Scholastic Book Fair

Zipped my way through several titles in the book fair:
McCaughrean, Geraldine. Peter Pan in Scarlet. Quite good. A worthy sequel to the original-- stays true in tone and language, and is fun in its own right. A winner. I'm looking forward to her Odysseus, Theseus, etc.

Friend, Natasha. Lush. Loved Perfect, hated this one. Just didn't go anywhere. The girls love books about substance abuse, but somehow this one just didn't do it.

Levine, Gail Carson. Fairest. Again, loved Ella Enchanted, adored The Two Princesses of Bamarre. This story, however, started weakly and continued this way, AND had these odd, annoying, made up words and names that were like a phonograph record needle scratching across the record, and the book was not good enough to overcome even this slight flaw.

DuPrau's Car Trouble was great fun and exactly what I wanted for one of my students-- a "pink" fluffy book for boys. Why there isn't more humorous fiction for boys, I don't know.

Must have read other things, but I'm a little tired and don't remember!

Gary Paulsen

Okay, Hatchet was good. The rest of the Brian books I could handle. Mr. Tucket circulates frequently in my library. But The Island? The Monument? Dancing Carl? What in the world was he thinking? No one ever comes up and says to me "May I have a book about social outcasts in small towns who find others who are even more outcast than they are? If it included philosophical musing, all the better!" I may have to move on to another author for a while. I flinch now while just passing the Paulsen shelf.

I think that some of the other titles will be better. They can't be worse.

Assorted books

Not liking anything by Lauren Myracle. Must be the writing, because the books always sound intriguing. The latest, Rhymes with Witches uses the word that does FAR too much, and the first two pages are devoted to graphically described uncomfortable underwear. Combine that with e mails, name dropping, and general shallowness-- no. I like pink, but not this.

Stork's Behind the Eyes was okay, just not what I was looking for. Boy is sent to private school to escape gang violence. Might have bought it until the roomate revealed the stash of porn. Sigh.

Sloan's Tale of Two Summers also wasn't what I wanted-- I wanted a pink book for boys. Something light, fun, breezy, but masculine. Unfortunately, this wasn't it.

And another disappointment-- Vande Velde's The Book of Mordred. A hefty tome, it just couldn't keep my interest, and I'm afraid it would gather dust on the shelves.

The good news is that I did like the two Katharine Paterson books-- Of Nightingales that Weep and The Master Puppeteer. Great for the multicultural unit that is coming up.

Endymion Spring

A big fantasy book. Am actually running out of those for some of my really avid readers, so I was relieved to find out that, unlike the cursed Leven Thumps, it was very, very good. I enjoyed both the plots in the modern and historical world, thought the jumping off point for the fantasy was valid, and am looking forward to the next one. Because when you have a big, thick fantasy, there is ALWAYS a next book.

I liked this one much more than this sounds like! Had Johann Gutenberg as a character, and you have to love that.

Nancy Werlin

Read Rules of Survival last night, and was so impressed. I recently had to create a list of books that cover various aspects of domestic abuse, because so many students ask for them. This book was perfect. It discussed the abuse, although it wasn't anything graphically sexual or overly disturbing, and it covered how the abuse affected the boy. It showed caring adults who were eventually successful in getting the children help. I will order at least two copies.

This author's other books; Double Helix, Killer's Cousin, and Locked Inside are all very popular. For some reason, I didn't get a copy of Black Mirror, but I was so impressed by this latest effort that I am going to read it again.

As for Leven Thumps and whatever happened in Foo, I perservered until I got to the single most unflattering portrayal of a teacher I have ever read. It was too painful to continue.

Katharine Paterson's The Master Puppeteer is good, though, and some of my historical fiction buffs will enjoy it.

Blake Nelson

Wanted to like Paranoid Park. Really, really did, because there are so few good skateboarding books out. I ignored the talk at the beginning about the main character's friend wanting to get laid, but when the main character and his girlfriend have a little fling, I thought "Was this gratuitous, or did it really advance the plot?" Came down on the side of gratuitous. More could have been said instead about the other trauma in the boy's life. An interesting moral tale, but ultimately, one that failed me. Sigh.

Looked on this author's web site blakenelsonbooks.com, and no longer feel too bad. I actually do feel somewhat bad when a book is good but I just can't bring myself to buy it. I no longer feel too bad. This is what Nelson says about another of his books, User, which would no doubt be popular with the students because of the title alone:
User
Another adult book. This is my sex and drugs book. Lots of sex. Lots of drugs. I wanted it that way. Not much plot. No sentimental scenes. Just these two hipster guys who are sort of idiots, getting wasted and trying to get some girl action. Lots of people like this one for it's porn value.

