in birding, and his habit of describing the people in his life in terms of birds, is fresh and fun. The battle to save the swifts from development adds a science element that teachers often want. Finally, the alien life form injects plenty of goofy moments, as well as some fairly advanced vocabulary, and spices things up like chipotle peanut butter. This book will appeal tremendously to readers who like humorour stories as well as readers who like speculative fiction that could take place in their own back yard.
Weaknesses: This was a bit long (320 pages) for the target demographic. Mr. King has clearly investigated middle grade fiction and dutifully included a dead parent and a bully; the story would have been shorter and fine without either of these, but neither drag the story down too much in between various explosions and other manifestations of early adolescent humor.
What I really think: I can forgive a lot (namely, the dead parent and the bully) in a book that includes parents who construct playgrounds for a living, an earthquake that takes down only the local school, a cute crush who turns out to be evil, and a space alien who is using Earth for a school project. A great purchase for middle schools and a solid choice for older elementary students who read above grade level.
Weintraub, Robert. No Better Friend: Young Readers Edition: A Man, a Dog, and Their Incredible True Story of Friendship and Survival in World War II
May 3rd 2016 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
This was an excellent book for readers who enjoy reading about WWII and/or dogs. It was similar in some respects to Pure Grit and would make an excellent nonfiction companion for The Hunt for the Bamboo Rat. Unfortunately, I read this while recovering from surgery, and feel unable to write a coherent review. Definitely purchasing, though!
From Goodreads.com
"No Better Friend tells the incredible true story of Frank Williams, a radarman in Britain's Royal Air Force, and Judy, a purebred pointer, who met as prisoners of war during World War II. Judy, who became the war's only official canine POW, was a fiercely loyal dog who sensed danger-warning her fellow prisoners of imminent attacks and, later, protecting them from brutal beatings. Frank and Judy's friendship, an unbreakable bond forged in the worst circumstances, is one of the great recently uncovered stories of World War II.
As they discover Frank and Judy's story in this specially adapted text, young readers will also learn about key World War II moments through informative and engaging sidebars, maps, photographs, and a timeline."
Steveson, Nancy Turner. Swing Sideways
May 3rd 2016 by HarperCollins
ARC from Young Adult Books Central
Annabel's mother is tense and controlling, and Annabel is struggling even to eat without feeling constrained. She is promised more freedom for the summer when the family goes to the country. Her father makes sure she is allowed to roam within reason, and can eat what she likes without her mother being judgmental. When she meets California, who is staying with her reclusive grandfather, "Annie" is glad to make a friend. Her mother doesn't approve of California's grandfather, who is a bit odd, so Annie keeps the relationship a secret. California's mother left home under suspicious circumstances and doesn't communicate with the grandfather any more than necessary, but since he is ill, California has been sent to help him out. Together, the girls eat berries right off the bush, spend long days traipsing around, and try to figure out what caused California's mother to leave. Annie blossoms under the new circumstances, although her mother still would like to be controlling. Several secrets are revealed by the end of the book, and Annie's summer doesn't end as happily as we might wish it to.
As major a force as "helicopter parents" are, there is very little about them in middle grade literature. Annabel's mother's is an intelligent, type A personality, and her strictures cause Annabel some problems. It is nice to see her father finally sticking up for Annabel and allowing her freedom to explore, get muddy, and make friends.
While most middle grade students don't have parents who are quite so controlling, few have the freedom to run around the countryside, adopting injured dogs and looking for clues. There is always a need for books portraying ideal summers, so readers who enjoyed The Penderwicks, Greenwald's Welcome to Dog Beach or Hannigan's Cupcake Cousins will enjoy this story of finding friends and enjoying unscheduled time.
Keep in mind that this does have a very sad ending, however.
I will not be buying this as part of my ongoing boycott of freakishly sad books. My students don't want to read these! Why do authors keep writing depressing crap? This was well-written and fairly interesting, but there are so many layers of sad that I'm not supporting this one. We have Bridge to Terebithia already. My students don't read that. We don't need more super sad books.
