Yara's Spring

Saeed, Jamal and McKay, Sharon E. Yara's Spring
October 13th 2020 by Annick Press
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Yara and her younger brother Saad are in a refugee camp in Jordan in 2016, waiting to hear what their fate might be concerning relocation. We have a brief view of some of the difficulties of the camp before going back to Yara's life in Aleppo in 2011. Her parents and grandmother have a bakery, and her best friend, Shireen and twin brother Ali live nearby. Yara delivers bread to some customers, goes to swimming classes, and is glad to see her Uncle Sami when he visits from Damascus. Things are becoming difficult, however, and before long, Shireen's father is arrested as a political dissident. This means that her mother, Roja, loses her job as a university professor, and it becomes difficult to feed her family. She takes in sewing, and Yara's family helps out as they can. Unfortunately, when their neighborhood is bombed, Yara suffers tragic losses. She and Saad are taken in by Roja, but have no identity papers to use to leave the country. When things worsen, Yara and Shireen go to the ruins of Yara's house to dig up a box with the papers, and find a cache of money and jewelry as well. When Yara's Nana reappears after going missing in the bombing, plans are made to leave the country. Nana has contracted with a man called Rifa'at who has some connections to help them get to Jordan, although they are all convinced they must first travel to Damascus to find Uncle Sami. Roja decides to stay behind, but sends Shireen and Ali with Nana. It's a treacherous journey, and Yara learns more about her grandmother's past. Eventually, Yara does make it to the refugee camp, and we find that two churches in Kingston, Ontario have accepted her application to go there.
Strengths: McKay also wrote Thunder over Kandahar (2010) about life in Afghanistan, and it's great to see her team up with an #ownvoices writer, Jamal Saeed, to write an excellent tales with gripping details about Syria. It's so important that my students not only know the difficulties that people in war torn countries face, but that they also realize that many of these people have lives so similar to their own before they are thrown into confusion and devastation by war. The inclusion of Nana, who had previously lived through political difficulties in the early 1980s, was especially interesting, and Yara and Shireen's friendship added another interesting layer. I have been working on building a collection about how the Arab Spring affected children, and this was another great book on that topic.
Weaknesses: There were a few details about the camps that made me worry that this would be for much older readers (boys call Yara a prostitute), but these were not too explicit, and the rest of the book had a lot of similarity to Senzai's Escape from Aleppo.
What I really think: I would love to see these authors write a book about children in a refugee camp, or a continuation of this story from Saad's perspective as he deals with his selective mutism in his new home in Canada. Definitely purchasing.

Dragon Fantasy Books

Tsang, Katie and Tsang, Kevin. Dragon Mountain (#1)
October 6th 2020 by Sterling Children's Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Billy Chan has gotten an invitation to attend Camp Dragon, a cultural and language school in China, so his parents ruin his summer of surfing in California so he can get in touch with the Chinese half of his heritage. Once there, he meets an assembly of children from around the globe and "Old Gold", the man who runs the camp. There are lessons and activities, but also a series of competitions. The children are divided into groups of four, and Billy gets put in with Charlotte, a blonde, girl from the US South who is very competitive, Dylan, who hails from Ireland, and Ling-Fei, who is from the area and well acquainted with Old Gold and his grandson, JJ. When the four fail to complete their first scavenger hunt because they are attacked by a tiger who disappears and then get caught in an earthquake, they find that when they return to camp, no one believes them! Ling-Fei realizes that during their adventure she has lost a necklace her grandmother gave her, and the group goes back to retrieve the family heirloom. They find that the earthquake seems to have split the mountain, but the reality is even more serious-- they have opened the portal between the Human Realm and the Dragon Realm! Moreover, they find four dragons who claim that they must bond with the four humans in order to gain more power to defeat the Dragon of Death and the Noxious. Clothed in suits made of dragon cloth and able to ride on their dragons Tank, Buttons, Xing and Sparks, our heroes set off to save both realms. They face all manner of challenges, and find after some triumphs that they have a nemesis all too close to home. This is the first book in a purported three books series.
Strengths: I have a LOT of conversations with students about why dragons are awesome and what they are looking for in books about dragons. It's always worth having a solid collection of dragon books in middle school libraries, but especially important now that Tui Sutherland's Wings of Fire series has creative a large fan base. Dragon Mountain is tailor made for young readers who secretly want their own dragon. First of all, this begins at a school. There's a whole sub genre of fantasy books with "academies" that my students like. I love that this one is set in China (they have the best dragons!), and that the cast is multicultural. This is well paced, and moves us right along. The bonds with the personalized dragons will delight dragon fans, and cause a fair number of playground reenactments among younger reads; middle schoolers stick to fan art, and I'm sure I'll get some. It's rare that as I read through a book I think "Yep. Kids will like that. And that. And that." I wonder if the authors talked to actual young readers! Great stuff. Also, the twist at the end was fantastic.
Weaknesses: I was hoping that this would skew a little older, and some of the bonding with the dragons will appeal more to elementary students than 8th graders. Nice job of spanning a good age range, though. It'll be interesting to hear students' comments about this.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and hope this does well enough that all three books get published!

Zhao, Katie. The Fallen Hero (Dragon Warrior #2)
October 13th 2020 by Bloomsbury USA Kids
E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

After The Dragon Warrior, there was no doubt that there had to be a sequel, and I suspect there will at least be one more volume in this series.

I like the characters and the rich background of Chinese demons and dragons, but my fantasy amnesia (or the 95 degree day on which I read this) kicked in, and I am at a loss to provide details. Dragons are popular in my library right now, so I will purchase this, but wish that there were fantasy books that did NOT come in series.

From Goodreads:
Faryn Liu thought she was the Heaven Breaker, a warrior destined to wield the all-powerful spear Fenghuang, command dragons, and defeat demons. But a conniving goddess was manipulating her all along...and her beloved younger brother, Alex, has betrayed her and taken over as the Heaven Breaker instead. Alex never forgave the people who treated him and Faryn like outcasts, and now he wants to wipe out both the demons and most of humanity.

Determined to prevent a war and bring Alex back to her side, Faryn and her half-dragon friend Ren join the New Order, a group of warriors based out of Manhattan's Chinatown. She learns that one weapon can stand against Fenghuang--the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Only problem? It belongs to an infamous trickster, the Monkey King.

Faryn sets off on a daring quest to convince the Monkey King to join forces with her, one that will take her to new places--including Diyu, otherwise known as the Underworld--where she'll run into new dangers and more than one familiar face. Can she complete her mission and save the brother she loves, no matter the cost?

MMGM- A Thousand Questions, Blood and Germs

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at 

Teach Mentor Texts 

and 

Unleashing Readers.

