The Crazy Things Girls Do For Love

Sheldon, Dyan. The Crazy Things Girls Do For Love.

Sicilee, Maya and Waneeda all have their own distinct personality quirks, but when new boy Cody Lightfoot comes to town, they are all so smitten that they join an environmental group run by the geeky Clemens in order to get near Cody. Sicilee is the poster child for overconsumption (he wants her parents to enlarge her walk in closet because it's not big enough for all of her clothes) and thinks that vegan is show for vegetarian. Maya is a little more environmentally inclined, but still more interested in Cody. Waneeda usually doesn't care much about anything, but is oddly struck by Cody's environmental interest... and his good looks. Soon, all three are trying to outdo each other in order to get Cody's attention, and come to realize that perhaps the environment is more important than they thought.

Strengths: It's always good to have books with a positive environmental message. I normally love Sheldon's work, and the cover is a slam dunk for girls to pick up.

Weaknesses: I was annoyed at almost every character in the book, and even the style (the story is told in the present tense) irritated me. In an afternote, Sheldon addresses how important being aware of the environment is, but I wish she hadn't made it seem so awful for the girls to give up meat, new clothes, and riding in the car. I am not sure it will encourage readers to become environmentally aware, but they will enjoy the story and I will probably buy the book. I just wish that I enjoyed it more!

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Beleated answers to Thursday's trivia. Yesterday, I was too busy saying how awesome Linda Gerber was!
1. In Robert McCloskey's Homer Price, what is the color of the dress that Miss Terwilliger wears in the giant ball o' yarn contest?
Robin Egg's Blue AND Pink. She unwound it to pad out her ball of yarn!
2. What is the very 1950's name of Henry Reed's best friend? Midge
3. What was the first mainstream audio CD sold in the US? Springsteen's Born in the USA.
4. What is appropriate apparel for librarians everywhere this coming January 18?
A Winnie-the-Pooh t shirt! It's the 130th anniversary of A.A. Milne's birth!
5.What is the state rock song of Ohio? Hang on Sloopy

Do children watch Saturday morning cartoons anymore? It was one of the few times that I watched as a child (Josie and the Pussycats was a particular favorite!), but my own children didn't watch much. Instead of letting 7-11 year olds watch cartoons, try giving them one of these books:

Bonnell, Lynne. Lawn Mower Magic.
EARC provided by Edelweiss' Above the Treeline.
The Willows have moved out to a somewhat remote house with a fair acreage. Derek misses his friends at his old home, and wants to get a train ticket and go visit, but money is tight. When the family lawn mower dies, Derek and his brothers and sister find an old rotary mower in the shed and start to tackle the huge job of mowing. It's much easier when they find that the mower is magic, and it happily drags them all over the yard, as well as over some hedges. Can Derek keep the lawn under control so the family doesn't have to buy a new mower, and he will have enough money for a train ticket?
Strengths: The second in a series (Hamster Magic is first) this was a fairly amusing Stepping Stone book vaguely reminiscent of the work of Ruth Chew. Since I have a rotary mower, I had to read it.
Weaknesses: Too young for middle school, and very weak on plot.

Hashimoto, Meika. The Magic Cake Shop.
Emma Burblee is a no nonsense ten year old who lies to bake and is very weary of her incredibly vain and self-involved parents. Her mother and father don't eat anything but carrots, have 80 step skin care routine, and care more about their business selling expensive hats than they do about Emma. When she disappoints them at her tenth birthday party, she is sent to live with her horrible Uncle Simon, who is a neglectful slob. The bright spot in her day is Mr. Crackle and his fantastic bakery. When she finds that her Uncle is in league with a villain who wants to force Mr. Crackle out of business by selling substandard bakery items fortified with "elixir of delight" that will make them irresistible, she has to find a way to stop him.
Strengths: The cover is SO pretty! Anything with cakes on the cover will get picked up, and this has an overall decent Roald Dahl/Lemony Snicket vibe to it that younger students might enjoy.
Weaknesses: While the extremely vain parents, horrible uncle, and magical baker started out not being too cloying, the level of whimsy got a bit much for me when sentences like "Well, why do't you and Albie plug in the blender and take care of the beans, squid, spleens, legs, sogs, and hegs while I deal with the tree, shick shack shree spizzle, and tea." (page 125) Really? This pushed it right out the middle school arena and down to elementary school for me.

Guy Friday-- Ghouls!