Urban, Linda. Weekends with Max and His Dad
April 5th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Max goes to visit his father's new apartment for the first time, and the two start establishing a routine. They go to a restaurant where the owner plays a song on the ukulele if someone orders the pineapple pancakes. They pretend to be spies, meet some of their neighbors, add homey touches like a couch to the apartment, and enjoy spending time together. Slowly, the two put together post-divorce life.
Strengths: This is a great book for describing what it is like to have divorced parents, and how it is possible to put together another life. I like that Max's dad tries really hard to make things homey, and is generally up beat, although there is a great chapter where he is glum because he would like to attend an open mike night but can't because Max is there, and Max sets up a night in their apartment and invites neighbors. I normally am not a fan of Urban's work, since she tends to write deeply introspective and sad books, but this was quite nice.
Weaknesses: It would have seemed more realistic to me if the mother was shown a bit more.
What I really think: This is too young for middle school, but definitely a must purchase for elementary school libraries.
Lowery, Mike. Doodle Adventures: The Search for the Slimy Space Slugs!
May 17th 2016 by Workman Publishing Company
E ARC from Netgalley.com
Carl the Duck enlists YOU (the reader) to help him find a precious artifact that was stolen, and gets embroiled in an altercation with the eponymous Space Slug.
I didn't quite realize that this book instructs children to draw in it in order to complete the story. This makes it a poor choice for a school or public library, although it would be quite fun for a present for a 2nd or 3rd grader who likes to draw.
The art is fun, and the story is silly. It's a great notebook novel, but not goin gto work for my collection.
Baddiel, David. The Parent Agency
May 3rd 2016 by HarperCollins
ARC from Young Adult Books Central
Barry is tired of his parents. They are weird and boring and won't throw him the kind of James Bond birthday party he wants. His twin sisters are annoying as well. When he is approached by The Parent Agency to pick new parents after trying five different sets of them, he jumps on the opportunity. Using his list of things wrong with his parents, he asks for parents that are wealthy, famous, like him best, and basically are NOTHING like his boring parents. He has several birthday parties thrown for him, with various stages of success. His wealthy parents are also criminals, the famous parents are even more annoying, and in general, life is not an improvement even with amazing opportunities and material advantages.
This has a very British, classic feel to it, and is definitely a goofy book. All of the parents, even Barry's own, are over the top in whatever their defining quality is. While Barry is demanding and judgmental of his own parents at first, he does learn a lot from being with different families, and it comes as no surprise when he starts to appreciate his own. The journey, however, is the amusing part of this. Parents who would allow a child to stick his head under a chocolate fountain, let him eat all of the candy that he wanted, or write and sing a song about the child on national television seem like a good idea... at the time!
While this is not a notebook novel, there are enough funny illustrations to intrigue readers of Big Nate and Wimpy Kid, and elementary aged readers who have ever been annoyed with their own parents (and this has to be almost all of them) will appreciate Barry's struggles with trying to get his own way.
A little too British for my students, but if Roald Dahl is popular in your library.
Freeman, Martha. Strudel's Forever Home
April 1st 2016 by Holiday House
From Strudel's point of view, we see how his adjustment goes when he is adopted by Jake. Jake has read the book Chief, Fog of the Old West to Strudel, and Strudel decides he must protect Jake, especially since Jake's mother's boyfriend, Arnie, is not nice.
Holiday House is to be commended on the cover, which is WAY better than their usual attempts, but this book would probably work better at an elementary library. Something about either hearing the story for the dog's point of view, or having the dog be influenced by the book, made this unsuccessful for me.
Clifton, Lutricia. Seeking Cassandra.
April 18th 2016 by Holiday House
This had some nice multicultural connections (being set in the Southwest), and had some STEM tie ins with the wildlife in the area, but was a bit slow, and Cassie whined a bit more than I like. Also, the usual Holiday House cover treatment does the book no favors. If your readers liked Freaky Fast Frankie Joe or Immortal Max, definitely purchase, but I think I'll pass for now.
