Catching Up

Our school district has a summer reading intervention program, and buys some PermaBound books for this program every year. I am fortunate that they are housed in my library, because many of the titles are good for struggling middle school readers. They do consult me about what to buy, but usually only a few days before they need to place an order, so I am not able to be as careful about suggestions as I am about books I purchase. Here are a few of the titles that we recieved this year.

Codell, Esme Raji. Sing a Song of Tuna Fish. This was alarming from my perspective, because it is a memoir, and I think Raji is younger than I am. An interesting picture of a particular time and place, and Raji's struggles with being young and dealing with her eccentric family. I'll have to see what the students think. LeUyen Pham's illustrations are always something that bother me-- they seema bit fuzzy and I always try to adjust my glasses.

Gutman, Dan. Nightmare at the Book Fair. I liked this one-- just sort of goofy. Trip doesn't like to read, but gets caught by the librarian to help with book fair, gets hit on the head by a book, and travels through a variety of nightmares about different types of stories. Gutman has a huge following, and this has clever moments, such as when Trip comes back to consciousness ala Dorothy Gale and parrots the lines in The Wizard of Oz (movie version). I was a little alarmed that Gutman, a sports writer, would state at the beginning of the book that although Trip was in 5th grade, 5th grade was no middle school and he could be on a sports team. Maybe things are different in his state, but even our sixth graders aren't allowed to play sports.

Moss, Marissa. Amelia's Guide to Gossip. I don't care much for these heavily illustrated, slim volumes, but the girls do. Amelia does experience many of the problems endemic to 5th and 6th grade girls, and the books are constructively informative, so well worth the purchase for this younger audience. There is another of these on bullying, and both give good information on difficult topics.

Marsh, Carole. The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum. Eh. Had great hopes for this series, but was disappointed. This is number three-- perhaps I should reserve judgement until I can read the first two. I was a little wary because of the blurb on the front "Includes Five SAT words to know!"; readers at the level this book would indicate do not care. This one struck me as a bit wooden, but as I said, the first two books may help.

Bryan, Nichol. Somali Americans. We have a large Somali population, and I think that this book will be a good introduction to the culture of that country and the problems that have caused so many people to leave. A mere 32 pages, it is also appropriate for ESL students who may be struggling with language.

Jacqueline Wilson

Since Wilson's books that are available in the US are so popular in my library, I picked upa number of them in Ireland. Warning: do not read a lot of these books in quick sucession. They do tend to get a bit same-y after awhile.

Cookie. Well-to-do, stressed, abusive father. Ineffectual, pretty, passive mother. Frumpy, unhappy daughter. When father's tirades become too much, mother and daughter set off for sea side where they experience better treatment and decide to stay. May be coming out this fall in US.

Lola Rose. Ne'er do well, abusive father. Ineffectual, pretty, foolish mother. Frumpy, unhappy daughter. Mother wins big in the lotto, father's tirade causes the rest of the family to run off to London. They buy themselves lots of treats, use up the lotto money. Mother gets nicer boyfriend but then develops breast cancer. Daughter tries to care for younger brother, but deus ex machina savior show up in form of supportive aunt.

Dustbin Baby. 14-year-old girl who has fight with adoptive mother on her birthday retraces the steps that her life has taken since she was abandoned in a dumpster as an infant. After visiting foster mother and trying to find her birth mother, she connects with someone from her past who helps her to realize that her life has turned out okay.

I did start to feel that the mothers needed to have some sense-- whenever they got money, they bought sweets and clothes and didn't plan ahead at all. Also, most of them had no career skills, and managed to survive through luck and the help of others. I don't think this is a very empowering message for young girls who might be in similar situations.

T. H. White's The Once and Future King

This 1939 book is for highly motivated, very bright fantasy fans who have read everything else in your library and really, really want some heavy-duty Arthurian legend. The vocabulary in this lead me to read it with a dictionary by my side, and the concepts of friendship, world peace, and doing good in the world are handled very philosophically.