Faruqi, Saadia. A Thousand Questions

September 8th 2020 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Mimi and her mother like in Houston, Texas, but things have not been going well lately. Her father, a US born reporter, left long ago, and her Pakistani born mother has struggled to make ends meet by teaching and creating art. Mimi has never met her mother's parents, but is unsure about spending six weeks visiting them in Karachi. Nana and Nani are well-to-do and were greatly disappointed in their daughter's choice of husband, but glad to see their family. Sakina works with her Abba in the kitchen, where he cooks and she helps with a variety of chores. Secretly, she hopes to attend school, and has passed the entrance exams except for English. The girls are wary of each other at first; Mimi thinks that Sakina should want to be her friend, but Sakina knows that she is a servant who needs to work and not make Mimi's grandmother angry. Besides, her father's diabetes is not well managed, and he needs her help. Mimi is using a journal her mother gave her to keep track of her trip to write letters to her estranged father, whom she misses. Eventually, the girls warm to each other, and Sakina asks Mimi to help her with her English. The two are given permission to go sightseeing with the family chauffeur as well. Both girls have a lot to learn about the other's culture, and things don't always go smoothly. Mimi learns that her father is in Karachi, and is already angry with her mother for hanging out with a man she knew in college, so the girls try to locate him, finally pinpointing the newspaper employing him. As the visit nears an end, there are some issues that the girls must address, but they are able to treat each other with kindness and help each other out.
Strengths: Faruqi has taken a personal trip back to her hometown and crafted a rather brilliant novel about trying to understand other cultures... even one's own. Sometimes, this sort of examination comes off as a bit negative and whiny, but Mimi and Sakina are both very good natured and really try to understand how their actions look to someone else. There are a few instances of misunderstanding or tension, but they are very realistic, and the girls move past them. The descriptions of daily life in Karachi are well done, and like so many novels involving cultures from the Indian subcontinent, there's a lot of FOOD! I really want a bun kebab now! There's some interesting discussion of local politics, marriage traditions, and the differences between the wealthy and the poor. There's also a very interesting scene where Sakina and Mimi pray even though both are not very religious. The descriptions of Sakina's home life are something that my students really need to read. The fact that she is not able to go to school will shock many of them. I enjoyed this very much!
Weaknesses: I wish that the girls had gotten out into Karachi a little bit more and had some adventures; that's possible in a book but maybe not a great plan in real life!
What I really think: I love a good travel book that gives some insight into a culture I don't know well, and this is brilliant because it gives opinions on both Pakistani and US culture from two view points. Perfect for Narsimhan's Mission Mumbai Bajaj's Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood. or Krishnaswami's The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. Can't wait to get this one into students' hands!

Jarrow, Gail. Blood and Germs:The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease
 October 13th 2020 by Calkins Creek Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

One of the enduring conundrums of readers advisory I have is this: how do I get books about war to students without glorifying it? There are some students with an insatiable to desire to vicariously experience war, but even eleven year olds need to know that War is Not Good.

This book is perfect.

Jarrow, whose Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary, Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat, Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America and The Poison Eaters all show impressive writing on medical topics, narrows on what is to me the most fascinating fact about the Civil War: sickness claimed more lives than violence. Diarrhea was one of the most common killers. Nothing takes the glory away from dying for one's country more than a discussion of the number of diseases that could cause this outcome.

This is serious business. The Civil War affected so many families, and in addition to the fatalities among soldiers, there were men who came back in extremely poor health due to a huge number of causes. Jarrow used military records to try to break down the administration of health services, the statistics about various diseases, and to highlight individuals who died because of the war. She does mention that there are far more extant records of the Union forces, but that ratios are probably similar in the Confederate cases.

I found it surprising that neither army seemed to have made plans for taking care of soldiers who were ill or injured. Granted, this was during a time where doctor's credentials were not as regulated, and also when there was no formal training of nurses, but basic hygiene was not really addressed. Latrines caused widespread disease, as did lice and lack of clean water. The vast majority of the nursing seems to have been carried out by societies comprised of women volunteers. It was also interesting that some of the soldiers were more susceptible to diseases because they came from small towns or rural settings, so had no immunity built up from being in crowds.

This book is nicely organized, and well designed, with plentiful period photographs and illustrations. Famous figures, such as Clara Barton, are highlighted, but there are lesser known luminaries, like Mary Livermore, who fought for more sanitary conditions in military hospitals, as well. The end notes are very complete, there is a really informative timeline, and the glossary of terms is helpful as well.

Readers who want heroic tales of combat might be disappointed in this, but the cover will draw them in, and they will read at least half of the book before they realize that they are deep into a discussion about scurvy. Students who want to research the Civil War for a history project will find this an invaluable resource about innovations in medicine, technology, and practices that came out of this time period. This is an essential book for middle school and high schools, especially when the Civil War is part of the curriculum.

Moment of Truth

West, Kasie. Moment of Truth
March 3rd 2020 by HarperTeen
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Hadley Moore is a dedicated high school swimmer who is hoping to get a college scholarship for the sport, so she is NOT happy when a serial prankster crashes her swim meet and throws off her performance. Someone has been doing this a lot; wearing a high quality mask of action film character Heath Hall and interrupting things. Hadley is bound and determined to find out who this is, and enlists her friend Amelia to help her. They eventually track down an account, and Hadley starts messaging back and forth with the elusive prankster. She also starts hanging out with Robert a bit, and also Jackson. Jackson is a little obnoxious, but her parents love him, and Hadley has her suspicions that he might be the prankster. This is all a welcome diversion from her home life; Hadley had a brother who died before she was born, Eric. Eric had leukemia, and while her parents have cleaned out his bedroom, his car has been sitting on a platform in the front yard for the last eighteen years. If that weren't enough, her parents choose to attend a leukemia fund raiser being held on the same day as her swim team awards banquet, and expect her to miss the banquet as well. When Hadley finds out more about the prankster and gets involved with some of the activities, she borrows her brother's truck, and things don't go well. Will this be enough to get her parents to come to terms with their long standing grief?

West's books are great, light romances with high school characters, but are written in a way that they appeal to middle school readers as well. Even the print in the book is larger than the usual Young Adult novel. Her flirtations with Robert and Jackson are fun, and Amelia's interest in the swim team trainer D.J. add a little extra romance.

The swim team angle is especially welcome; there should be a lot more books involving girls in sports, and it's good to see that Hadley is serious about competing. This has some similarities to A Amy Fellner Dominy's a Matter of Heart, but is generally more upbeat.

It's good to see that Hadley is finally able to talk to her parents about the cloud of grief hanging over the family, and get them to see that they have been too focused on her long gone brother. Readers who like books that combine romance with family issues, like Dessner's Saint Anything or Lock and Key, or Colasanti's So Much Closer will enjoy exploring Hadley's life.

This was not my favorite West title. The mystery with Heath Hall wasn't interesting to me at all, and the whole issue with Eric seemed unrealistic. The parents have kept a truck in their yard for eighteen years? The mother admits to never having gotten therapy, but she prioritizes a dead child over a living one after that length of time? Hadley also mentions that she's gotten perks for being "the girl with the dead brother", but honestly, by the time she hit kindergarten, no one in the community would really remember her brother. Purely for personal reasons, this left a bad taste in my mouth, but my students will love another title by this author.

Cartoon Saturday- Cats!