From Goodreads.com:
When work takes Cassie's mom abroad, Cassie is stuck living with her dad in his Winnebago in Palo Duro Canyon State Park for the summer. She loves her dad, but hes different since the divorce, and, for that matter, so is she. Shes gotten used to a different lifestyle thats not exactly compatible with the rougher living in the Canyon, where her dad is a handyman. She misses the conveniences of city living, and shes not too sure about the kids here. They seem awkward. Uncool. And, in the case of mysterious X, possibly dangerous.
Yes, yes, I know. I always complain about books where the parents die, and yet in this one BOTH the parents are murdered, but it was a great book.
Exceptions make the rule? I don't know. Read this one on our snow day and loved it.
Henry, April. The Girl I Used to Be
May 3rd 2016 by Christy Ottaviano Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Ariel has had a tough life. Her mother was murdered when she was three, and her father accused of the murder. She was dropped off at a Walmart unharmed, and lived with her grandmother until she died. At that point, she ended up in a series of unsuccessful foster homes and at 17 is an emancipated minor with her GED by the name of Olivia, working at a grocery store to make ends meet. When her father's remains are found and a funeral is scheduled, she finds herself back in the small town where her parents were raised. She meets her grandmother's neighbor, Nora, and goes to the funeral to help her. There, she meets Duncan, who was her friend when she was small. She decides to stay in the town, rent her grandmother's house, and try to solve the mystery. Her parents had many friends, and many of them seem very suspicious. Once she goes poking around, what will she uncover, and how will it put her right back into danger?
I can't really say what was so appealing about this book. Olivia's past as a different person was intriguing, and her attempts to go back to that world as someone else is at once thrilling and dangerous. The depiction of small town life and the characters in the town is spot on, although I really would have thought more people would have recognized her. Another intriguing part of the story is the fact that Olivia is on her own. I think that this will appeal to my students, especially those who have read Henry's The Night I Disappeared.
The mystery felt like a news show, and in fact, Olivia talks about how her family appeared on John Walsh's show. There were lots of clues, and Olivia goes about investigating them very well-- too well, in fact, since the murderer tries to do her in as well!
Readers who enjoy murder mysteries like Sorrell's First Shot and Fake ID series, or Ferguson's The Christopher Killer series will find that The Girl I Used to Be is a pulse-pounding account of exploring a past fraught with danger that will keep them turning the pages well into the night!
Barry, Dave. The Worst Night Ever (The Worst #2)
April 26th 2016 by Disney-Hyperion
If you didn't buy The Worst Class Trip Ever for your school library, put it on your order RIGHT NOW. Buy two copies. Then add one of this one. I actually preordered a copy for my very own, since Mr. Barry was super nice when I met him at the Smithsonian last year.
Wyatt and his friends are pitted against rich bullies who are up to no good, and he uncovers a plot of theirs involving dangerous animals. It wasn't quite as funny as the first, but I loved that Wyatt was in 9th grade, was clearly a high school student, but was still goofy and awkward and wasn't doing inappropriate things. I need so many more of this type of book that I am still completely willing to put together a list of librarians and teachers who are willing to deliver meals to Mr. Barry's house so he can write full time and not have to worry about mundane domestic tasks.
From Goodreads.com:
"Last year, Wyatt Palmer was the hero of middle school, having foiled a plot against the president of the United States. But now he and his friends are in Coral Cove High School-home of the Fighting Conchs-and Wyatt is no longer a hero: He's just another undersized freshman, hoping to fit in, or at least not be unpopular. Things start to go wrong when Matt Diaz, who is Wyatt's best friend but also unfortunately an idiot, decides to bring his pet ferret, Frank, to school. Through an unfortunate series of events Frank ends up in the hands of the Bevin brothers, who are the most popular boys at Coral Cove High, but are also, as Matt soon discovers, the nastiest. When Wyatt and Matt try to get Frank back, they concoct a plan to attend a party for the cool clique at the Bevin's waterfront mansion and stumble onto the Bevin family's dark and deadly secret. That's when Wyatt learns that some things are worse than being unpopular in high school. MUCH worse."