Newbound, Andrew. Ghoul Strike.
This cover goes to prove that boys WILL read books with girls as the main characters, as long as there is enough action, an intriguing cover, and ... ghost drool. Sigh.
Alannah has a ghost busting business, but it's not the paltry 50 pound fee she charges to get rid of the ghosts that earns the big bucks-- it's selling the treasures that she gets from the ghosts! Most ghosts are bound to earth by some valuable worldly good, so Alannah dispatches the ghosts and keeps the treasures! She runs into problems at Pittingham Manor with her sidekick Wortley when they meet up with the otherworldly Office Flhi who is dealing with a ghoul invasion. Alannah is a bit put out by Flhi's interference because she is trying to find her parents and the ghouls are an unwanted wrinkle, and Flhi is irritated that Alannah doesn't understand the seriousness of the threat. The two find a common enemy in Horrad, who knows more about Alannah's parents than he will admit AND is definitely working with the ghouls. While the two are able to thwart the imminent demise of the earth, the next threat is just around the corner.
Strengths: There are not enough monster books out there that are not overly cartoony. This is a loto f great action and adventure, and my students will be pleased. Not a surprise that Newbound is British. The Brits seem to write ghosts and horror so much better than authors in the US! (Gauntlet flinging? Why, no!)
Weaknesses: While action is good, the first major ghoul fight went on four about 8 chapters. I wanted a bit more background, but that translates into "nothing happening" to my students.



LINDA GERBER IS MADE OF AWESOME!!!
The 7th graders are writing letters to authors, and about eight girls asked me for Linda Gerber's address. Since Linda was my first author interview, has spoken at my school several times and drove me to a cupcake party in Cleveland (um) two years ago, I had (um) her phone number still in my phone. Not that that is creepy and stalkerish at all!
So I told the students "Let me text her and ask!" They were suitably impressed.
I forgot that unless someone has your number in the phone, they have no idea what crazed lunatic is asking for your address! I texted her back with my name, and she very kindly provided a destination for their letters AND told me I could tell the students that she always replies to me. Hee, hee, hee.
So, not only are Linda's books awesome, she is, too. My students will be thrilled. Go buy her books NOW!

Murder Mysteries

Mackel, Dandi Daley. The Silence of Murder.
When Hope's brother Jeremy is accused of murdering the high school baseball coach, she doesn't believe he's guilty. Jeremy stopped speaking at the age of 9, has trouble relating to people, and also has an odd fascination with empty jars. Since the coach was always nice to Jeremy, Hope sees no reason that he would have bludgeoned him to death with a ball bat, although all evidence points to the contrary. With the help of T.J., a long time friend, and Chase, the sheriff's son who was on the same ball team as T.J., Hope tries to figure out who the real culprit is. In her search, she uncovers other family and community secrets, which lead her to discover exactly how the crime occurred.
Strengths: Always need more murder mysteries, and this one is well done. Hope is a persistent and strong character who rises above her circumstances to do right by the one person, her brother, in her life who doesn't let her down. Jeremy's diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum is reasonably portrayed.
Weaknesses: Wish this was little shorter (it's 300+ pages), and since the courtroom scenes slow down the plot, I would have cut those a bit. Still definitely buying. Love the cover!


Margolin, Phillip, and Ami Margolin Rome. Vanishing Acts.
Madison Kincaid's father is a defense attorney who tries a lot of murder cases, and Madison has always tagged along to his office, since her mother died when she was young. Her biggest love, however, is soccer, and she hopes to make the team in junior high, which is starting soon. Unfortunately, her best friend, Ann, doesn't show up for tryouts or for school, and Madison starts to worry that something has happened to her, especially when her father gets a case defending Mr. Shelby, who is accused of murdering his wife-- who was Madison's teacher! Evidence is circumstantial, but Madison, with the help of rather cute classmate Jake, decides to investigate on her own. She makes the soccer team as the first alternate, middle school doesn't seem too bad, and she manages to find out about why both Ann and Mrs. Shelby have vanished.
Strengths: Very nice middle grade mystery with engaging characters, intriguing setting, and true to life handling of middle grade issues.
Weaknesses: The murder part of this is week, and I didn't quite buy the reasons for the vanishing acts. Would anyone really think this would work? Still, a little darker than Maggie Brooklyn or some younger mysteries.

Cusick, Richie Tankersley. Trick or Treat.E ARC from Netgalley.com
Martha and Conor's parents have gotten married and moved the family to the old Bedford house at the outskirts of a small town. Martha isn't happy about this, especially when the old house gives off massively creepy vibes that make her suspect that her stepbrother is even creepier than she thought. She settles in fairly well at school, meeting the dashing Blake and his sister Wynn, but the house turns out to have been the scene of the murder of Elizabeth... who was Wynn's best friend and Blake's girlfriend. Martha starts to recieve threatening phone calls and several incidents like a creepy scarecrow hung on their porch and an unexplained fire in the kitchen make Martha even more worried. Is Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend Dennis, who was presumed dead, really alive and threatening Martha? Can all of the friends survive the Halloween dance?
Strengths: Since I just lost Cusick's Fatal Secrets to a juice box in a back pack, I was in mourning and very pleased to see Open Road Media rerelease this 1989 title. It was fast paced, super creepy with moaning trees and secret passages, and I wanted to order two copies!Weaknesses: Imagine my suprise when I logged into Follett's Titlewave and found this listed as "out of print"! I was beyond crushed! Why had I not realized earlier that Open Road Media is only digital content? Since these were originally paperbacks, there is just no way to get a copy to circulate. Back to the mourning!