Cody, Matthew and Mercado, Yehudi. Cat Ninja (Cat Ninja #1)

October 13th 2020 by Andrews McMeel Publishing (Epic! Originals)

Copy provided by the publisher

Mild mannered house cat Claude has a secret identity as Cat Ninja that he must hide from his humans, Leon and Marcie. Claude had been raised by a grandmotherly ninja before coming to live with them, and his nemesis, Master Hamster (whose domesticated name is Mr. Squeaks), was created in a lab accident by Doctor Von Malice. The hamster and his Gerbil Gang are constantly trying to get Cat Ninja, but constantly fail. This graphic novel is set up rather like one of the comic books my brother and I got as a treat on family vacations, with several short chapters with different adventures, with a bonus quiz at the end. Claude goes with the humans to a ski resort when their father, who is divorced from their mother, tries to impress them by taking them on vacation and also buying a dog, Adonis, for them.  Adonis is also around when a giant robot menaces the city and Cat Ninja must save the day, and is weaponized by Doctor Von Malice in The Case of the Furry Roach. Master Hamster has a change of heart when the children are endangered. When Claude has to fight a seasoned Cat Burglar, will he be able to keep the chidlren safe? Several other stories are available on the web site (https://www.getepic.com/originals-series/deb59d52-304f-430c-a213-5e6ba0357d1d), so it's possible that more will come out in print format. 

Strengths: This is a great story that straddles the Pilkey Line brilliantly and should appeal to elementary students as well as middle school ones, especially those who like super hero tales. I enjoyed the brief back story about Cat Ninja, and Doctor Von Malice is a good villain for readers who aren't quite ready for villains who also have a good side. Leon and Marcie's family situation was my favorite part, with their parents sharing custody, and their mother wanting to move out of the city because of all of the threats. Even younger readers will realize that moving would mean that Cat Ninja would find it harder to fight crime. The text size is big enough to read comfortably, and there is not too much narration; it's a good balance, and the pictures support the story well. This is a great book for elementary students if you can stand the resultant Cat Ninja role playing. 
Weaknesses: Personally, I'm not a fan of cats or graphic novels, so I fear I don't do this one justice. This had a strong Dog Man vibe and should appeal to readers who DO like cats and Graphic Novels!
What I really think: My emerging readers and graphic novel fans will love this one, so I am investigating the rest of the series as well. 

Dunn, Georgia. Elvis Puffs Out

October 6th 2020 by Andrews McMeel Publishing

Copy provided by the publisher

Breaking Cat News is a comic strip available through GoComics; it's not in the Columbus Dispatch, but must be in other newspapers. I read Take it Away, Tommy previously, but it's not necessary to read these in order. 

Cats Lupin, Elvis and Puck continue their adventures, which frequently involve their newscast. The family with whom they live includes a mother, father, and two small children, who are frequently mentioned in the reporting. There is also a kitten who is found out in the snow and rescued; Beatrix is a real go-getter and interns successfully with the news before getting a permanent position as a book store cat. The cats find hairbrushes and carpet that they enjoy, help the children with birthday parties and potty training, and generally "help out" their family. 

The illustrations are brightly colored, and my readers who enjoy comic books like Weber and Stephens's Oh, Brother! Brat Attack, Henry's Wallace the Brave or Pastis' Pearls Before Swine will enjoy this look into the Evil That Cats Do. The soulless eyes still bother me a bit, but again, cats. My daughter has two, and she tells me that in order to wake her up in the mornings, one will gnaw on the top of her head while the other wails loudly in her ear. She interprets this as "We want you to wake up so we will massage you and sing to you", so the Breaking Cat News team's antics feel accurate!

The Boys in the Back Row and Class Act

Jung, Mike. The Boys in the Back Row
October 6th 2020 by Levine Querido
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Matt and Ethan have been best friends for several years, and are navigating the choppy waters of middle school. Matt, who is Korean American, is a flute player like his father, but plays drums in the marching band so that people don't make fun of him and so that he can hang out with Ethan. Classmates like Kenny and his sidekick Sean are quick to give the boys a hard time, throwing around the epithet "gay", although it is likely that Kenny is protesting too much. When the band has the opportunity to play in a festival at an amusement park in the spring, everyone is excited about competing and spending time at the park. Matt and Ethan realizes, however, that the competition is the same weekend as a comic con they would really like to go to so they could meet Jonah Burns, the author of their favorite comic, Sandpiper. (Which I'm pretty sure is not an actual work.) When Ethan finds out that his family will be moving across the country after school is out, the two plan to sneak away from the school trip and attend the comic con. Sean finds out about their plans and wants to go with them, and when they tell him they would rather go alone, his feelings are hurt, and he lashes out at the two. Things get even more heated on the trip when Kenny is around, and
Strengths: Matt's parents are possibly my favorite #MGLit parents ever, but we don't see that much of them. They attend the Unitarian Universalist church, spout phrases like "Respect bodily autonomy", invite over other families who are also of Korean descent, and have snacks like sriracha kale chips! Of course, they mortify Matt! It's great to see a solid friendship among boys, and also good that they don't change their friendship because people at their school (and even some people in the comic store) assume that they are a couple. The interest in comics, and the attempts to connect with Sean, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, added an interesting layer to this.
Weaknesses: There's an excessive amount of discussion about how much grief boys who play flute get from their classmates, and I'm not sure that this will resonate with my readers. There were male flute players when I was in middle school forty years ago, and no one cared. Now, the drummers in my school's band are evenly split by gender, with the occasional nonbinary student. As for boys who read books with girls on the cover getting a hard time... we have a lot of discussion about this in my library (and have for years), so I hope this is not the case at my school. I'm sad that Jung's experience of the world has so much negativity, but perhaps books like this will help change that.
What I really think: Personally, I was disappointed by the twist that this took, because I was so looking forward to a particular adventure that didn't happen, but I'll definitely be purchasing this. Jung's Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities (2012) circulates well, and The Boys in the Back Row addresses a lot of timely issues of friendship, racial and gender related microagressions, and toxic masculinity.

Craft, Jerry. Class Act (New Kid #2)

October 6th 2020 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss

N.B. The pages turned very slowly on the E ARC, making it hard to go back to specific pages to write this review. 

Also, someone pointed out that I had mixed up Drew and Jordan, and since I don't have a print copy yet, I am unable to figure out where I went wrong!

Drew is back at his private school, and feels slightly more comfortable now that he is in second form. There's also a lot of pressure; he feels that if he likes RAD, he will end up going to high school there (which is what his mother wants) when his ambition is to go to an art school where he can work on his drawing and comics. Drew's friend Jordan is worried that he hasn't matured as much as the boys in class who haves gotten taller, smell bad after gym class, and have girlfriends. Jordan points out that Drew is a lot younger, and that it really doesn't matter. When Jordan occasionally hangs out with 8th graders, it feels to Drew like it matters a lot. The two boys spend a lot of time together, but it's difficult to include their friend Liam. Liam is white, and lives in an enormous house. His father travels a lot, so the family drive, Mr. Pierre, often is the one at Liam's sporting and school events. After the boys have a sleepover at Liam's palatial house and have to deal with his mother, who is clearly unnerved by having Black boys around, Jordan distances himself from Liam. Drew sees this, and is not quite sure what to do. At the same time, the school is trying to be more racially sensitive and failing miserably, appointing a clueless white teacher to be the head of the diversity committee. Eventually, Liam is able to visit Drew and Jordan's homes, and the boys gain a new understanding of each other. 

