Book Promo #4: Research the Justification of Tween Literature

In relation to my research paper on the driving force behind the development of tween literature and the justification of its existence.

Book Promotion #3: True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (Ninja Style!)

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by rainstorm9 on GoAnimate

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Review #50: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

Title: Pennypacker, Sara. Clementine. Hyperion Paperbacks. 2006. 133 pages. Paperback $10.91. ISBN 978-0-329-64563-2

Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 4.2/ Grades 3-6
Awards: None
Series: Clementine
Similar Titles: Junie B Jones series by Patricia Page, Amber Brown series by Paula Danzinger, Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary

I love Clementine! I am beyond overjoyed that I found this book during all these book reviews.I only wish it had been written when I was a child!

Clementine is eccentric and original. There is no one like her. If there was an advanced class for art, she says, she'd be in it, and the proof is drawn throughout the book as she tries to illustrate her visions. She is fidgety, whacky, unique, and her mind moves a million miles a minute. She is just...like...me...and I guess, since my little one is a carbon copy of me, she is just like Clementine too!!! I can't wait for her to read all about Clementine! I think she will find a real kinship.

Clementine gets into trouble for not paying attention, when really the problem is that she is paying attention too much, to everything around her, just not necessarily what the adult wants. Her mind moves so fast that while the adult is still on page 1, question 1, Clementine's mind has made enough connection to push her to page 50, question 4. She thinks outside the box. She has a heart of gold, even if what she does to make a situation right, gets her into hot water, not unlike a little girl version of Curious George.

She is devoted to her friends and tries so hard to be brave, in spite of hurt feelings and being blamed for everything, "like a common criminal." Her family is not picture perfect, but they are real, loving, supportive and understanding. They "get" her, even if no one else does, and they try so hard to see the world from her eyes, which is easier, since they aren't magazine perfect either.

When eight year old Clementine finds her friend, Margaret, crying in the bathroom after cutting off a chunk of her long hair, Clementine tries to make it better. Together  they end up cutting off all of Margaret's hair, much to the terror of the teachers, principal, and Margaret's mother. Clementine tries to make it right, knowing how much Margaret has always wished their hair was the same. So she draws curls and colors Margaret's remaining hair with a permanent marker, matching her own shade. Margaret's mother is furious. Clementine doesn't want Margaret to feel bad at school, so she cuts off her own hair and then lets Margaret color her head....an astonishing shade of green. But that's not the end of her troubles or her accomplishments, after she decides that her parents are trying to get rid of her, the "hard child," so that they can keep just one "easy child," all because she is convinced that Margaret's mother has told them about the hard/easy child rule. But not to worry! The end will work itself out and Clementine will realize just how lucky she is to not be "magazine perfect" but to just be Clementine, in Clementine's family.

Whether she is getting in trouble for not paying attention, not sitting still or is off with her father fighting the "Great Pigeon War," Clementine is constantly finding ways to look at the world that few others understand. She has such a clear, constantly thinking and innocent view of the world  that it warms the readers heart, especially those of us who completely understand her method of thinking.
That could be the artist in us, the artist in Clementine, but then again, one day, she might just grow up to be a detective too.

Review # 49: Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday by Megan McDonald

Title: McDonald, Megan. Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday. Candlewick Press. 2007. 82 pags. Tr. $12.79. ISBN 978-0-7636-3237-3

Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 3.4/ Grades 3-6
Awards: None   

Series: Judy Moody series
Similar Titles: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

All that Judy Moody's little brother, Stink, wants for Christmas is snow. He researches snow, reads about snow, thinks about snow, dreams about snow. Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow Snow. Then one day, he meets a new mailman, who looks eerily like Santa Claus and calls himself Jack Frost. Excited at the prospect, Stink asks if Jack Frost can delivery the white Christmas he so desperately wants. "Stranger things have happened," he says with a knowing wink. You just have to feel it in your bones, the mailman tells him.

Convinced that this is the answer he was looking for, he tells a disbelieving Judy all about it. She'll continue her Hawaiian themed Christmas decorating and songs and leave Stink to his own incredulous ideas, even when he changes his part in the school play from the mouse in "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," to a "stellar dendrite" snowflake!

Everyone is very gracious about Stink's obsession. Even Judy is gracious in the amount teasing and grief she gives him, though it is still plentiful. Then, they receive an unexpected package in the mail and Stink becomes convinced with the notion that there will be snow before midnight on Christmas Eve, so much so, that he and Judy make a bet. Whoever is wrong, has to eat Aunt Lou's infamous fruitcake and to prove it, they'll both stay up until midnight.