That said, I enjoyed this. It has moments of humor, was beautifully written, and laid out the main story of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table in a fairly easy-to-follow fashion. The one thing that I enjoyed, but which gives me pause when recommending it to students, was the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot love triangle. The levels of stupidity on all sides was fascinating, and since the circumstances often devolved into chaos and violence, I think that it would keep the interest of those reading this for the action and adventure, but I doubt that students would have quite the interest in the soap opera quality of this sub plot that I did.

I'm glad I got a copy. It's something that will challenge readers that I can hand to them more happily than, say, The Three Musketeers or Vanity Fair (which I finally deaccessioned because if I couldn't finish it after 20 years of trying, what are the odds that one of my students could?).

Back from Ireland!

I have worked my way through a large variety of Jacqueline Wilson books, but since I read 8 of them while in a sleep deprived, travel-exhausted state in Ireland, they all seemed rather the same and I'll have to regroup and sort them out. There may be a few of them published in the States; there may not. I visited several bookstores, and was vaguely appalled to find that Wimpy Kid is just as popular in Ireland as it is here.

Managed to visit a library in every town that I went to, with the exception of Kilkenny, but I visited two in Dublin to make up for it. This picture is of me in front of the public library on Inis Mor (in the pouring rain). The island has 750 people, so it is a little bigger than the population of my middle school (600). I must say that my library has a much better collection. We are very fortunate with our libraries in the states, and seeing the problems that

public libraries have in Ireland, it will be very difficult for me to complain about anything that happens, as long as I still have a job.

Hello from Dublin Ireland!

Where am I? The Dublin City Library! When I get back to the states, I will post pictures of the libraries that I visited across the country. I have another week before I get back to the states, and I am missing reading already. Do have to stock up on some Jacqueline Wilson books for Picky Reader.

Thanks for all the good wishes, and I'll be back very soon!

Leaving Town

Yes, the shame of not having read anything lately is causing me to leave town. No, I'm running away from home. Going far away, taking only The Once and Future King and one backpack with me. It's a good book, but hard to get through, and being stuck on an airplane for 10 hours with nothing else but the emergency evacuation instructions to read is a good way to get through something like that. When I read The Three Musketeers and Mutiny on the Bounty, it was on a trip to visit family in Iowa.

I will be back and resume posting about July 27.

Mediums and Vampires

Read the third Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Suddenly Supernatural book, Unhappy Medium. I love Kimmel's work, especially Lily B. She has a knack with creating real, interesting characters with whom I want to spend a lot of time. Kat and her friend Jac are going to a summer music camp-- since in the last book, Jac was torturing her mother by wanting to give up playing cello, she swings a deal that allows Kat to come to camp with her. Of course, Kat sees a ghost as soon as she gets there-- and the problem is that the ghost thinks Kat is the one who's the spirit. Nicely tied together with information about historical interest in the supernatural, this also addressed Jac's interest in a violin player and well as the relationship between Jac and her mother. Don't be put off by the horrible binding and the slightly large print-- these are great books. I'll be recommending them to Picky Reader in the fall.

Also read the second Kevin Emerson book, The Sunlight Slayings. Oliver thinks he has killed his new human friend, Dean (although he really can't remember details of the night) and is somewhat relieved when Dean comes back as a zombie. Now they can hang out together. However, it seems like Emalie is trying to kill other vampire children using an old curse that makes sunlight come from inside of them and turn them to dust. Oliver's father is on the case, but obviously, Oliver is much more capable of solving the crime. I like the way that Emerson makes up whole vampire mythologies and explains them quite effortlessly. There are enough ooky, blood-based meals to entice the middle school boys. All in all, I like these MUCH better than Heather Brewer's books, which are wildly popular at my school. It's nice to see a vampire book in which the main characters are NOT named Vlad. I'm looking forward to reading books three through five.

Summer Ennui

It happens every summer. Nothing sounds good to read. I did finish another Clique book, Sealed with a Diss, but it was really, really awful. Unrealistic, whiny, and the designer clothes name dropping means it is already dated. Not that I got the references.