Strengths: Like Mark Tatulli's The Big Break, this is a great exploration of friendships among middle school boys. Drew's experiences with being younger than his classmates will strike a chord among many nice smelling, short seventh graders (most of whom might want to use deodorant but don't REALLY want to smell bad!). The most fascinating part is the ins and outs of private school social culture and the difficulties in traveling between home and school. I especially like Drew's parents, and would love to know more about Jordan and his grandmother. 
Weaknesses: It's sad to think that there are schools out there who aren't diverse and racially sensitive, but given the state of the US over the summer, clearly there is a lot of work to be done!
What I really think: Definitely purchasing; the first book has been really popular with my students. It's great that we are starting to see some much needed diversity in graphic novels; now maybe we'll see one with Robb Armstrong's JoJo as a main character. I've been hoping for that for years!

Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts

Salerni, Dianne K. Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts
September 1st 2020 by Holiday House
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Eleanor Roosevelt has been living with her Grandmother Hall since her mother and father have both passed away. The older woman is judgmental, austere, and generally unpleasant to live with, but Eleanor doesn't have much choice. She takes some solace in her Aunt Bye, who lives three blocks away in New York City. When her misbehaving cousin Alice, Teddy Roosevelt's daughter, is sent to live with Bye, Eleanor is afraid that this will limit her contact with her favorite aunt, since Alice doesn't seem to live her. Bye is older and pregnant, so when the upstairs ghost light goes off shortly after Alice moves in, the family is very concerned about the infestation. A team is dispatched to investigate, and an inspector (who ends up being Nellie Bly!) comes to ascertain that the ghost is actually Friendly and not Vengeful. While Bye's husband, who gets called to serve in the military in Cuba after the Maine explodes, wants her to move out, she is sure that she will be fine with Alice's and Eleanor's help. The two start to investigate who the progenitor of their ghost might be, in order to eradicate it. This investigation also takes them on a perilous journey to the house where Alice was born, which has been closed ever since the death of her mother and grandmother, due to a ghost infestation. Bye invites other Roosevelt cousins to come, including Corinne and Franklin, of whom Eleanor is especially fond. Alice's younger brother Teddy runs away from home so that he can be part of the fun as well. The cousins don't take the ghost as seriously, and a seance shows them a few clues, but also steps up the mischievous pranks the ghost plays. Alice and Eleanor discover the identity and manner of death of the ghost, and fear that it might not be as Friendly as they suspect. Will they be able to save their family from its intentions?
Strengths: This was such a great ghost mystery, and the combination of actual historical figures thrust into a world with ghosts as a common problem was brilliant. Even Tesla appears with a ghost hunting invention! Neither Eleanor nor Alice had any special powers, but just used their abilities and wits to figure out and solve the mystery. There is a lot of really good information about what both girls' family life was like, and it was sweet to see Franklin and Eleanor together-- surely there was a bit of affection between the two at some point! There's a strong feeling of what life was like in the 1890s, with clothing, activities, servants, and social expectations. I would have adored this as a middle school student.
Weaknesses: The cover could be better. I know cover art can be expensive, but these illustrations make the book look like it was published in the 1980s. Surely there were some 1890s stock photos that could have been used.
What I really think: This was so much fun that I have to buy it. It's not quite as exciting as Stroud's Lockwood and Company (which was heavy duty scary!), but is similar is setting and events to Jink's City of Orphans. My readers who like historical fiction (a slowly growing group) will like this haunted change of pace, and might be motivated to investigate more about Eleanor Roosevelt, one of my favorite historical figures.

Service's Phantom Victory is from 1994, and is a great story, but it's a hard sell because of this cover. I still have it in the library just for fun. From my 2007 review:

Service's Phantom Victory also deals with some issues of time-- years ago, the Victory hotel burned to the ground. Brian and Terri both had relatives connected with the hotel, and the two of them use a diary to uncover clues to a lost treasure that could help the hotel be rebuilt. This was a solid mystery that should be popular with my students now that I know that it is on the shelf! It is cursed, however, with bad '90's cover art.

Twins; Twig and Turtle

Johnson, Varian and Wright, Shannon. Twins
October 6th 2020 by Graphix
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Francine and Maureen feel differently about starting middle school; Francine is reinventing herself, going by "Fran"and rocking a hat an funky t shirt on the first day. Maureen is scared and misses the security of elementary school, where she was the top student in the fifth grade. Maureen is also upset that she has Cadet Corps instead of gym, like Francine does, and is assigned a lunch where she doesn't know anyone. When Maureen finds out why she and her sister got the schedules they did, she is angry at her parents, and then at her sister, whom she feels she is losing. With the changes in Fran, the friend group the two were in also feels off. Maureen is also struggling in Cadet Corps, and isn't good at drills. She approaches the teacher to ask about extra credit, and is told that she might receive some if she runs for a class office. She decides to run for president... and so has Francine. This widens the rift in the sister's relationship, and even leads to Maureen moving out into her older half brother's room so that the sisters can plan their campaigns in private. Both girls come up with good plans, but Maureen doesn't feel as confident as Francine does. When someone vandalizes Maureen's campaign poster with comments that reveal a secret only Francine knows, Maureen finally confronts her sister, but finds out that her twin's confidence isn't as unshakable as she thinks. The parents are ready to make Francine drop out of the campaign, but Maureen wants her to stay in so that she will know which sister could win on her own merits. Which sister will it be?
Strengths: This is a graphic novel with twins that has bright, exuberant illustrations and has Black main characters. This will be automatically popular in my library. It also has great parents and a fun older half brother (who is a first grade teacher!), lots of friend drama, and a little bit of possible romance. I'm not normally a fan of election stories (my school has never had elections in my 20+ yesrs there), but twins running against each other is certainly a great twist. This is also definitely #ownvoice-- not only is Mr. Johnson a twin, but he has twin daughters!
Weaknesses: My students might need a little more explanation about the Cadet Corps; I looked it up, and this, alarmingly, a real thing. Never heard of this attempt to militarize middle school students before, and am curious as to why and how these groups are in middle schools. It looks like an organization that means to have a positive impact with leadership and education, but... militarization.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and would LOVE to see Johnson and Wright follow this up with more stories like this. If the characters in the future are not quite as anxious about middle school, that would be fine! Maybe throw in some sports.

Jacobson, Jennifer Richard. Big Move to a Tiny House (Twig and Turtle #1)

October 6th 2020 by Pixel+ink 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Twig and Turtle are having their third first day of school this year, after starting back in Boston, moving to Denver to live at their grandmother's while their tiny house was being finished, and now starting for a final time at Happy Trails elementary. Twig, who is in third grade, is very self conscious about how her fellow classmates will perceive her, especially her limited wardrobe. She does okay, and even has some people to eat lunch with eventually, but some of her classmates see her being teary (over missing her dog, Bo) and make fun of her. Her teacher recommends that she attends a group for students who need to improve their social skills, and she finds out that people weren't making fun of her at all. When Twig finds out that her grandmother is having trouble with Bo barking all day, she starts researching a plan to bring Bo to Happy Trails, perhaps to work as a Service Dog helping children to read at school. Will she be successful?