Stanley/VanDraanen

Diane Stanley's Bella at Midnight was an interesting medievalish romp, a little Cinderella-like, but just fun. I didn't even mind the chapters from alternating viewpoints,and that usually drives me batty. Fans of the Robin Mckinley and Donna Jo Napoli fairy tale retellings will like this one.

Van Dranaan's Runaway was bleak and depressing, but the girls who are interested in books about child abuse will find it of note. Paints an unappetizing picture of life on the streets, but not necessarily an urban one; she ends up on a beach. Will add both of these to the collection.

Some good, some bad.

Natasha Friend's Perfect was a well-balanced and accessible story about a girl seeking treatment for bulimia. Nothing fabulous, but very useful. It will check out a lot. Nothing objectionable.

Cathy Cassidy's Indigo Blue reminded me a little of Wilson's The Illustrated Mum-- two your sisters dealing with a dysfunctional mother who has been abused. Again, a topic the girls like to read, and one that is hard to find without inappropriate language or situations.

Pamela Lowell's Returnable Girl was okay, but didn't engage me as much as I thought. A girl finally finds a suitable foster home and works to undermine her own chances of success. Think I'll pass.

Edward Bloor's London Calling sounded promising, but failed to engage me. Traveling through time back to London during WWII sounds intriguing, but it takes too long to get into the story, and a lot of students have no patience with that.

Absolutely horrible was Lois Lowry's Gossamer. Annoying from page one, I didn't care what the creatures were or what they were doing. The language was stilted and odd, and I can see fans of Number the Stars or The Giver bringing this back the same day they checked it out and saying "Huh?" Not a hit from this generally good author.

Shelf Life

Robert Corbet's Shelf Life, which a student had seen someone reading, was a disappointment. An Australian writer, I thought it might be a good addition to our British collection, but it was unfocused. THere was also some material for older readers, and it wasn't good enough to justify.

Disappointed in Plum-Ucci's What Happened To Lani Garver. I really liked her The Body of Christopher Creed, but this one was a bit much.

See? I am still reading. In the middle of Vande Velde's Book of Mordred, which is turning out to be quite good. I have some readers this year who are hard to keep in books, and they are only 6th graders. I haven't purchased much fantasy lately, but I may have to.

Book Three--Dhami and Dent

Read two interesting British series-- Dhami's Bindi Babes, Bollywood Babes, and finally Bhangra Babes, and Grace Dent's LBD series, which ends in Friends Forever. The first is not only an intirguing look at Indian families in Britain, but covers a lot of school and sibling issues as well. LBD is a bit lighter, with the girls in the last installment taking jobs at a beach resort. I liked both of these very much. They are popular with the girls who like "pink" books, and I am grateful that they are available in the US.

Fun with food/Carolyn Wyman

Not exactly YA stuff, although I do have a copy of both Wyman's Jell-o: A Biography and Spam: A Biography, both of which circulate rather well when the 8th graders do nonfiction projects. Last night I read Better that Homemade: Amazing Foods that Changed the Way We Eat. Fun, fun stuff, and actually really good for middle school students to read. Covers manufactured food from tv dinners to marshmallow fluff and everything in between. Clever and witty as well as informative, the only down side is the silly soft cover, even though the price is $15.00. I suppose it could be sent to the bindery. May yet get it for my school.

There are a couple of Taschen books on advertising in the different decades that I saw (okay, bought) at Barnes and Nobles. I love this sort of book, and my daughter has started picking them up, too. Cultural history, right?

Katherine Paterson/Tamora Pierce

I've been working my way through the authors starting with "P", having finished the Mary Pope Osborne Magic Tree House books.

Bridge to Terabithia never did much for me, but there are children who want sad books, and it doesn't get much sadder than this. Jacob I have Loved was hard to get into, and one of those books that no one will ask for. I liked it, but think that few students will really be into it. It's historical, but it's not. Hmmm. I'm liking The Master Puppeteer, though.

Finishing up the Alana series by Tamora Pierce-- good stuff. The copies that I have are falling to pieces. Love the strong female character struggling with her power and her femininity. Really need to work my way through the other series, too.

Also read Grace Dent's LBD: Friends Forever. What a fun guilty pleasure!

I'm back again

Really, I've been reading; just not getting near the computer. Just need to get back in the habit.

Big thumbs up to Delany's Curse of the Witch and Curse of the Bane. Not only great stories on dark topics, intriguing and new, but great cover and hefty bulk to satisfy the fantasy fans who have "read everything".