Dumas, Firoozeh. It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
May 3rd 2016 by Clarion Books
ARC from Baker and Taylor
Zomorod's family has been in the US for a while, since her father's job as a petroleum engineer has taken them out of their native Iran in the late 1970s. When they move from Compton to the more well-to-do Newport Beach, she decides to reinvent herself as "Cindy" and try to be more "American". This is hard, especially since her mother doesn't speak much English and insists on giving their new neighbors Iranian food that isn't quite what the US palate expects. She has a good summer hanging out with a neighbor, Original Cindy, but when school starts, Original Cindy says that she can't be seen with her in public. Luckily, Cindy meets Carolyn, who is super nice and shares many of the same interests. Carolyn's family is everything that Cindy wishes hers was, and spends a lot of time hanging out at her house. When the political situation in Iran becomes tense, Cindy is often asked to tell about her country, but when hostages are taken, some people at school give her a hard time, and a few nasty things happen at her home, too, although she and her father hide this from her mother. Her father loses his job with the American company and can't find another one because of the political tensions, so even though they don't want to return to the political unrest in Iran, they start the process of moving back. Luckily, they get help from some unexpected sources and are able to stay in the US.
This is loosely based on Dumas' own life, and we must be exactly the same age, since I was in middle school when the Iranian hostage situation was going on. I, too, remember watching the nightly news and hearing about how many days the people had been in captivity, and remember how it affected the election that year. Cindy is often asked by Cindy's family to explain what is going on in Iran, and while the sections describing the history verge on the didactic, they were also very interesting, and a great overview of the events of the time. Other details about the 1970s, like the clothing and trends, make this a great choice for an entertaining historical read.
This will be interesting also to students who are curious about the immigrant experience as well. Cindy loves her parents, but is embarrassed by their accents and their behavior. She is also tired of translating for her mother, and wishes that her mother didn't cry all the time. The neighbors, teachers, and students are all understanding and supportive of Cindy, and there is even a mention of a teacher who brought Cindy a Halloween costume in elementary school because her family didn't understand the tradition, something which happened in the author's own life. This is a great example of those of us whose ancestors were not recent immigrants.
It's hard enough to fit in with the crowd during middle school when your parents are from the US, and middle school readers love stories about how difficult this process is. Adding an immigrant perspective is a great way to broaden their outlook and make them more compassionate to their classmates. Hand this fun book to readers who enjoyed Budhos' Tell Us We're Home, Ross' Kiki and Jacques, Senzai's Saving Kabul Corner or even Traci Jones' Finding My Place and tell them to see if their parents have the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack to play while they are reading it!
Rawls, Wilson. Where the Red Fern Grows
April 26th 1961 by Doubleday Books for Young Readers
May 3rd 2016 by Penguin Random House
There is a new cover of this classic title being published today, and since it is a book that frequently gets worn out and needs to be replaced, I was glad that Penguin Random House asked me to mention it.
When my daughter was in fifth grade (the year before our dog Sylvie joined our household), she was bound and determined to read this book in one night and take the Accelerated Reader test the next day. This is a 300 page book, and although she is a strong reader, I had enough doubts that I bet her a copy of the book that she couldn't finish it.
 |
| The 1961 cover. |
Guess what I had to buy the next day?
I'm not normally a fan of sad books, or books set in the Ozarks, and I have to admit that I deaccessioned my library copy of Summer of the Monkeys a few years ago, since it was a prebind and smelled really bad, but this is still a title that middle grade libraries definitely need to have!
There's a nice article on the celebration of 50 years in print of this title here. (Although I'm a little confused as to why they waited until 55 years to reissue!)
Myracle, Lauren. Wishing Day
May 3rd 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Natasha and her younger sisters, Ava and Darya, are being raised by their strong willed aunt, Elena and Vera, as well as their depressed and distant father after the disappearance of Natasha's mother. There is a long tradition in the family of girl's making three wishes on third night of the third month after a girl’s thirteenth birthday, and Natasha dutifully does this, even though she doesn't quite believe in it. Her wishes so seem to come true-- she wants to feel special, and she starts to receive a series of notes from an unknown admirer. She also captures the attention of the local "Bird Woman" who claims to have known Natasha's mother, and knows some secrets about her. Willow Hill has some odd, slightly magical happenings, and
Strengths: I loved Aunt Vera, and especially her quote about Natasha's mother running off "Depression is a luxury." Yep.