Strengths: I loved that the family lived in a tiny house, parked in the small uptown area. The details of living like this are great. Twig's worries about fitting in at school are also well done, and her class is a fun place to visit. The teacher encourages the students to write and think critically. Being separated from a pet is hard for children, and I liked how Twig worked intelligently to find a way to work around her circumstances and be near Bo. Little's Worse Than Weird  is the only other book where a family lives in a tiny house that I can think of.

Weaknesses: Twig and Turtle are the characters' real names, and there is even some discussion about this, but I'm old and cranky enough to feel sorry for children with names that will give them trouble. Also, I think each girl could have six shirts and not take up too much more room. The house was actually a decent size for a tiny house. They had a television and I was surprised they had enough power to run it. 
What I really think: I did love this one, but it's just a tiny bit too young for my students. I invested in a large number of early readers a few years ago, so I probably won't purchase this, although it is an absolute necessity for elementary libraries. 

The second book, Toy Story Trouble, also comes out today. Twig agonizes about hiding a sixth toy from her parents, since she and turtle are limited to five, and the sisters are looking forward to the new toy store near them, but concerned that the owner has organized the toys into "boy" and "girl" sections. As someone who bought both a play kitchen and a play work bench for my girls, and who hated the whole "princess culture" of the early 2000s, I heartily approve this book as well. (But for elementary school. By middle school, kids definitely don't talk about toys!)

If I haven't mentioned it, my older daughter moved to a tiny house near Athens, Ohio back in March 2020. It's not on wheels but smaller than the family room in my 1965 two story Colonial. I think the porch gives her more room than the inside of the house! She has solar power which won't even run a tea kettle, a propane refrigerator, and a composting toilet on the back porch. It's been interesting hearing about her experience, and we've even tossed around the idea of a middle grade book about a girl who lives somewhere similar!

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel (Mars Patel #1)

Chari, Sheela. The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel (Mars Patel #1)

October 6th 2020 by Walker Books US

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Mars Patel idolizes Oliver Pruitt, a powerful tech giant who also runs Pruitt Prep. Mars and his friends Toothpick, JP, and Caddie (who may have telepathic powers!) attend H.G. Wells Middle School. When their friend Aurora goes missing, Pruitt's podcast seems to be giving clues about it. When other students start to disappear, Mars and his friends throw themselves into investigating. Mars is especially concerned because he and his mother moved from India to Puget Sound after his own father went missing. Using technology and an odd assortment of skills they have learned at their schools, the friends investigation runs them afoul of the adults in their lives, but they There is no lack of technology, adventure, and things being set on fire, making this a sure bet for fans of spy novels like Horowitz's Stormbreaker, Butcher's Spy High or Walden'ts H.I.V.E. series. This is updated with scripts of the podcasts that Pruitt is airing, e mails, and text messages. There are plenty of clues for readers who like to follow them, but also more than enough action and adventure for students who just like to go along for the read.

The characters are all a little prickly, which made it a bit hard to connect to them, but this is not unusual with bright middle school students. There are characters like Epica, who wears a school blazer even though there isn't a school uniform, and Toothpick, who is so concerned about the GIFT test that he memorizes the back of three cereal boxes in case the test included pop culture. While the characters are all a bit misfit, they work well together and support each other.

There are a lot of books where students go missing, and the focus of these books is usually the sadness the remaining characters feel. This turns the tables and involves the students directly in the efforts to locate the missing girl. Of course, it doesn't hurt that their school is a bit odd, and has Code Red Protocols and holograms at assemblies.

Readers who enjoy drones, armored, hybridized tardigrades, and evil billionaires with diabolical intentions will want to pick up this series (The Interplanetary Expedition of Mars Patel comes out in October of 2021) as well as listen to the podcast.

https://www.marspatel.com/

Apparently, this is based on a popular and well done podcast. A lot of the text is in text messages and podcast transcripts, and Mars is a somewhat problematic and unpleasant character. I haven't heard any of my students who are interested in this; I'm not sure how much in demand this will be if students have not heard of the podcast. Debating. 

Cleo Porter, Heroes Level Up, and Tristan Strong

Burt, Jake. Cleo Porter and the Body Electric
October 6th 2020 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

It's 2096, Cleo Porter and her parents never leave their apartment. It has no doors, no windows, and only a port where deliveries come into the apartment. This is because of a horrible flu that devastated the world in 2027, Influenza D. It mutated with each new case, so a cure couldn't be found. The world locked down, and huge monolithic apartment complexes took over. Cleo attends online school with a virtual teacher, Mrs. VAIN (Virtual Adaptive Instructional Network) and is working on a strenuous program to become a doctor like her mother. Her mother, a surgeon, performs surgery by manipulating drones, and her father constructs code for virtual environments. One day, when Cleo is deep in her studies, there is a package delivered to the apartment. It's got the right address, but the name is wrong; there's no Miriam Wendemore-Adisa. Since the delivery drones never make mistakes, Cleo doesn't have much luck contacting customer support or finding out much about the intended recipient, and she worries that the medicine that she discerns in the package is desperately needed. Her parents and her best friend are no help, so when she finally locates the woman's address, she makes a shocking choice: she will leave the apartment and deliver the medicine herself. Managing to get out of the delivery chute with a pillowcase full of supplies, she finds herself in the labyrinthine hallways of her building, battling observation and cleaning drones. She manages to make her way outside, but the world is quite a shocking place if you've never been there before. Luckily, she meets a 102 year old woman, Angie, who refused to be locked inside and scrapes together an existence with the help of Paige, a child she found outside a building where the systems had shut down. Paige gets food from the nearby fields and manages to avoid the drones that harvest it. Cleo is fascinated by the fact that the world is so huge, that Paige has scratches and sunburn from being outside, and by the fact that Angie would rather live outside than be inside getting help for her age related ailments. She is also determined to get back in order to deliver the package. Angie and Paige help her get back to the building, but it is a struggle to actually get back inside. Even if she does, will she be able to find the woman in time, and be able to return to her parents?
Strengths: Given our current situation (this is 6/23/20; Burt addresses the pandemic in an end note), this creeped me out big time. The parents even talk about how they met virtually, then got permission to get married and were delivered to their new apartment in a pod. Ahhhhhhgh! I'm with Angie on this one; I need a lot of outside time. Mrs. VAIN was a fantastic teacher, with her massive databases and elderly librarian persona (she wears a lavender cardigan), and the beginning of the book talks a lot about Cleo's medical education. This ties in nicely with the end of the book, which I don't want to spoil. There was a nice bit with her and her best friend hanging out at a virtual park, plenty of adventure both in and out of the building, and a lot of interesting philosophical ramifications to how a pandemic should be treated. Interesting, interesting book, and perfect timing!
Weaknesses: There were a couple of times where this dragged; descriptions of getting out of and back into the building. I had a LOT Of questions in my mind about how Cleo's world worked, so I would have added a few things and tightened up some of these slow bits. Of course, the lack of details gives this a lot of scope for the imagination for young readers.
What I really think: This would be great paired with Perry's Scavengers, about people living outside of a protective bubble around a city, and reminded me of a book I read years ago but can't locate-- there was a plague of some kind and children were no longer allowed out to go to school, and there were high stakes on line testing. That's going to bug me, but I'll definitely buy Cleo Porter and am amazed by Burt's versatility!