Started to read Inkdeath, but don't have the heart. Picky Reader has started in on the Chronicles of Narnia and is liking them, and since it's been 30 years since I've looked at them in earnest, perhaps that is what I will do next.

The Story of the Dictionary: Or, why it's good to do inventory.

Due to a new cataloging system, I had to do a complete inventory of my library. There are 200 books marked "lost", so I'll have to spend some time tracking them down. Many are here but weren't scanned. Many have been deaccessioned and not recorded. (That 1957 book entitled Techniques in Tumbling? Not here.)

I swear I have never seen Robert Kraske's The Story of the Dictionary (1975). The last time it was checked out was 1982. Still, something about the wonderfully dated cover made me want to take it home and read it, and I was very glad I did. Although dated (I'm thinking that makers of dictionaries no longer keep citation files on index cards, and I wouldn't know where to find the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature anymore, although it was a huge part of my middle school library education.), it is filled with lots of interesting facts about words and language. Did you know that "contact" is used improperly as a verb? That the first dictionary for children was published in 1935? That Noah Webster tried to standardize what he perceived as irregular spelling in his dictionary, but people wouldn't stand for it? I imagine that there are very few copies of this to be found anywhere, but I'm keeping it. I also wish I had a copy of this author's Silent Sentinels: The Story of Locks, Vaults and Burglar Alarms and Crystals of Life: The Story of Salt. This book will be my first recommendation of the school year!

However, I'm not as wild about the 1962 copy of A Book of Giants that I found in the folktale section. Again, don't remember ever seeing it. I know it's impossible to have memorized 13,000 books, but you'd think everything would look slightly familiar!

Some biographies

While doing inventory, I found Sean Piccoli's 1997 biography of the Grateful Dead, which had never been checked out. Since I knew nothing about that band, it was interesting reading, but the book is out of print. Also never checked out but tremendously informative was Beverly Gherman's 2000 Norman Rockwell: Storyteller with a Brush. Quick and well-illustrated, it would make a great basis for a biography report. I'll have to push it next year.

Picky Reader is a huge fan of Jacqueline Wilson, so whenever we find a book of hers we'll pick it up. How a British edition of Diamond Girls came to be at Half Price Books I'll never know, but I'm glad it was. Sad, sad, sad in the way that Wilson's books (like Cathy Cassidy's) tend to be, it was the story of a single mother of four girls, all of whom had different fathers. When the mother gets an opportunity to move from a council flat to a council house, she takes it, since she is due to have her fifth child, a boy, very soon. Moving into the decrepit house is a comedy of errors, and the family is helped greatly by Bruce, a friend of the youngest's father. There is a subplot of a neighbor girl in a privately owned house with a "perfect" mother (who is actually mentally unstable and abusive) that is a bit over the top, but the book is a riveting read. Great for girls who can't get enough problem novels, if you can locate a copy.

More Harrison; Colman

While Lisi Harrison's It's Not Easy Being Mean was easy to read, it wasn't very good. Claire has unrealistically become a sought after Hollywood starlet, and Massie is given a chance to find a key to a "secret" room at OCD where she and her friends will be able to hang out. I'm getting tired of these because they are mean and take odd liberties with reality. Picky Reader likes them.

Also picked up Hila Colman's 1977 Sometimes I Don't Love My Mother, which was not too bad, although the mother is portrayed in a way that I can't see an author using today. Basically, Dallas' father dies, her mother doesn't cope well and wants to hang out with Dallas and her 17 year old friends when she is not busy getting drunk and being dysfunctional. Dallas thinks it might be a good idea to marry her boyfriend in a year so she doesn't have to deal with her mother. I can see girls who like problem novels enjoying this one, and aside from a couple of pantsuits that sneak in, and a lengthy description of getting ears pierced (a big deal at this time-- that's exactly the year I got my ears pierced!), it's not that dated. I do love the rebound cover-- it's dark peach with turquoise and green designs. It will last forever, unlike the new books which fall apart when students look at them!