Weaknesses: I could have sworn that I was reading another book vaguely related to Wendy Mass' Willow Falls series. Small town with big traditions, odd people, the whole Willow thing. Very easy to confuse the two.
What I really think: Since the Mass series falls absolutely flat in my library, I think I'll pass. If you have lots of readers for magical realism that makes you wonder if there really is magic, go for it. This appears to be book one in a series. I do sort of want to read the next book on the off chance that the mother will come back and Vera will slap her around.
Mlynowski, Sarah. Once Upon a Frog (Whatever After #8)
December 22nd 2015 by Scholastic Press
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
After Abby is plagued by horrible bully Brandon at school, she and Jonah decide to travel through the mirror again. Jonah has the fairy Maryrose's memories stuck in his head, and they make him itchy. They travel through the mirror with their dog, Prince, and Abby finds herself at the bottom of a well... with Prince Frederic, who has been turned into a frog! Despite getting no help from the bratty princess Cassandra, Abby and the prince manage to get out of the well, but don't have any luck turning Frederic back. Eventually, the group makes its way to Cassandra's palace, where a guard lets them spend the night in Cassandra's room, think they are her friend. She eventually manages to turn him back into a prince, and a lot of truths about both Cassandra and Frederic are revealed. These truths help Abby deal better with Brandon when she returns to her world, and also are helpful in clearing up Jonah's itchiness from Maryrose's memories.
Abby and Jonah have a delightful but realistic relationship; Jonah is a headstrong and impulsive seven-year-old, and Abby is a somewhat more prudent 10-year-old who feels that being able to travel into fairy tales is a tremendous responsibility. The fact that they feel guilty for disobeying their parents by going to the basement in the middle of the night is refreshing change from children who take great joy in being naughty!
These books all address various different forms of the fairy tales, which is unusual. Abby mentions that there is a Disney version of The Frog Prince, and gives a brief description of that tale. This is helpful when readers may only be familiar with the Disney version. Abby uses her knowledge of the tales to try different treatments on Frederic-- she kisses him and throws him against a wall (as they did in the Grimms' version), but stops short of beheading him, which everyone agrees is a good idea!
While the treatment of bullying is a little heavy handed, it is nice to see Abby learn that sometimes people are mean because of things going on in their own lives. Brandon is mean to Abby because his family is moving. Frederic's motivation is a little less clear!
These attractive, short books are a quick, fun read. Tweens who enjoy E.D. Baker's fairy tale retellings or Buckley's Fairy Tale detectives will want to journey with Abby through the mirror again and again. They will get another opportunity to do so when book #9, Genie in a Bottle, is published on April 26th, 2016.
Even though these are short, nine books is way too long for a series like this. I am hoping it all wraps up with number ten!
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. It's also Nonfiction Monday.
I've made no secret of the fact that one of my very favorite middle grade authors is Gordon Korman. The man is brilliant. Brilliant. His works get a whole unit of shelving in my library, and his books regularly fall apart and need to be replaced. He makes me laugh, which given the continued sad state of middle grade literature, would be enough to make him fantastic. Aspiring middle grade authors: go read this article at Booklist Reader RIGHT now. This is how it should be done.
But please, don't tell Anthony Horowitz. He's my favorite. Really. We can do lunch when I'm in London in July. Stormbreaker is THE most popular book in my library over the last ten years.
But I love you, too, Gordon.
Korman, Gordon. Slacker.