O'Donnell, Tom. Heroes Level Up (Homerooms and Hall Passes #2)

October 6th 2020 by Balzer + Bray

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Albiorix and his crew are having a great time being back in Bríandalör, successfully completing a lot of quests, but when June Westray's phone shows up in a pawn shop, he is really worried. Upon investigation, he finds that there is a bard from another party, Tristan Trouvere, who is selling vast quantities of items from Suburbia. He's charming, has great hair... and Albiorix doesn't trust him at all. Finding that the bard has bought all of the copies of the Hallmaster's Guide to Freshman Year of Futility makes him worry more, and it is only because the owner of the hobby games store, Grull, gives him his own personal copy that the group is able to travel to Pine Hill High School. Soon, Thromdurr, Devis,Vela, and Sorrowshade are back and assuming their old roles, although they soon find that high school is completely different from middle school. Tristan must be stopped from his looting of Suburbia, and the best way to do that is to win the scenario and make it end. To do this, Albiorix and his friends need to win a competition, get elected Homecoming king or queen, and get a perfect score on standarized testing. There are also other quests that might help, like hosting a party with 100 people in attendance, but these rarely turn out well. Thromdurr manages to have some success as a mathlete, and with the help of former nemesis Nicole,manage to give Albiorix a popularity makeover and get him elected. When he doesn't get a perfect score on his test, however, Albiorix knows that he is facing a bigger challenge than just Tristan. Will the group be able to complete their mission and take down Tristan?
Strengths: From an illustration at the very beginning that lists a characters skills as including knowledge of British sketch comedies, to the lyrics of their song in the battle of the bands competition ("Chocolate and podcasts and cool cababiners, antibiotics and backyard bird feeders"), Heroes Level Up is every bit a worthy snerk fest sequel to Homeroom and Hall Passes. The writing is unbelievably clever and quotable. I loved the reason they had to go back into the game, the details of how to win the game, and their opponents from both Bríandalör and Suburbia. There were twists and turns and deliciously quotable lines like Thromdurr's "Water is for the weak. If I grow thirsty, I shall slurp the blood of my enemies!" which I need made into a Cross Country t shirt! I want to be best friends with Sorrowshade, the gloom elf, who says "The thought of being on a team of any sort makes me want to crawl out of my skin and then turn around and throw up into the empty skin I just vacated." I worry about June and Morton's relationship, and how Albiorix will handle it. Most of all, I desperately want to read the group's adventures in The Sophomore Year of Self-Consciousness and Sorrow. 

Weaknesses: There were a couple of points where scenes went on just a half a beat too long (the house party, Homecoming, and the battle of the bands), but this was in general even better than the first book. I absolutely loved the ending!
What I really think: Whew. Both of my copies of the first book (which was shortlisted for the 2019  middle grade speculative fiction Cybils award) were returned, so I'm going to buy two of this sequel as well. 

 Mballia, Kwame. Tristan Strong Destroys the World (#2)

October 6th 2020 by Rick Riordan Presents
E ARC provided by Netgalley

While Tristan is making progress dealing with his friend Eddie's death and is enjoying being with his grandparents on their farm in Alabama, he is still reeling from his experiences traveling into the world of Alke and dealing with the forces of evil there. Being an Anansesem, he used the power of stories to get many things done, and now has a cell phone with the trickster god Anansi trapped in it that is a modern version of the Story Box. Being careful, however, he has buried the other artifacts that he brought back. After his grandfather arranges for him to spar with an up and coming boxer, Tristen starts to hear worried voices, and sees spirits in his grandparents' barn. He's even more worried when he finds out that John Henry's powers seem to be fading. He is just starting to get information from his grandmother, who appears to have some powers of her own when she tries to make a quilt to stop a horrible creature known as the Shambleman. The Shambleman is angry that Tristan destroyed Midpass, and kidnaps the grandmother to hurt Tristan. In order to go in search of the grandmother, Anansi has Tristan use an app on the Story Box Phone (SBP) to record a story and harness its power. This story summons not only Keelboat Annie but his friend Ayanna, who is doing a work study program with her. Some of Ayanna's colleagues got paired with a god or goddess in order to help with repairs to Alke. Gum Baby also reappears to help. Keelboat Annie thinks it best to head off to the Golden Crescent to try to find out more about the Shambleman and where he might have hidden Tristan's grandmother. Along the way, they realize that Mami Wata is also missing, and this is causing very big problems. Chestnutt the rabbit is investigating that, but Tristan adds it to his quest. When the Story Box Phone is damaged, Tristan also has to find someone to help him fix that. Their adventures put them in contact with boo hags, Ayanna's brother Junior, and other figures from both African and African American folktales. When they finally locate the Shambleman, they find that he is a figure from their past who is angry about Tristan's previous actions and is trying to further his own agenda. Even if Tristan manages to save Alke and make it back to his world in Alabama, will he be able to stop the Shambleman's plans for the future? (We'll need to read book three, which does not yet have a title, to find out!)
Strengths: Once again, Tristan's time with his grandparents in the real world is a great way to start the story, and finding out that his grandmother has some powers was fantastic. Having a relic of his trip, the SBP with Anansi in it, helps transition into Alke and the world of myths and legends. It's good to run into characters from the first book, but also meet new ones. The identity of the Shambleman was an interesting twist, and I tried not to ruin that. He ends up being a character that has suffered trauma that has informed his actions, which is something with which Tristan is able to sympathize. It's helpful that this has a similar format to a lot of the myth and folk tale based fantasies that have come out in the last ten years-- there is a quest, and a variety of figures are met. Some help, and some hinder the hero's progress.  One of my favorite parts was the Diasporapp which Anasi has on the SBP and can offer information about stories that are similar because they originated in the same place. The inclusion of some information about slave history is good to see as well.
Weaknesses: It would be very helpful for my readers if there were notes of the various folk tale and mythological characters at the end of this book. It occurred to me that so many middle grade fantasy books are based on Anglo-Saxon or Greek mythology because they've been part of school curriculum for so long. Fifteen years ago, readers could easily slip into these stories because they were familiar with things like the Arthurian cycle. What we really need in the schools now is a more pancultural approach to folktales, myths and legends, and we need books like the National Geographic Mythology books on underrepresented cultures. We have plenty of Norse, Egyptian, Greek/Roman and Arabian books, but relatively few on various Native American, African, Indian, and other tales. While the 1999 Julius Lester Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales might help understand many of the tales alluded to in Tristan Strong, we could probably use another updated account of those as well.
What I really think: This series is definitely for heavy duty fantasy fans who can read Tolkien or Christopher Paolini without breaking a sweat. There is so much good information about various aspects of Black history and culture in these books that I selfishly wish they were a bit shorter so it would be easier to get more students to check them out.