I try to be laser-like in my focus on books, but given the sheer number of comments on Saturday, maybe I should just start posting a new picture of my dog every day! While wandering around other's blogs for Mother Reader's Comment Challenge, I was greatly amused by Annie's trivia challenge over at The Backstory . For those of you who need a bit of levity in a grim January morning, here's my own challenge. Feel free to make up answers!

1. In Robert McCloskey's Homer Price, what is the color of the dress that Miss Terwilliger wears in the giant ball o' yarn contest?
2. What is the very 1950's name of Henry Reed's best friend?
3. What was the first mainstream audio CD sold in the US?
4. What is appropriate apparel for librarians everywhere this coming January 18?What is the 5. state rock song of Ohio? (Feel free to tell me your state's rock song. What? You don't have one?)

Answers tomorrow on Guy Friday!

Not What I Wanted Wednesday

Again, I managed to get into a lot of Young Adult books that I don't see working in my library. It's a tricky line, sometimes based on content, sometimes based on style and sometimes, I kid you not, based on print size. Anything smaller than 12 point, and there are complaints! Most of these would probably be great in a high school library!

Kenneally, Miranda. Catching Jordan.
From Goodreads.com: "What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate."
What I wanted: A good sports story for girls.
Why it didn't work for me: While I adored Jordan and thought the writing was pitch perfect, this was far too mature for middle school. Several f-bombs, and a LOT of sexual innuendo. Drat. Really liked it otherwise.
People who liked this include: Obsession with Books, 2 Read or not 2 Read, Coffee Table Reviews, and Fabbity Fab Book Reviews.



King, A.S. Everybody Sees Ants.
From the publisher: " Overburdened by his parents' bickering and a bully's attacks, fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective."
What I wanted: All the cool blog kids are reading it.
Why it didn't work for me: The style and voice of this seemed older, and the magical realism premise seemed a bit confusing.
People who liked this include: Guys Lit Wire, Booking Mama, Ringo the Cat's Blog, and My Words Ate Me.


Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children.
From the publisher: "Sixteen-year-old Jacob, having traveled to a remote island after a family tragedy, discovers an abandoned orphanage, and, after some investigating, he learns the children who lived there may have been dangerous and quarantined and may also still be alive."
What I wanted: All the cool blog kids are reading it.
Why it didn't work for me: Tiny print, weirdly disturbing pictures, and the tone and pacing of an adult novel.
People who liked this include: YA Book Lover, Of Books and Reading, S. Krishna's Books, and The Infinite Shelf.



McKinty, Adrian. Deviant.
From Goodreads.com:"Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for “tough cases.” At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted—what the teachers say, what the students reply—and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to “clean up” Colorado Springs."
What I wanted: A mysterious, supernatural creepy story.
Why it didn't work for me: I don't like cats. REALLY don't like cats, and even for me, the first chapter of graphic cat abuse was too much.
People who liked this include: Inspirations and Popcorn Reads.


Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. Every Other Day.
From the publisher: "Every other day, sixteen-year-old high school student Kali transforms into an invincible demon hunter, but when she sees that a popular fellow-student is marked for death in the next twenty-four hours, unfortunately it is the wrong day for Kali."
What I wanted: Adore this author's Tattoo, The Squad and Raised by Wolves series and was hoping for more.
Why it didn't work for me: Fighting hell hounds didn't feel like something my 6th graders who want paranormal romance books were really looking for. Again, drat.
People who liked this include: Almost Grown Up, In the Good Books, The Book Swarm, and Bookd Out.

And am I the only one having trouble on Blogger with spacing? Even when I edit out the tags on the html, it still puts huge spaces between things. After about ten minutes of trying to fix it, I give up. Sorry about any excess spacing!

Fantasy Books!

Hubbard, Mandy. Ripple.
Lexi killed Stephen on her 16th birthday. She lured him into the water and drowned him. For the last year, she has been estranged from everyone at school because of this, but it wasn’t Lexi’s fault. She’s a siren, and her mother committed suicide before she could tell Lexi about her family’s curse. Every night, Lexi is drawn to the water but is afraid to go to the nearby sea for fear of dragging another innocent boy to his death. She spends hours every night swimming at a remote mountain lake so she can quench her desire for the water while all those around her stay safe. When Cole, Stephen’s best friend, starts to bring her out of her shell, she is able to resucitate her social life, but when she starts to fall in love with him, she fears for his safety. Enter Erik, who is not only very attractive but is a nix, a water spirit who drowns women in rivers. His mother is a siren, and he tells Lexi that if the two of them fall in love before his 18th birthday, the curse will be broken and both of them will be able to lead normal lives. Even though she loves Cole, she dumps him and gives Erik a chance. Can she leave her curse behind permanently?
Strengths: Didn’t really want another paranormal romance, and just bailed on Jones’ After Obsession (seemed too high school), but this one really pulled me in. Aside from some shirtlessness and one totally inexplicable f-bomb on page 250 or something, this one was very good. The ending was a fabulous twist that I did not see coming at all.
Weaknesses: I now have the recurring moral dilemma: do I white out the f-bomb or leave it and hope that students read it quickly enough that they don’t notice it and bring the wrath of their parents down on me. Sigh.