The September Sisters

We will not hold it against Jillian Kantor that she has an MFA, because The September Sisters was a good, if vaguely harrowing, read. Abby has never been overly fond of her younger sister, Becky, but she is devastated when her sister disappears. The effect on her family goes on for years-- her father becomes more brusque and detached, her mother finds comfort in unacceptable places, and Abby struggles through every day with a gnawing sense of absence. She is helped somewhat by her neighbor and her neighbor's grandson, Thomas, but not knowing what happened to her sister makes finally finding out a relief. This is a fairly long book, but it reads quickly, and yes, the prose is "lyrical". This works for this book, which will appeal to girls who want a sad read and aren't so much interested that "nothing happens". Will probably buy this one.

Also finished off Gregor and the Code of Claw. The appeal to students who want blood-and-gore fighting is indisputable-- Gregor has so many scars on him by the end of this that someone back in the Overland is sure to call Children's Services! In a final battle against the Bane and his forces, Gregor's sisters are both drawn in, trying to break the code. Gregor is more worried that usual-- one of the prophecies indicates that the warrior will die; isn't he the warrior? The romance with Luxa is a bit overplayed, and the ending is somehow very sad. Gregor hasn't had a good time in the Underland, but he's made a lot of good friends, and when the family moves to Virginia, he won't be able to go back. Sigh. Did like these much more than I thought I would, and will heartily recommend them to both fantasy and action fans.

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's Nose (#20)

After Carolyn Haywood's B is for Betsy books, the first books I remember reading are Encyclopedia Brown. My mother and I would sit in a rocking chair, take turns reading, and try to solve the mysteries. Of course, when I was reading these, there were only a handful published, and the illustrations were beautifully 1960s. Encyclopedia had a tendency to wear striped shirts. These are still popular with my students, which is why I was able to send a circulation card to Mr. Sobol. Imagine my excitement when I got a letter back from him, as well as a copy of book #20! What a nice man.

I was surprised that the mysteries were rather difficult to solve. It was necessary to read the stories very carefully and hang on to every clue. This is something students don't frequently need to do, so these are great books for them to read. They are not generally too long, and the reading level is low, but this does not mean that the mysteries are challenging. Definitely worth it to keep some of these in a middle school library!

In other news, there is a brand new blog that you might want to check out-- Picky Reader. After reading all the posts I made about her reading, my youngest daughter has decided to blog on her own. We'll see how she does!

A Princess, a queen

Meg Cabot's tenth and FINAL Princess Diaries book is Forever Princess. Mia's world is in turmoil because her father has to run for Prime Minister of Genovia against a cousin who is promising the country more tourism and Applebee's. She is still on the outs with her former friend, Lilly, and not overly fond of her new friend Lana. Her grandmother is driving her crazy with plans for her 18th birthday party. She's trying to get her senior project, a really bad romance novel (which is excerpted) published. She's gotten in to all the colleges to which she supplied, but fears that this was because she is a princess, not because of any scholastic merit. She's still compulsively keeping a diary (really? She writes in restroom stalls? And this is healthy?) and stressing over her relationship with her boyfriend J.P., especially when former love Michael reappears on the scene. All more of the same, but girls who have followed this series will be glad to see what happens. Cabot can be such a clever writer; I'm glad she is done with this series so she can move on. Richard Lewis' The Demon Queen is okay, but for such a scary cover, gets off to a slow, slow start. Jesse is now in foster care in the midwest, after being declared somewhat illegal by Homeland Security-- he was apparently found on a boat as an infant, and his ethnic background is in question. He meets Honor, whose father has been killed in Bali, and gets drawn into her weird world of worshipping Rangda, the demon queen. It's neat that something other than celtic mythology is presented, but there is so much about Jesse's existence in the midwest that I didn't care much for the book. I much prefer Lewis' other book, The Killing Sea, about the aftermath of a tsunami.

A little of everything.