When Stink falls asleep, and, close to midnight, Judy hears the pitter pat of rain instead of snow, one act of charity shows readers that Judy Moody doesn't just constantly tease her little brother like a typical sibling, she loves him as a good big sister should and wants to see him happy come Christmas morning. Though her plan doesn't turn out quite how she anticipated, she shows readers, without a doubt, that she knows the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of family.

The perfect beginning chapter book for the holidays, Judy Moody is alive with compassion, silliness, and loving thoughtful characters making for an easy, and joyful read. I particularly like the appearance of the mysterious, jolly mailman, very akin to Miracle of 34th Street. He never onces leaves your mind during the story, making you wonder if it is his influence that encourages Stink's unwavering faith in Christmas miracles (after all, it hasn't snowed in Virginia for half a million years per Judy Moody) and allows Judy to put aside all her taunting and big sister shenanigans to support her littler brother and try to give him a good Christmas. I wouldn't hesitate to give this book as a gift to tweens, especially those with siblings at home.

Review #48: Get Ready for Second Grade, Amber Brown by Paula Danziger

Title: Danziger, Paula. Get Ready for Second Grade, Amber Brown. Penguin Young Readers. 2010. 48 pages.  Tr. $9.51. ISBN 978-1-41311-545-1

Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 3.2/ K-3
Series: A is for Amber
Similar Titles: Junie B Jones by Patricia Page, ZigZag Kids by Patricia Reilly Giff

Amber is ready for 2nd grade! She has her new teddy bear backpack, new pencils, and a new teacher! At first she is afraid that the teacher will be mean, because the old 2^nd grade teacher was well known and loved. And then there is Hannah Burton to deal with, who is never satisfied with anything, has to know everything, and finds fault with every single thing about Amber. But, soon Amber and her best friend Justin realize that their new teacher, Ms. Light, is even better than could be expected, especially when she stops Hannah’s teasing about Amber’s “yucky” name, when she reveals that Amber means electron in Greek, just one more thing she has in common with the friendly and eccentric Ms. Light…electricity!  With a thumbs up from Justin and a thumbed nose to Hannah, Amber is even more excited for second grade than when she woke up that morning.

 I was surprised to learn that Amber Brown is a series that was specifically marketed to Grades 3-6, and this novel is part of a branch of that series to entice younger children in the tween set (2^nd and 3^rd grade)  as well as pre-tweens.  I had never read the Amber Brown series before, and though this book is simple and would be easy for a Kindergartener to understand, I don’t know that they’d find it as entertaining as slightly older readers would, given the focus on fitting in, though Amber is born to stand out, which is why I recommend it for Grades  1 -3. Amber is quirky, fun, genuine and adorable, making the reading experience a pleasure.

Review #47: Big Whopper by Patricia Reilly Giff

Title: Giff, Patricia Riley. ZigZag Kids : Big Whopper. Wendy Lamb Books. 2010. 66 pages. Tr. $11.09. ISBN 978-0-385-74688-5
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: (Publisher Recommended) 2.9/K-3  (My recommendation Grades 1-3)
Awards: None
Series: Zigzag Kids
Similar Titles: Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren by Barbara Page
 

Destiny’s favorite place is the After School Center, where she can play with all of her friends and participate in fun activities like art. If only bossy, know–it-all Gina weren’t there. When Discovery Week is announced,  and all the kids are required to discover at least 3 new things and post them to their designated sections of wall in the hallway, Destiny doubts there are any discoveries left to be had. Unfortunately, one day, flabbergasted, frustrated and trying to out do Gina, Destiny tells a whopper of a lie, that her greatest great granddad was President Abraham Washington. 

When Destiny and her best friend Mitchell realize the next day that not only did they leave the incriminating drawing in the art room, entitled and all, but that Gina is using the news as her discovery  to post in the hall and that soon Destiny’s favorite teacher will learn she has been lying, it’s almost too much to bear. Thwarted at every turn, Mitchell finally acquires the picture and destroys it, but Destiny knows she must come clean and mend fences. She might even learn that she and Gina, might not be so different after all, and that discoveries can be made very close to home.

This was a cute beginning chapter book. With no actual description of the Destiny’s grade level, I can see this title being most appropriate for 1^st and 2^nd graders, based on the length, vocabulary, setting, situations and number of illustrations. Similar to the Junie B. Jones books, this is a good entrance into series reading that can help children branch out into other novels, without feeling completely alienated from what they are used to. It is also a good example of books that encourage developmental assets such as developing relationships, self-respect, self-esteem, feeling respected, listened to and valued by adults and finding a sense of community.