Carson, Rae. The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Shortlisted for the Cybils YA SciFi/Fantasy award; nominated by Hallie Tibbits.
Elisa is the second princess of Orovalle, and is married of to Alejandro, king of a desert kingdom at the age of 16. Eisa is not a complete innocent-- she is the bearer of a Godstone (permanently attached at her navel!) which facilitates her prayers to a limited degree, but more importantly, makes her a target. She is well educated, shrewd, and quickly learns to deal with Alejandro, who is nice to her but not a nice man. Just as Elisa is figuring out her new royal role and secrets about her past, she is kidnapped and hurried across the desert by a political faction that finds her useful. And Elisa is VERY useful-- while the Godstone warns her of danger and is of little help otherwise, Elisa kills an animagus, figures out what is going on in the war, and keeps her band of companions alive-- with one painful exception. Returning to Alejandro's palace a wiser and more assertive woman, she must once again be at the forefront of battle strategy while trying to figure out her role as Bearer... and as the ruler of a kingdom. While a sequel is possible, this could also easily stand alone.
Strengths: In this Spanish-esque fantasy setting, Elisa is at first self-indulgent, heavy, and slow, but her travails in the desert lead her to an improved personality and appearance in a very natural way. Like Pierce's Alanna, Elisa is a great heroine, but I LOVED that she was a somewhat reluctant one.
Weaknesses: So much death, and they made me really sad because I was envisioning the story line continuing with several of the characters who died. Does make me want to read a sequel to see if there is a romance for Elisa!

Nonfiction Monday

Seiple, Samantha. Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska's WWII Invasion.
One of the things that the US government didn't want anyone to know was that Alaska had been attacked. The Japanese were trying to distract US intelligence from realizing that Midway was going to be attacked, and so took control of areas of the Aleutian islands. This book covers a huge number of aspects of this occurrence, ranging from the cryptographers who were following what the Japanese were doing, to residents of the village of Attu who were made prisoners of war and shipped to Japan, where many of them died, to members of a military weather unit stationed in Alaska who were also captured. In addition, there was a lengthy battle at Attu that was the most deadly hand-to-hand combat in the entire war; 549 US troops were killed (out of 15,000), and only 29 of the 2680 Japanese survived because the generals ordered a mass suicide, and the Japanese detonated hand grenades while holding them against their chests. All documents about these events were classified for many years, although there were some reparations made in the 1980s for the citizens of Attu.

Strengths: Wow. The middle school boys will LOVE this one. Already had my number one WWII reader request this from the public library.It reads like a fact-filled novel, and there are enough gruesome details as well as espionage and survival stories that this will never be on the shelf.
Weaknesses: The prose seemed a bit wooden to me, and I don't usually notice that.

Bodden, Valerie. Fighter Jets.

ARC from Baker and Taylor; published by Creative Education.

This is one of the Built for Battle series on military equipment that also includes aircraft carriers, armored vehicles, helicopters, and several others. This was very short (24 pages) and contained rudimentary information about how jets operate and are used. There is a glossary in the back, and ample pictures. While these would get checked out in my middle school, they are more suited to the youngest war mongers, probably from first to third grade. I was rather amused by the ARC-- it consisted of the sewn together pages from the inside of the book, and the dust jacket!

There's a new Nonfiction Monday page by Ms. Suen, and today's roundup is hosted at Great Kid Books.

Middle Grade Monday can be found at Shannon Whitney Messenger's blog
.

The Game of Triumphs

Powell, Laura. The Game of Triumphs.
Cat, who is living in London’s Soho district with her young and disorganized aunt, is approached by a stranger to save him. When she investigates, she uncovers an elaborate role playing game based on Tarot cards, The Game of Triumphs, and accepts an invitation to play. Wanting to know more, she looks for information on Tarot at a fantasy supply store, the Dark Portal, where she meets Toby, who is also involved in the fame, and he enlightens her. Not only does the game allow people to go into Arcanum, another dimension, but if they win their card, they gain certain powers that transfer to real life. But not only are the rewards real, the dangers are as well, and Cat finds herself involved in this treacherous pursuit that had horrible implicationsc for her family in the past, yet she can’t stay away. The sequel, The Master of Misrule, comes out in 2012.
Strengths: Solid, modern day magical fantasy. I have five readers I could hand this to right now. Love that Ms. Powell studied Classics. At Oxford. *Sigh*
Weaknesses: My only concern about appeal of this book at the middle school level is that my students are not as aware of role playing games.