April 26th 2016 by Scholastic Press
E ARC from Edelweiss
Cameron lives to play video games, but when he is so concentrated on one that he doesn't take a casserole out of the oven and the local firemen respond and ax through the front door, his parents are NOT pleased. His parents are concerned because he does nothing else, and while they don't take his video console out into the backyard and set fire to it (like I would!), they demand that he participate in other activities at school to get him out of the basement. With friends Chuck and Pavel, he creates a Positive Action Group, and posts a blurb about it on the school web site. Thinking he can show that to his parents and be done, he contentedly goes back to trying to best Evil McKillPeople on his game... until the ultra-motivated Daphne shows up at his front door, demanding to join. Her purpose is to get help in saving a local beaver, Elvis, whose home has been destroyed by a new highway off ramp project. It gets worse when she brings the group to the attention of Mr. Fanshaw, who hopes to use the group to sell raffle tickets for a fundraiser. Soon, a class president wannabe, a football players on academic probation, and a huge number of other students want to join the group. Cameron is forced to do something. After trying to sneak off to play video games while raking leaves for senior citizens, Cameron accidentally saves an elderly lady who has fallen and makes the news. This encourages more students to join, but also brings the group to the attention of the high school groups, the Friends of Fuzzy. Their leader, Jen, wants all of the attention for herself, so gets her group to sabotage the P.A.G. Things culminate when both groups decide to work against the old highway off ramp being taken down. Will Cameron be able to go back to his old ways once he is no longer in danger of losing his video gaming privileges?
Cameron starts off as a fairly nondescript character, but that is a perfect foil for the outspoken Daphne, self-involved String, and deliciously and deceptively evil younger sister Melody. The parents are supportive and helpful but rather clueless, which is a brilliant way to depict parents in a middle grade book. Mr. Fanshaw (whose name Cameron can't remember, leading to a host of amusing attempts like "Mr. Fanny-pack") and the other teachers are humorous, but also sympathetic and realistic.
Video gaming is one of the topics that shows up with alarming regularity on my student interest surveys, but there have been relatively few books that portray tweens with this interest. Of course, this has a subtle message that there are more things kids could be doing in the world, but it is delivered with a large dose of humor.
As with any Korman book, the biggest draw for me is the writing. It is fast-paced (all middle grade books should start with an explosion, or with immolating ziti!) and packed with laugh out loud phrases. My favorite passage (from the ARC): "How many members does the Positive Action Group have?" Members? Exactly the same number as the Stick-Your-Head-in-the-Furnace Club and the Leap-the -Grand-Canyon Society."
The only downside to this book is having to decide how MANY copies of it to buy! Slacker is the perfect middle grade novel about pursuing one's passions, however misguided!
Freedman, Russell. We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler
May 3rd 2016 by Clarion Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Whenever our 8th graders do a Holocaust project, one of the topics assigned is the White Rose Movement, so I am glad to finally have a great book on the topic! In this well-illustrated and cleanly formatted book, Freedman tells the story of Sophie and Hans Scholl's family, and the teens involvement in resisting the Nazis. Not only are there lots of family photos, but there are pictures of buildings and other people who are tangential to the story. Unfortunately, the Scholls story is one that was repeated many times during the Holocaust-- people who were doing the right thing got caught and were killed by the Nazis. I'm glad that we are finally starting to see some of these stories, such as Hoose's The Boys The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club.
This book is an essential purchase for any middle school or high school library. While it has enough information for research, it is also short and interesting enough to be read through. I was glad to see that my only objection-- shoes and pants that looked like modern jeans and sneakers on the cover-- was changed for this final version.
Romito, Dee. The BFF Bucket List
May 3rd 2016 by Aladdin
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline
Skylar and Ella have a great summer planned, and lots of things to do, but Skylar is starting to hang out with different people and finds Ella and her list of things to do increasingly juvenile. The girls try to taste all of the ice cream flavors at a local parlor, host a fancy dinner party, and do some fun and crazy things-- but Skylar thinks that they are juvenile, and soon the friends come to an impasse. Like so many middle school friendships, individuals change, and then the friendship changes. Can Skylar and Ella salvage anything from their friendship?
Strengths: Pitch perfect description of a changing middle school friendship, and has the added bonus of a "bucket list", which is often an assignment for our 7th graders. The Aladdin books are always popular, and this one was particularly good.
Weaknesses: A little light and fluffy, not that I think that's a bad thing.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing. The cover alone will make readers pick it up.
This has a nice web site to go along with it:
http://www.MyBFFBucketList.com