Partial thumbs up to Eleanor Updale's Montmorency series. Loved the first one (Liar, Gentleman, Thief), but am not going to buy the second or third. A student confirmed this opinion, and I'm sticking with it.

In the middle of Terence Blacker's Parent Swap and liking it a lot.

More later, hopefully!

I'm back.

It's not that I haven't been reading. I have. It's getting near a computer without people "helping" me. So here's what I looked at last night:

Klise and Klise, Regarding the Bathrooms. I was so excited my the abstract, which read something like "A middle school principal's bathroom renovations uncover stolen Roman antiquities". However, the book was far, far too cutesy, with every name being something like Mack Rell and Hugh Dunnit. I wanted to gag. It also abused fonts-- it was graphically confusing and was hard to follow the plot. Sigh.

Craig, Joe. Jimmy Choates: Assassin?. So good. A boy is the target of kidnappers because he is a genetically engineered person being raised by spies. In the English tradition of Stormbreaker, a chase a minute. Loved it. Ordering two copies.

Revkin, Andrew C. The North Pole Was Here. One of those nonfiction books that make my wonder "Why?" Why would we market something to middle school students that is largely excerpts of articles from the New York Times? Interesting in some degree, but not well done.

Frank, E.R. Wrecked. Gripping tale of a girl who may or may not have caused the accident that killed her brother's girlfriend. All the post traumatics. Don't think I'll buy it-- people don't ask for car wreck books, and if they do I already have a bunch. But good.

Potter, Ellen. Pish Posh. Great fun, and I need some new mysteries. The girls will love this light hearted look at celebrity.

Didn't read all of the following, since they didn't do much for me:

Freeman, Martha. Who Stole Halloween? Too young for middle shool

Miller, Sarah. Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn. Conusing, and thank you for using the f-word on page 5 so I could stop reading.

Banks, Steven. King od the Creeps. Too whiny, and I don't think the boys would think it funny enough to pick up.

Fisher, Catherine. The Oracle Betrayed. Fantasy, but the kind that after the first chapter I will go and scrub toilets because otherwise I will claw my eyes out rather than put up with the world that's being created.

Whew. Enough for now!

Vrettos' Skin/Censorship

There has been a lot of discussion in the local papers about censorship. A local high school had The Lovely Bones and The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night on the recommended reading list. A parent complained; they were taken off. More parents complained. Since I am rather sensitive to bad language in books, this has caused me to think even more.

I have decided that one of the big motivating factors for me is MONEY. I can only afford to buy so many books. I can't buy everything. So if there is a book with a lot of bad language, chances are good that there is another equally good book out there that doesn't have it. I will choose that one. Such is the case with Vrettos' Skin. A very compelling story of a boy whose sister struggles with(and loses to)anorexia. Would this book circulate well in my library. Yes. Any title about anorexia does (notable exception The Bigger Book of Lydia, which is just weird.). Since Skin uses the f-word more times than I can count, I really don't need it. I have no problem with the public library having it-- they can afford to buy more than I can.

Now, that said, there are books that are so compelling that I excuse the language. Volponi's Black and White is the prime example here. But in the case of Skin, the language was gratuitous. There was really no point. I think that using obscenities repeatedly is the sign of someone who is lazy in his writing.

There is also the school of thought that says that the books students read in school should reflect our expectations for their writing. We wouldn't allow language like this anywhere in the school. Why should it be in the books?

Finally, the other reason that I steer away from language like this is that I don't have time to fight with parents about it. If someone challenges a book at my school, I would pull it. I would probably, however, suggest that the parent pay the $20 I spent on the book so that I could buy another one. I don't make purchases lightly. If there is bad language, it's somehow justified, and rest assured I have read the entire book and thought it through very carefully.

*Sigh* Why couldn't Skin have been written without the bad language? It would only have made the story better.

Grooves/Hit the Road/Love Curse of the Rumbaughs/King of Mulberry Street

Brockmeier's Grooves was a fast paced, funny mystery that must be very popular at my local library-- they have about 8 copies, and it was hard to track one down. Much of the plot defied belief (how would someone encode messages in the twill on jeans and the ridges on potato chips, and why would they think anyone would ever discover this?) and the premise for the evil was pretty lame (stealing the light from people's eyes makes the villain more likeable when his rhinestone jacket didn't work? Huh?), but I found myself liking the characters, the pace, and the book in general. So, there is another good mystery to have on hand.