True Blue and randomness

Smiley, Jane. True Blue. (Sequel to The Georges and the Jewels and A Good Horse)
Abby Lovitt’s family lives on a California ranch in the 1960s. When a friend who runs a stable ends up with the horse belonging to a woman killed in a car accident, she offers the horse and its fittings to Abby, who gladly takes them. True Blue is a good horse, and well-trained, though apt to spook. The horse is a good addition to the family’s stables, and Abby gives lessons and goes to school, but is plagued by the ghost of the dead owner. Abby imagines seeing this ghost all over the farm. Abby breaks her arm, the family suffers some illnesses, but the activities of the stable continue and eventually Abby realizes there is no ghost.
Strengths: Don’t know how I missed this series, but will definitely be buying it. I have had a few girls who really like horses, and most of my horse books are really old! I really enjoyed the Elaine Clayton illustrations.
Weaknesses: The ghost story is rather weak, and the 1960s setting doesn’t really add anything to the story. There were also too many church details for my taste-- they slowed down the story.

Brocket, Jane. The Gentle Art of Domesticity.

Okay. Really, I was looking at a catalog for middle grade books and saw Spotty, Stripy, Swirly. Since I am always looking for good nonfiction, I investigated further at my public library (which didn't have any of the Jane Brock's Clever Concept Books from Lerner at all.) and found this. Which I had to have, for no particularly good professional reason.

I enjoyed it, but it made me feel a little bad. I've been quilting for 30 years, and knitting for 43 and could have done a blog like Yarnstorm and earned my living doing fun things like knitting tea cozies. Or, at the very least, have had a better blog name. Man. One of my big regrets.

I realized that I spend a HUGE amount of time reading, to the exclusion of doing the crossword, caring what the house looks like once it is clean and clutter free, talking to my children, and knitting.

So I knit a sweater for Sylvie. Really, it's only practical. When you are that low to the ground, if it snows, you end up with icy armpits.

Guy Friday-- Guys with Problems

Ellsworth, Loretta. Unforgettable.
Ever since having a concussion as a young child, Baxter Green has been able to remember EVERYTHING. When his mother wants to move from southern California to escape a criminal boyfriend, Baxter nudges her to move to Wellington, Minnestoa, where he remembers Halle, his elementary crush, moved. After Baxter uncharacteristically gets a bad grade on an assignment, Halle is assigned to be his tutor. Only problem-- she doesn't remember him! Baxter settles in to school and his new life with his waitress mother. He flashes back to his therapy sessions with Dr. Anderson, who was trying to help him deal with the weight of remembering every past hurt. He works with Halle and her environmental group to try to stop a local taconite plant from increasing the risk of certain cancers for people in the area. He worries that Dink, the boyfriend, will track him and his mother down, which does happen. Baxter may have an extraordinary ability, but he also manages to have an ordinary, and fairly happy, life. Strengths: Halfway through 8th grade, a lot of my guy readers are looking for more than humor books. They want something with challenges, romance, and some deeper meaning. This will be great for them, and would also be an excellent high school book. I'll also have to take another look at this author's In A Heartbeat, which looks familiar.
Weaknesses: I found it hard to believe that Halle wouldn't remember Baxter, or that she would be mad when she finally did. Of course, I remember people from my kindergarten, but they would probably not remember me!

Polisner, Gae. The Pull of Gravity.
Nick has mulitple problems. After he breaks his leg climbing a small tower during a fever-induced hallucination, his overweight and underemployed father decides to take off, feeling guilty over being asleep when Nick had his accident. He is walking to New York City, where the family had lived previously, in order to lose weight and "find himself". Nick's neighbor and best friend, Scooter, is dying of progeria, which ages him rapidly and causes all sorts of health problems. On the up side, Nick meets Jaycee, the step daughter of a local newscaster who comes to interview the family about the father's walking expedition. She also knows Scooter, and after Scooter's death, shows Nick a first edition book that Scooter wanted returned to the father who left HIM when he was young. Jaycee and Nick set off to Rochester, NY to try to find Scooter's father but encounter multiple problems along the way. In the end, Nick find out that sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination.
Strengths: Fast-paced, a good length, appealing cover, and again, boys like problems at this time of year. Good cover, too.
Weaknesses: Stretched my believability, especially when Jaycee gets very ill in Rochester.


Plum-Ucci, Carol. Following Christopher Creed.
College reported Mike Mavic has been following the disappearance of Christopher Creed and the developments in the case on the blog of a local who was a rock star. When a body is found in Steepleton, Mike and another reporter, RayAnn, he goes to Steepleton to try to get a story. There are lots of wrinkles-- the body ends up being the sister of a boy involved tangentially in the original case, Christopher's brother is thought missing but later turns up in rehab, there is a weird natural phenomenon going on in a local woods that may or may not be contributing to a host of problems, and Mike has to come to terms with his own past as an abused child. Can the case and the problems of the town finally be solved?
Strengths: There is strong interest in the first book, The Body of Christopher Creed (2000), and mysteries are always in demand.
Weaknesses: Several uses of the f-word, and a plot that could have been tighter. At over 400 pages, I don't see this going well with middle school students, but would be okay at high school.