Review #46: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Title: Kinney, Jeff. Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books. 2007. 217 pages. Tr. $11.91. ISBN 978-0-8109-9313-6

Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 5.0/ Grades 5-8
Series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Similar Titles: (better recommended) Hannah’s Journal by Marissa Moss, Holes by Louis Sachar, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Diary of a Wimpy Kids is written as the mom-imposed journal of new, yet scrawny, middler school, Gregg Heffley. Written in a sarcastic and sardonic manner and covered in cartoons, after all, the concept did start out as a web comic, it’s entertaining to an adult mind, and to many tweens. Having said that, it is NOT something I would want to expose my daughter to at a younger age, which is something to be careful of for those of you that have advanced readers and I will make absolutely certain that she understands the value of hardwork, education and being herself before she reads these, so as not to get the wrong idea (and before you ask, no, I am not a stuffed shirt.)

I think Greg’s commentary and disparaging remarks about his brothers, parents, and classmates can be funny, but I also know that this is fiction, and not a reflection of how people should behave, or really even think about those around them. I’m not saying that I didn’t think that the kids around me in middle school were bullies, or apes, weird and crazy or my parents completely out of it. However, if I said anything about it at all, it was to one or two close friends and I immediately felt guilty afterward. Then again, that’s because I know what it’s like to be tormented for being different, and I have a policy about generally trying to be openly accepting and was taught to respect my elders. I don’t think Gregg had that kind of moral coaching and I think that children in the intended age range are too susceptible at this age to be able to separate the humor from the very real similarities in their situations.

However, I can see how Gregg’s struggles in middle school, wondering how to keep his best friend and elevate his own status, get in with the girls, deal with his teachers and catch up with the guys are relevant topics for the intended age group. But to say that he sets a good example and handles the challenges with finesse is, I think, going too far. You don't bad mouth your best friend, lie to your teachers, insult your friends and manipulate people to gain popularity and status, regardless of who you think you are, and unfortunately, that is how Gregg often behaves. As such, I don't think it is terribly surprising that this series is wildly popular. It is rare, after all, that tolerant and graceful behavior is popularized in such a fashion. Only the negative, sarcastic, inappropriate and scandalous meets the front pages.

 So all in all, Diary of a Wimpy Kid can be a funny novel to read, but only if you have a good foundation to compare it to, and a lack of susceptibility to its fashionable plots of getting away with as much as possible while actually doing as little as possible. In the meantime, it continues to be a novel that I skip over when suggesting books to kids. While the series is wildly popular, especially with reluctant readers because of the illustrations and humor element, I think there are more graphic novels and better written books on the subject yet to be explored.

Review #45: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Title: Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods. Harper Collins. 1953. 238 pages. Tr. $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-026431-4

Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 5.1/ Grades 3-6
Awards: None
Series: Little House

Little House in the Big Woods (1932)

Farmer Boy (1933)

Little House on the Prairie (1935)

On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)

By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)

The Long Winter (1940)

Little Town on the Prairie (1941)

These Happy Golden Years (1943)

On the Way Home (1962)

The First Four Years (1971)

West from Home (1974)

Old Town in the Green Groves (2002)

A Little House Traveler (2006)

Similar Titles: Hannah’s Journal by Marissa Moss, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

 

In the beginning novel of the little house series, Laura and Mary (and even Carrie) help their mother and father keep house and survive day to day by working hard in the (then) wilds of Wisconsin. Their most important asset is each other, no matter how hard the day’s work or the life’s challenges. 

 

Wilder used her own  life story as a background for her stories, explaining with real and heartfelt adequacy all that she experienced as a young pioneer girl, with a family struggling to survive, but nurtured through the worst by their faith, their work ethic, the help of friends and the strength of their love for one another.  Readers will hear tales of clothes making, hunting, farming, harsh conditions, canning, preserving, finding a meaning full place and a sense of community, finding a purpose,…..tales of everyday life that made pioneer living possible and the westward expansion successful, though no less arduous.

 

To this very day, I still think of Wilder’s description of their meager but joyful Christmas, with their handmade, and incredibly thoughtful gifts, with the evergreens, candles and wood shining brightly, thankful for their health and simply being together as the true meaning of Christmas, every year in my holiday planning.