Choyce, Lesley. Skate Freak. Quinn's life is hard enough-- his mother is off learning a trade because his father has lost his job, school is unpleasant, and now that he and his father have moved away from their hometown, he doesn't even like where he has to skate. He does make a friend, and tries to better his circumstances, and things improve marginally. This is from Orca, which specializes in high interest, low level fiction. This is the kind of book I was looking for when I said I wanted books about skateboarders. I just wish it were longer.

There is probably another Niki Burnham book in this series, after Royally Jacked and Spin Control. Valerie's father works for the president of the US, in charge of protocol-- that is, until Valerie's mother comes out as gay and moves in with her girlfriend. Since the president is very conservative, the father takes a job with the king of Swerinborg, and he and Valerie move into the palace. Valerie goes to an American school, where the girls are somewhat snotty to her, especially since she has captured the attention of Prince Georg, who is her age. These are fun, princess fantasies-- who doesn't want to live in a castle and have a handsome prince attracted to her? Light, romantic romps like all of the Simon Pulse comedies.

Ann Dee Ellis' Everything is Fine is depressing. Mazzy's mother won't get out of bed even to wash herself, for reasons that are slowly revealed through the story. Mazzy's father is too busy with his sportscasting career to stay and take care of the two. Neighbors and social workers try to help, but Mazzy is very dysfunctional as well. At first I was intrigued, and even the sort-of-poetry-but-not-really format didn't bother me too much (much of the book is done in dialogue, giving the lines a poetry look, but there are no other poetic elements), but Mazzy just got annoying. I think I will pass on this one.

Catherine Jink's The Reformed Vampire Support Group is one that will not be immediately appealing the fans of Twilight, but was interesting all the same. Horrible, horrible cover however. Nina has been a vampire since 1973, and as a result can't go out during the day, feels nauseated all the time, and has to feed on guinea pigs. She has a support group, headed by a priest, that helps her survive. When one of the members is killed, the group rallies and goes on a rather misguided adventure to find the killer. They end up in the country (the book is set in Australia) where they find a man who has werewolf fights. They try to free the werewolf, and so get chased by this unsavory character. This is a complicated plot, but it all works together. If they can get past the fact that Nina's a girl, fans of Cirque du Freak might like this one. All of the other active members of the support group are male. Like many of the new vampire books, there are some interesting twists on all things vampire.

Series Catch Up

The third Melissa De La Cruz Blue Bloods book, Revelations, was not a disappointment-- there's still danger, intrigue, and surprises with the upper crust vampire world of New York City. I did get slightly weary of Schuyler's infatuation with Jack, despite the fact that if he left his "vampire twin" for her, he would suffer the same fate as Schuyler's mother, but other than that, it was a good read. I am looking forward to The Van Alen Legacy, which should be coming out very soon.

The fifth Joseph Delaney Last Apprentice book, however, was awesome! I don't know why I like these so much, but I really do. While I am not usually big on the quasi-medieval setting, there is something about the Spook, Tom Ward, and Alice that keeps me reading. In The Wrath of the Bloodeye, the Spook is so concerned that the Fiend is going to attack Tom that he sends him off to Bill Awkwright to be trained. Bill has some problems, notably with drink and rage, but teaches Tom about evil water creatures and gets him in shape with more rigorous physical training. When Bill is attacked by the Bloodeye, aka Morwena, the daughter of the Fiend, Tom must save him and do away with the evil creature. Alice comes to his aid, but uses black magic to do it, and Grimalkin the Assassin is instrumental in helping Tom and saving everyone. The instances of evil creatures being good and good creatures being tempted by evil is something that I really enjoy in these, and there is more yet to come in the next book. Tom's mother should reappear, and we learn things about Alice that will make things even more interesting in the next installment (which also should be out soon).

More Suzanne Collins

Enjoyed the third and fourth book so much that I am half tempted to go in to work to retrieve the final book in the series. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods was very good. Gregor is called to the Underland for a "meeting" about a plague that is hitting all the humans, rats, and bats, but of course gets involved in the quest for the cure. It was especially interesting that his mother came along. Of course, she gets the plague and is not allowed on the adventure. Gregor learns some more about the dynamics of the royal family, and more about how evil some creatures should be.