It's a frog-eatin' morning here.* Got in to work at 4:45. Have done the following: E mailed overdues to homerooms and replied to ten emails; set up LCD projector; printed Infohio bookmarks and made copies; repaired ten books; organized Battle of the Books information so someone competent can take over, since I have failed utterly at meeting with the students in the ten minutes every other Friday I don't have class during lunch; compiled a hand out about E Readers and free E Books; put together a handout for Sustained Silent Reading and Writing in case students have two study halls per day next year; reinked a self-inking stamp, mailed payment to Baker and Taylor; commented on five blogs as part of

Mother Reader Comment Challenge

And posted this. Now must get LCD projector to WORK. (Which I had to call tech to do. *Sigh* I'm usually the one coming and fixing things and making other people feel incompetent!)

Have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend!

*"Eat a frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." In my family, we use this to refer to getting a lot of things done that you DON'T want to do!

Desert Angel

Price, Charlie. Desert Angel.
Angel and her mother have lived with Scotty, the mother’s abusive boyfriend, for only a month before he killed the mother and buries her in the desert. He then ties up Angel and sets fire to their mobile home with her in it. She manages to escape and is taken in by a family of illegal Mexican immigrants, but Scotty is a trained tracker, so hunts her down and terrorizes anyone who helps her. The family moves her to another town where she stays with Rita, a tough Head Start teacher. Angel is glad to have her support, but doesn’t want to endanger those who help her. She realizes that the best way to keep everyone safe is to find Scotty before he finds her, but he becomes increasingly violent as the two come closer to finding each other. Another title by this author is The Interrogation of Gabriel James
Strengths: Immediately gave this one to Picky Reader, who loves problem novels. This is not only abuse, but survival, and I can see it being very popular in February, when all of my students want the most depressing book I can give them. A real page turner!
Weaknesses: It’s very clear that Scotty was sexually abusing Angel, but since there are no details given, I think it’s okay even for middle school.

Wilson, N.D. The Dragon's Tooth.

Book received from publisher.

Cyrus lives in a run down motor lodge that he runs with the help of his older sister and brother because his mother is in a hospital and his father is dead. This is bad enough, but after Billy Bones appears and claims that Cyrus is the new caretaker of artifacts that will help save the world, the motel burns down and the siblings are sent on a long journey to save the world against the forces of evil. They have a lot of help from the Order of Brendan (in which their parents were involved) and they need it, since Cyrus' brother has been kidnapped by Dr. Phoenix, who is trying to take sacred relics from the Order. This is a new series from the author of 100 Cupboards.

Strengths: A lot of action and adventure, a well-constructed mythological base, and amusing characters. I don't have a lot of readers who want modern fantasy, but this will be good for readers who liked The Gods of Manhattan.

Weaknesses: I had trouble with this because I was so repulsed by many of the settings. The old hotel was disgusting, and I think I stayed in its twin in Kalispell, Montana in 1977! Gave me the willies! I read somewhere that the Archer Motel was based on a real place.... echhhh! Cyrus moved from one dilapidated place to another-- the writing must be effective because I was seriously so creeped out by the settings that I had a hard time concentrating on the book. I had to get up and vacuum and scrub because I could feel the gnats living in the damp carpet. Students will not have this trouble!

The One and Only Ivan

Applegate, K.A. The One and Only Ivan (link to the trailer on YouTube)
Ivan is a real gorilla who was captured from the wild in 1964 and lived in a Washington state shopping mall until the mid 1990s. He now lived in Zoo Atlanta. It’s good to know this information before reading the book, because Ivan’s life in the mall is a sad one. He has a grimy cage with a tire swing and a dirty wading pool, his diet is substandard, and he has to perform three shows a day. There is an elephant, Stella, at the mall who hates being there, especially when she becomes ill and does not get proper medical care. Ivan is treated well by the custodian’s daughter, who brings him crayons and paper so he can draw, and Bob, a stray dog, sneaks into his cage at night and sleep’s on Ivan’s stomach. When a new elephant, Ruby, is brought to the mall, Stella makes Ivan promise that he will do all he can to get her into a proper zoo. Using the one method of communication he has-- drawing-- Ivan managed to get all of the animals moved to a more suitable location.
Strengths: Really, we need to decide now which division this will be in when it is nominated for the Cybils! Realistic fiction or fantasy because the animals’ thoughts are presented? The style of this book-- short, simple sentences-- fits the subject matter perfectly. Ivan’s sad history is recounted without being maudlin. This manages to portray the triumph of the spirit in a way that is accessible to struggling readers, who make up the majority of my animal book readers, without in any way being simplistic. I’m not alone in loving this one-- Reading Rumpus does, too.
Weaknesses: I cried when Ivan went to the zoo, because I worried about Bob. Not to spoil things, but Bob is well taken care of!

I did not think that I would like this one, but since K.A. Applegate caused me to nearly faint by e mailing and asking me to read it, I felt I should. My children were HUGE Animorphs fans, and Ms. Applegate very kindly sent them autographed copies that they got for Christmas which thrilled them to pieces. But seriously, I don’t do animals that “talk” in any way, and this was a great book. I even liked the artwork!