MMGM- Alone in the Woods and A Hopeful Heart

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at 

Teach Mentor Texts 

and 

Unleashing Readers.

Behrens, Rebecca. Alone in the Woods
October 1st 2020 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
ARC graciously provided by the author.

Jocelyn always looks forward to the vacation in a cabin that she and her friend Alex's family take every year. From doughnuts at the lumberjack themed diner to the ritual jumping in the lake, the girls have a settled routine from which they never waiver. This year, however, Alex is angry at Jocelyn, who is not sure how to make things right. Jocelyn still doesn't care about fashion or boys, but Alex made friends with the popular Laura at a summer camp, and is now embarrassed by Jocelyn's "childish" ways. The girls bicker constantly, and when the family is out on a rafting trip, their shared raft isn't any fun, with Alex constantly checking her phone and ignoring the outdoors, which Jocelyn loves. Jocelyn bounces the raft, Alex's phone falls out, and the two become separated from the group while they search for it. When the raft springs a leak, they end up on the shore, and fall further and further behind. They take what they think is a shortcut and end up far from the water. As night falls, they are armed only with bathing suits, inadequate footwear, no bug repellent, and very limited food. Jocelyn tries to use good survival skills, but Alex can't put their squabble behind her even to take sensible measures. Will the two be able to mend their friendship and survive several days in the North woods?
Strengths: The pacing of this is excellent, with the friend drama and details about surviving in the woods trading off frequently enough to keep us curious as to what will happen next! It was also good to hear about what a typical vacation was like; I certainly needed a virtual vacation when I read this, and the details about the cabin, activities, etc. were wonderful. The difficulties that Alex and Jocelyn are facing with their middle school relationship are absolutely spot on; friendships can and do hinge on silly things like a risible sweatshirt. There are some great survival details, and you can bet that if I ever go rafting, I will be taking a very large, waterproof backpack with a ton of supplies!
Weaknesses: I was a little surprised that Alex was so clueless that she sprays body spray on herself in an effort to keep warm without realizing that this would attract bugs, but at that point she was being so obnoxious to Jocelyn that it was a nice infusion of schadenfreude. I always identify with the friends being left behind, so Alex's meanness felt very evil-- but that's good writing!
What I really think: I enjoyed this author's When Audrey Met Alice, The Last Grand Adventure, and especially Disaster Days, Definitely purchasing, and hope that Behrens turns her hand to a couple of other survival books; she has a real knack for these!

Noyes, Deborah. A Hopeful Heart: Louisa May Alcott Before Little Women
October 6th 2020 by Schwartz & Wade Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Think about this: Alcott was born in 1832. That's 35 years before Laura Ingalls Wilder, yet she managed not only to teach, live alone in Boston, serve as an army nurse, and support herself and her family by writing short stories and then books. Also, she RAN for exercise! Can you imagine, given the clothing of the day? I was a huge Alcott fan when I was younger (my daughter's middle name is Louisa), so this was an absolutely fascinating look at her start in life. Because of her father's academic bent, there are many extant letters and documents about her life, and Noyes pulls together a cohesive look at the events and people that shaped her views and actions. While there is a wealth of information presented, this was a hard book for me to read because her father, Bronson, was such a complete and monumental jerk! Using the excuse of working for the greater good, he neglected his family responsibilities and put an unfair burden on Louisa's mother, Abby. His hare-brained experiments, such as the communal Fruitlands, often kept the family on the edge of starvation. At the time, there was little Abby could do but take in sewing and hope that her idiot husband would bring in a little money. There are two new graphic novels that depict Jo, from Little Women, as a lesbian, but I feel that both Jo's and Louisa's reaction to men has more to do with her mother's horrible marriage than it does to Louisa's romantic proclivities. (Her small but star-crossed romances were with men.)

Did I mention that Bronson Alcott was horrible?

It is truly amazing that Louisa was able to support herself; clearly her youthful privations made her motivated to do well for herself and gave her a lot of survival skills. This is a great book for readers who were raised on Little Women, but I'm not sure if there will be a great need for this in my school library. Every time a new movie comes out, I hope it will bring a resurgence in interest in this author, but so far, the books are still hard to get 12 year olds to read.

Below is a link for an interesting comparison of Little Women movies, but it doesn't include the 1978 version with Susan Dey as Jo and Eve Plumb as Beth. And, ick, I had forgotten that William Shatner played Professor Baehr to Dey's Jo.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a30796677/little-women-original-remake-movie-plot-comparison/

Trapped in Hitler's Web

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Trapped in Hitler's Web 
October 6th 2020 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

After the events of Don't Tell the Nazis, Maria decides it is best for her mother and sister Krystia if she applies for a work card and gets a job working for the Nazis. Her main reason for doing this is to help her Jewish friend, Nathan, escape. He takes the identity of Bohdan Sawchuk, a Christian who was killed. They are both assigned to work at a metalworks factory, but a sympathetic typist can see how young they are (not even 12) and changes their assignment to a farm. The two end up on a train with many people who were stolen by the Nazis, and as they progress towards Innsbruck, soldiers pull people off the train to do other jobs. Maria thinks their papers will keep them safe, but Nathan is taken off at Salzburg to help build a bridge. Maria arrives at the farm of Frau Huber, but there are supposed to be eight others with her. The farm is providing food for the Nazis, and there is a hierarchy of workers-- Aryan Germans get to sleep inside and get decent food, but Poles, workers from the East, and others sleep in the barn and are only allowed 600 calories a day. Frau Huber tries to help her workers as much as she can, and allows them to carefully sneak potatoes from the field, but her farm could be taken away if she were caught being kind to them. The fact that her daughter is in the Hitler Youth makes her life even more precarious. Maria learns the ropes from Bianka, and is glad to be relatively safe with food to eat. She is worried about Nathan, and makes plans to try to get to Salzburg to visit him. She is eventually able to go with Frau Huber, but it is a treacherous time, since Poles (and Ukranians like Maria are also labeled with the "P" as well) are considered subhuman by the Germans). She manages to find Nathan and convey to him that he should try to get out of the country. Eventually, even the farm in the Alps come closer to the fighting than everyone would like, and when her sister Krystia shows up bearing bad news, the two decide to strike out on their own.
Strengths: I love that Skrypuch's stories start with someone that she has known; this time, the experiences of her father-in-law were a jumping off point. There were certainly many citizens like Frau Huber and her parents who didn't agree with the Nazis but saw no benefit to themselves of those they were able to help to cross them. The mistreatment wasn't their choice, and it was good to see Frau Huber portrayed as trying to help as much as she could. The details of the living arrangements and the treatment by the Nazis are oddly enthralling; I still don't quite understand why WWII isso interesting to middle school readers, but it definitely is! This could be read without reading Don't Tell the Nazis; it would only be a little confusing right at the beginning and the end of the book.
Weaknesses: Now I really, really want a book about Nathan's experience working in Salzburg!
What I really think: This is a bit like Matas' In My Enemy's House (1999) and just another fantastic book by Skrypuch. Definitely purchasing for the Holocaust/WWII unit our 8th grade covers, but these are also good stories for readers who like survival tales.