Gregor and the Marks of Secret was a bit unusual-- by this time, Gregor's mother is staying in the Underland while she recovers from the plague, and he and Boots come to visit her. While there, they realize that "nibblers" are dying, and the Bane, whom Gregor did not kill in book 2, has grown and is trying to rally support among the rats in order to take over from the humans. I'm really curious to see how things turn out now.

One literary device that Collins uses to excellent advantage is ending many of the chapters with cliffhangers. "He did not need Howard's answer to know this was his first earthquake." "At least a hundred mice lay twisted and motionless at the bottom of the tunnel." "Waiting on the floor with their tails poised in the air were a pair of giant scorpions." This really helped me when my concentration was flagging, and this will also be helful for students who try to read a chapter a day, since they have something to look forward to when the next pick up the book.

Guess I'll have to content myself with the fifth Last Apprentice book, the second Ranger's Apprentice book, or the third Blue Bloods book, since there's no other reason to go to work (the new Destiny circulation system rolls out next Wednesday) aside from getting the last book!

Gregor and the Prophecy of the Bane

Suzanne Collins has gotten a lot of buzz for her The Hunger Games, but her Gregor series is one that I finally bought after multiple student requests. I wasn't looking forward to a multivolume fantasy series, but the first one wasn't too painful, and since I need to make sure I have actually read every book in the library, the other ones were on my list to read. Happy to report that I am taking the 3rd and 4th home today with an air of anticipation.

Gregor's father has returned from the Underland but is still sickly. Family finances remain difficult. As a treat, Gregor takes his small sister boots to Central Park for sledding-- and she is kidnapped by gnawers because of the prophecy. The problem with prophecies? You may think you know what they mean, but they are open to interpretation. In this action packed sequel, Gregor heads out to kill the Bane, accompanied by a host of talented companions. He gets attacked by giant poisonous squid, has to save his sister multiple times, and finds that he has an alarming talent for killing. While students will love the running about and fighting, what kept me reading was Character Development. Gregor is a nice kid who tries hard, and it was interesting to see how he handled himself in the various situations. As I said, I'm looking forward to the rest of the books, which is a change from fantasy series like, oh, Brian Jacques, that make me what to stop reading anything.

Anthony McGowan's Jack Tumor sounded interestingly bizarre, but didn't work for me. Hector has a brain tumor that talks to him and gets him into trouble. Unfortunately, the tumor is British and has been too influenced by the Page 3 culture of that country, making this book more appropriate for older students, not that younger ones will be unhappy sniggering up their sleeves.

The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook

This nonfiction title by Dilara Hafiz was rather interesting. Short, easy to read, but very informative, it covered a wide range of topics geared toward varying levels of religious adherence. While it would probably be helpful to Muslim students who have questions about how to practice their faith in a culture not quite geared to it, this is also helpful to aid non-Muslims in understanding some of the practices and history. It draws a lot of parallels between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and is very similar to books of instruction for Christian teens.

Harry Potter Giveaway!

Harry Potter and

the Deathly Hallows
PAPERBACK PRIZE

PACK GIVEAWAY

Because Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is being released in paperbacks, Scholastic is giving away sets of books 5, 6 and 7 in paperbacks! From today until midnight on JULY 5th, you can e mail me (msyingling@yahoo.com) and enter to win! You will need to include the following:

1. E Mail me (MsYingling@yahoo.com) a very short message about what YOU think happens to Harry when he grows up. Rowling had one idea, but you may have your own!

2. Deadline is 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 5th. Winners will be chosen by a very small student group based primarily on effort.

3. Be prepared to give me your actual mailing address if you win. Kids, check with a parental unit to make sure this is okay. I will need to give your address to Scholastic.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a breathtaking finish to a remarkable series. The final chapter to Harry Potter’s adventures will be releases in paperback July 7th! It all comes down to this - a final face off between good and evil.

http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/