Caroline B. Cooney's Hit the Road was quirky and may be a hard sell, but it was so personally satisfying that I'm going to have to buy a copy. 15 year old girl gets roped into taking her grandmother to a college reunion, and they end up getting into all sorts of scrapes that make the book rather thrilling and fun. I didn't quite believe that the one lady's son was as evil as he ended up being, at it was too bad that we all didn't get to go to the reunion in the end, which I really, really wanted to see by that point, but it was a FUN book. Since this author is really popular, I think the book will circulate.

Not so with Gantos' Love Curse of the Rumbaughs. I went to middle school with a Rumbaugh (hi, John!), and Gantos has done such a good job appealing to middle school boys with his Joey Pigza and also Jack Black series, but this one was, ah, odd. It lost me right after the discussion about selling feminine protection items at the drug store and the discovery of the drug store owners mummified mother. The ick factor without the interest. Didn't read it all; maybe it becomes fabulous later, but I no longer cared to stick around that long.

Donna Jo Napoli's King of Mulberry Street was FABULOUS!!!! I had to get it from a library in Toledo; no idea why my loval library didn't have it. Based on her grandfather's immigration to this country, it is an intriguing story of a 9 year old boy sent to America by his mother... by himself. Using his wiles and keen observational skills, he manages not only to survive, but to prosper. I've begun to think that Napoli can write anything beautifully. Her Stones in Water is another boy-pleaser, and her back story of fairy tales (Spinners, Sirena, The Magic Circle, Bound, Breath, etc.) are very popular as well. This is one author who makes me feel definitely like a reader rather than a writer!

Naylor and Nixon

When it's rainy, the house is cleaned, and the children are occupied, it IS possible to read a whole lot of books! From Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, I read One of the Third Grade Thonkers (not as young as the title would indicate; actually a pretty good story); The Keeper (about mental illness-- an early effort); Walker's Crossing (about white supremacy in the western states. Good, but I don't know what the audience would be.)

From Joan Lowery Nixon, I read Land of Hope, Land of Dreams and Land of Promise, all of which I liked. A somewhat connected immigration series. Good for fans of pink books who have to read history. Also Candidate for Murder and The Kindnapping of Christina Lattimore, which were both good mysteries and, oddly enough, struck me as the sort of thing that girls who like romance books would like. Who knew? Reading a lot of books by the same author can sometimes become wearying, but both of these authors are so consistently good that I haven't minded.

Assorted titles, good and bad.

As much as we need comedies for boys, I have added a new item to my "Won't Buy if it Has..." list. Won't buy books wherein the boy names his, uh, distinctly male parts. *Sigh* Shades of Judy Blume's Forever. So, I won't be adding Garfinkle's Storky. Also will skip Stephenson's Dancing With Elvis, since it is very long, only vaguely interesting, and too much of a historical novel for a time period we don't cover. Waltman's Learning the Game had way too many instances of the f-word; why do baseball players not swear while basketball players do?
Thinking about Sedgewick's Witch Hill-- I wasn't sure, but my ten year old son liked it. Also got mixed reviews on Gates' Dusk, about a genetically modified girl who has hawk DNA and eats rats whole; there's a lot of adventure and running and fights, but something about it left me cold. Did really enjoy Nield's Plastic Angel, about a girl who forms a rock band with her best friend. The students love reading about bands, but so often the life style and language choices ruin the books for me. This one was intriguing and just fun-- my "pink" book readers will love it, but it will enjoy a wider circulation. Whew. Caught up for now!

One More Garth Nix

Shade's Children seemed awful when I read the cover flap-- mutant monsters, children in "Meat Factories". Yuck. But it was intriguing for science fiction, and I liked the adventures that the children had while trying to stop all of the devastation. It was not an easy read, and there were several instances of the f-word, which I don't see a reason for at all. Still, it's circulated well (the fact that it's 11 Accelerated Reader points and a 6.4 rading level helps there, I'm sure), and reads quickly. It will be good for fans of Card's Enders's Game and Colfer's The Supernaturalist. Sci Fi with an evil, adventurous twist. Could do much worse.

Garth Nix

I thought I would not make it through Sabriel, but I did, and Lirael was pretty good. By the time I got to Abhorsen, I was hooked and really wanted to see how the story would end up. It almost seemed like there would be another, but I don't think there is. Now I have to see how I feel about tackling Shade's Children and maybe the Seventh Tower series. Sabirel is a good, solid fantasy series about a battle between good and evil, with lots of clever subplots. It was not esay reading, but I can now heartily recommend it to my fantasy fans. And yes, I have been reading; I just haven't been near a computer to post my musings.