Cartoon Saturday --Black Heroes of the Wild West and Animorphs

Smith, James Otis. Black Heroes of the Wild West
September 29th 2020 by TOON Graphics
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this graphic novel, we get stories of three Black Americans who were involved in the history of the West in the late 1800s. While Bass Reeves, a Deputy U.S. marshall, has had several books written about him (including Paulsen's 2006 The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West, readers might not have met horse trainer Bob Lemmons or stage coach driver Mary Fields. This graphic novel offers brief overviews of their lives and careers, with the longest and most interesting being about Fields and her many careers and unique lifestyle for a woman at the time. Reeves is fascinating, but just the highlights of his career are addressed, and Lemmons has a very short entry. The graphics are nicely done, and the text to picture ratio is a comfortable one that will please my students. The book is not large (7.8" x 10"), but a little larger than Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales (5.5 x 7.5"); Black Heroes definitely will appeal to the demographics of Hale's books. I very much appreciated the photographs,notes, and timelines at the end of the book.
Strengths: This is a great starting point for learning about the Wild West. There are explanations about why this period of history is troublesome, and the three short biographies will hopefully encourage readers to go on to research more about related Black history, such as Black cowboys, the Buffalo Soldiers, etc. It's also just a fun graphic novel to read. I really liked the content at the end of the book and wish that more of it had been included, or that the pictures had been a bit larger.
Weaknesses: This is very short; I wish one more biography had been included. Nat Love already has some books about him, but perhaps Bill Pickett or Cathay Williams?
What I really think: This is an excellent starting point, and I hope that we start to see more biographies of Black Americans who have been previously ignored. I'd love a longer book about Mary Fields instead of yet another book about Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman.

Applegate, K.A. and Grant, Michael, Grine, Chris (Illustrations).
Animorphs: The Graphic Novel
October 6th 2020 by Graphix

The original Animorphs series is refreshed for a new generation of speculative fiction fans. As a mother who has about 50 of the original 54 books (published 1996-2001) in a box in the attic, I can attest to the wild popularity of this Scholastic series. In addition to the books, (which were all purchased at the thrift store, which means they must have been everywhere!) there is even a VCR tape of the television series (1998-2000) in my cabinet. Years ago, Ms. Applegate was even kind enough to send an autographed copy of the Invasion for my daughter, who was beyond thrilled!

This graphic novel will be enjoyed on its own merits, and is a good introduction to the world of Yeerks and Andalites, and is probably a good thing to have on hand for when the movie hits the world. Having been part of many, many conversations about the children and their fight against evil, I have to say... I still don't understand. I had an e ARC of the book that was very slow, and some of the dialog boxes were in a very light green, which was hard to read.

I will definitely be purchasing this, even though there aren't any of the paperbacks of the original novels left in my library.When I started in 2002, there were about 8 volumes, but something like number 3,6,12,35 and 48, so I ended up weeding those rather than trying to purchase the ones missing. We'll see if this enthralls younger readers whose... parents might have read the originals? Yikes!

From Goodreads.com
"Sometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He could tell you about the night he and his friends saw a strange light in the sky that seemed to be heading right for them. That was the night five normal kids learned that humanity is under a silent attack -- and were given the power to fight back.

Now Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco can transform into some of the most dangerous creatures on Earth. And they must use that power to outsmart an evil greater than anything the world has ever seen. . . "

Poetry Friday- Closer to Nowhere

Hopkins, Ellen. Closer to Nowhere
October 6th 2020 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Hannah is happy with her life, but things have been upended ever since her mother's twin sister, Caryn, died of cancer. Her cousin, Cal, lived with his father for a while, but his father used drugs and was abusive. When he went to jail, Cal ended up with Hannah's family. Suffering from PTSD, Cal's behavior can be erratic, and he sometimes runs away or has screaming fits. Hannah's mother tells her that this is Cal's way of coping, and that these things helped him survive, so she tries to be understanding, even when Cal's behaviors interferes with her gymnastic competition. It doesn't help that Cal occasionally embellishes the truth, or that her classmates think he's a little "weird", but Hannah understands enough about Cal's background to try to be supportive. When Hannah's grandmother visits for Thanksgiving, things go badly awry. Her grandmother had an epic falling out with Caryn before her death and never reconciled with her, so she is grieving especially hard. She is unkind to Cal, and has nothing good to say about his father, particularly since Caryn dropped out of college to marry him. Cal finds out from his aunt, Taryn, that his uncle Bruce is going to be moving out, and he blames himself, since Bruce seems to have trouble with him being in the household. Cal is hungry, so heads toward a soup kitchen where he knows he can get a meal. There, he runs into a classmate, Brylee, who is working there. Brylee's parents are divorced, and she tells Cal that he can't think it is his fault. Cal heads towards home and gets picked up by a police officer. He's wary at first, but the officer turns out to be very supportive. There are a few consequences when he gets home, but everyone except for the grandmother understands why he ran away. When Cal's father is released from prison and wants visitation rights, Cal is not happy. Things were very bad with his father, and he is settling into life with Hannah and her family. Will he be able to hold on to this situation?
Strengths: It's good to see events through the alternating viewpoints of Cal and Hannah. They have such different backgrounds, and react to the situations both are in based on their life experience. Cal's reactions are very much informed by his trauma, and Hopkins does an excellent job at explaining what happened to him, and showing how this causes him to react. Hannah has moments of being angry with Cal, but is able to think about what he has been through and moderate her responses. Middle school students usually struggle with this in real life, so it is very nice to see portrayals of a child being successful at this. I particularly liked how the two banded together to approach the grandmother about her drinking, and seeing the two of them together in a school lockdown was really interesting. The verse format of this is much better done than several I have read recently. My students seem to like a particular flavor of problem novel, and this includes several topics that they request: substance abuse, child abuse, and blended families.
Weaknesses: Cal seems to change very rapidly at the beginning of the book; I even went back and checked to see that I hadn't missed pages.
What I really think: I haven't bought any of Hopkins' other books because they are solidly Young Adult (due to topics and language), so it is good to see her enter the realm of middle grade. She has done a great job at addressing several difficult topics in a way that should appeal to many different readers.

D.K. Publishing. A World Full of Poems

October 6th 2020 by DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley) 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was a really gorgeous collections of poetry that I would definitely buy for an elementary library. I loved the set up, with the poems on well decorated pages, arranged by theme. The only problem was that the poems were more... verse. They covered topics of interest to younger students and employed much simpler language. Since my 7th graders have a project where they find different sorts of figurative language in poetry, this wouldn't quite work. I'd love to see a collection for middle school students in exactly this format, though. There were some stand out poems-- Carol Ann Duffy's Don't Be Scared, Celia Warren's Fireworks, Susan Blackaby's Recycling, and Terry Webb Harshman's Global Gorging. Also, is it just me, or does Robert Louis Stevenson's poetry still hold up really well? I also think Treasure Island is one of the better classics, if students are determined to read them.