Abrahams, Peter. Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood St.
Expected publication 1/19. ARC received from Baker and Taylor.
Robbie lives with her writer father and lawyer mother in NYC. She has recently moved from public to private school, and while she is on the basketball team, she's not making a lot of other frien. When she finds that a client of her mother's is doubling the rent for the soup kitchen where she volunteers, she wants to help. Luckily, a charm bracelet she got from a homeless women makes odd things happen. She lucks into $3,100 in cash falling out of the evil Sheldon Gunn's pocket, is able to thwart bullies who try to steal her glasses. She and her friends Ashanti, Silas and Tut Tut start to realize that there is a bigger plot by the New Brooklyn Redevelopment Project to shut down their favorite places (like Mr. Nok's Thai restaurant) and put new buildings up instead. Can Robbie use her newfound powers to stop Sheldon Gunn and the even more evil Egil Borg?
Strengths: Fairly good mystery, with a nice message of underdog businesses bringing flavor to a community.
Weaknesses: The gimics detracted from a good mystery. Robbie didn't need the charm to accomplish what she did, and the Robin Hood connection is rather weak, except for the troubling incident where she takes the cash that Gunn dropped and gives it to the soup kitchen. Even though she meant well, that's not the moral lesson we hope kids learn!

Thanks to Kate Coombs over at The Book Aunt for The Versatile Blogger Award. These awards are a good way to highlight other bloggers that my readers might find useful as well. I really enjoy:

Heidi Grange over at GeoLibrarian
Karen and Nancy at Kidsmomo
Ms. O at Ms. O. Reads Books
Pam Torres at So I'm Fifty
Provo City Library Children’s Book Review

Here are the rules:
•Thank and link to the blogger who bestowed the award.
•Share seven random facts about yourself (see below).
•Spread the love by passing the award to five other bloggers--and be sure to let them know.


Seven random facts about me:
1. I worked as Doodles, the giant Chick-fil-A mascot, in high school.
2. I wear a lot of pleated skirts.
3. ...and cardigans. (Like to be true to my cultural heritage!)
4. I wrote the world's worst novel in the 8th grade
5. I hate to cook.
6. My dream job is teaching Latin at Eton College
7. I am currently knitting a sweater for my dog, Sylvie.

Time Slip Tuesday

Time Slip Tuesday is a feature at Charlotte's Library. Some day I am going to post a picture of myself in my time traveling outfit, which I have all assembled except for the appropriate shawl!


Baratz-Logstead, Lauren. Little Women and Me.
Emily March’s language arts teacher assigns a fairly easy project-- students are to discuss three things that they like about their favorite book, as well as just one thing that they would change. After debating many of her favorites, Emily decides that she would pick Little Women, and that she would either stop Beth from dying or make sure that Laurie ended up with Jo instead of Amy. Before she knows it, she is literally sucked into the book and emerges as the middle March sister, on the first page of the story. Her presence is occasionally odd; she is routinely excluded from the sisters’ activities, and has huge lapses of memory as well, especially when the story jumps ahead. Still, she makes a good effort to make a go of it in the 1860s, since there seems to be no way for her to escape. She ends up being in the story for many years, and realizes that while she can change some of the story, other parts of it are best left the way they are.
Strengths: Super twist at the end! Completely didn’t see it coming! Plus, this might be a good way to encourage girls to pick up Little Women, which really was one of my favorites. I was always vaguely annoyed with Jo, and it was good to know I wasn’t the only one.
Weaknesses:Since I desperately wanted to BE Emily and travel back in time to Little Women, I was disappointed that she wasn’t as thrilled to be there as I would have been. Really? Kissing Laurie? Did she know nothing about the book? This is a problem only for people who adore the book, and there are very few girls who do nowadays.


I feel bad that I had trouble understanding the next book; my students ADORE the Quantum Prophecy books; I even had one student reading them who struggles with reading so much I was a little concerned, but when I asked him about the books, he went on for the longest time about the details. Super Human is an interesting prequel,and Michael Carroll is a great guy; I just have a fantasy plot following disability sometimes!


Carroll, Michael. The Ascension.
Abby, Lance, James and Roz are back having gotten rid of Krodin. Instead of being able to enjoy riding around in hover cars, they find themselves in an alternate version of what should be their reality. Krodin is chancellor, and the Praetorians support him because other options are more horrible, but the kids still feel he is supremely evil and needs to be overthrown. This reality was set in place after Daedalus bombed Anchorage, Alaska, killing thousands of people and resulting in the US being placed under military rule. Instead of being lauded for their work in making the world safe, the children are hunted, imprisoned, and generally mistreated. Eventually, after blowing many things up and being chased (really, no one does these things as well as Carroll!), the children manage to stop Krodin and go back to the way reality should be, but we know that this can't possible last for long!
Strengths: Action, adventure, awesome superheroes, and JET PACKS!!! And flying bikes! My readers don't want cartoony super heroes; they want kids with powers who save the world, which is exactly what Carroll delivers.
Weaknesses: There is so much going on that I had trouble following. I have the same trouble with some Rick Riordan books. If I didn't want to post a review, this would be fine-- I would just enjoy the action!

A Sweet New Year and Nonfiction Monday

Burns, Loree Griffin. The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe.
In 2006, Dave Hackenburg discovered that 400 of his honey bee hives were just empty. Unable to figure out a cause for this on his own, he consulted a top notch team of bee researcher, who found that bees were in crisis all around the world. Burns takes this event and gives great background on how beekeepers care for hives, how honey is made and processed, and how research continues to try to stop further damage to the honey bee population. Complete with photographs, explanations of terms, and resources for further research, this is

Weaknesses: This is a small thing, but the book is wider than it is tall, and for some weird reason, middle graders think this makes books look like “baby books”. a fascinating addition to the Scientists in the Field series by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Strengths: Just the right length for the casual reader, and the factual information is broken up with the story of the mystery of what is happening with the bees, which kept me interested and reading until the end.

Buchman, Stephen. Honey Bees: Letter from the Hive: A History of Bees and Honey.
In this briefer version of the adult title, Buchman covers more fully the information presented about beekeeping, hive activity, and honey in general. This is more prose oriented, with fewer pictures but a lot more information. For example, different types of honey are addressed at length, leaving me with a craving to try cranberry honey and avocado honey! There is an extensive bibliography as well as a list of suppliers.

Strengths: This would be a great resource is someone were doing an in depth report on honey.
Weaknesses: The small black and white pictures, as well as the lengthy prose, make this a bit of a hard sell for the casual reader.

There's a new Nonfiction Monday page by Ms. Suen, and today's roundup is hosted at The Nonfiction Detectives.

Middle Grade Monday can be found at Shannon Whitney Messenger's blog, and she's hosting as well. Lots of good stuff to be had there always, so hop over!
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Happy New Year! The Future is Now!

My children laugh when I am amazed by cell phones ("I can call from this field! And send you a picture of it!") and hulu.com. I am amazed by these things in the way that my grandmother was amazed by the microwave oven. She never locked her doors until she got one at the age of 90 (in 1983); she didn't want anyone to steal it!

So if "the future is now", why are so many science fiction books dystopian? Why not something happy, with hover cars and food pellets? Someone get right on that, please. And miniskirts for anyone but me. That always makes the economy improve, right? Well, here's to a happy 2012. No matter how bad that year might get, at least it won't be as bad as these two sequels to dystopian novels!

Condie, Ally. Crossed. (Sequel to Matched)

Cassia and Ky are both in the Outer Provinces, working their way toward each other and dealing with horrific circumstances in the desolate canyons outside Society. Both manage to make some alliances to help them survive, find out some secrets about the Rising, and eventually come together again. But there are still secrets, some of which Xander might know, and some of which Cassia might uncover when she is sent back to Society to try to destroy it from within.

Strengths: This is sort of The Hunger Games meets Uglies. Decent adventure, changing allegiances, fomenting rebellion.

Weaknesses: Matched set up an intriguing dystopia that I could actually see coming to pass, and the pull that Cassia felt between Xander and Ky added an edge of romantic suspense to the book. For whatever reason, I had trouble getting through this installment. The wandering in the canyons felt aimless, too much of what we already learned was repeated, and the relationship between Cassia and Ky no longer felt fresh or relevant. I would have blamed this on nascent cold or holiday break, but other reviews I read were tepid as well. Still, I am interested to see what happens when Cassia heads back to Society, and certainly this has been an avidly awaited book at my school.

Hall, Teri. Away. (Sequel to The Line.)

Rachel has gone across the line to get medicine to Ms. Moore's son, Malgam. Once she is at the camp with Pathik and the others, she realizes that her father (who was reported killed in action, but was probably killed by the government) is alive but being held captive by a rival group, the Roberts. This group has long terrorized Away, but has steered clear of Pathik's group because of Indigo's power to kill people just by envisioning them having brain aneurysms. Once Rachel's father is recovered, the group heads back to Ms. Moore's to reunite everyone. Unfortunately, Rachela and Pathik sneak in to town and are discovered. Indigo gives himself over to the authorities instead. This puts a big crimp into plans, since Rachel, her mother, and Ms. Moore were all going to head out into Away. Now, Ms. Moore is staying with Jonathan, who works for her and is sweet on her. The others head out, planning on going to an island that is free from the authorities. They make it there, but without modern medicine or technology, their survival will be difficult.

Strengths: I like to give The Line to younger students who desperately want to read The Hunger Games, since it is a kinder and gentler dystopian book. I also find both of these books to be easy to follow and gripping; so many dystopias are so convoluted that I get lost. Any good book is about relationships and personal growth, and this series has done an excellent job with both of these.

Weaknesses: I forgot why society had dissolved, so more of a recap would have been nice.

Cybils Short Lists are out!

Grab that cup of coffee and head over to

http://www.cybils.com/2012/01/the-2011-cybils-finalists.html

I was very excited to see that two books I nominated made the short lists; Geoff Herbach's Stupid Fast as well as Georgia Bragg's How They Croaked!

These are always very hotly debated lists; I know in middle grade fiction there were books that had very strong supporters that didn't make it.

The finals awards come out on Valentine's Day. Can't wait!