 

These are another set of books, much like the Anne of Green Gables series that may seem a world apart, given the time passed, but somehow still seem so relevant as we read about the daily life of this amazing girl and her incredible and brave family. Often by taking the fuss and the business out of the modern equation, by reading of "simpler" times in the past, we can often hear the voice of reason and of virtue more closely, realizing what is most important in life, and what we truly, take for granted in this day and age.

Review #44: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C.O'brien

Title: O’brien, Robert C. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. Atheneum. 1971. 233 pages. Paperback $15.25. ISBN 978-0-689-20651-1
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 5.4/ Grades 3-6
Awards: Newbery Medal 1972
Similar Titles: The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCarmillio, The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, The Witched by Roald Dahl
 

When the widow mouse, Mrs. Frisby, has an invalid child and is unable to move her home before the farmer ploughs the field into it, she has no choice but to seek help elsewhere, with the help of a scatterbrained crow, and an injured white mouse, that will change her life forever. She begins to find of the strange circumstances behind her husband’s former life as she seeks out the help of an advanced race of a , walking, talking, educated, partially industrialized colony of rats, led by one called Nicodemus, who have been living underground, unbeknownst to humans, so they think, thanks to the experiments conducted on them by the National Institute of Mental Health  or NIMH.

While the rats agree to help her move her home, the adventure does not end there. Instead, the plots thickens, as Mrs. Frisby is captured and unfamiliar humans suddenly determine there is a rat problem, and seek out the farmer, offering their exterminator services to end the colony of rats, constantly leaving the reader in doubt of the actual purpose of these men. Are they exterminators or could they be agents of NIMH, set out to destroy the only living proof of their experiments? Regardless of their identities, now it is the rats turn for help, and only Mrs. Frisby can help.

Here is another tale of a brave little mouse, this time a single mother, left alone to care for her children and her home, back when such subjects were not readily ventured into. Showing the strength, perserverance and determination to do what is right of one individual, no matter how small or how heavy her burden, is heartwarming and character building for the reader. While this novel is darker in tone, I believe, than even Despereaux, it is no less exciting, virtuous or suspenseful.  

 

This book, having read it as a child, has become a part of my identity in the way that decades old classics have before it, leaving an indelible image on my psyche. No matter the circumstances, I encounter in life, I often thing,  if little Mrs. Frisby can do it, so can I.

Review #43: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillio

Title: DeCamillo, Kate. The Tale of Despereaux. Candlewick Press. 2003. 267 pages. Tr. $15.24. ISBN 978-0-7636-1722-6

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level/Interest Level: 4.5/ Grades 3-6
Awards: Newbery Medal 2004
Similar Titles: Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of Nimh by Robert C O’brien

 

The reason that I think Despereaux has become such a beloved literary character is because he is honest, he is brave, he is unconventional (for a mouse), chivalrous, honorable and determined. Despereaux wants to be the knight in shining armor, like the contraband books he has read all his life. He wants to be proven righteous and courageous, like the knights of old, and above all else, he wants to save the princess who has been locked away in the dungeon, but a misinformed and naïve half-witted girl who wants nothing more than to be a princess herself.

 

Despereaux not only overcomes the prejudice of his family, and his colony, but also of the entire kingdom, as he sets to rights the unintentional wrongs of his new rat friend, Roscuro, brings peace to the king and Princess Pea and proves himself noble and brave. But most importantly, he brings back the light by bringing back the soup, a tremendous metaphor for the defeat of prejudice and the benefit of different flavors and uniqueness in society, culture and life, that can be enjoyed, and learned from, by all.

 

I think of this story a lot in terms of World War II, though I couldn’t tell you why. The king, so stricken with grief over the accidental death of his wife, bans that which represents diversity within kingdom, which subsequently influences the light, or hope and growth , the kingdom experiences. Without the soup, the land falls into darkness, ignorance and misery putting everyone at risk and making no one happy or content. This reminds me of Hitler’s attempt at eradicating all those who were different than what he considered to be the best version of man. 

 

The soup would represent all those inventions, innovations, and diverse souls that he tried to stamp out, all those different souls and cultures to be learned from that contributed to the greater good of man, or at least had the potential to. Einstein, for example, would have been one of those metaphorical soup ingredients. And it was the beaten, bruised, and trodden upon, those who had been attacked, quite literally, that were able to defeat this blindness, this tunnel vision of sorts, that would defeat the vision of sameness that the people were told would save humanity, which instead, sought to destroy it.

 

So maybe Despereaux represents the allies, and Roscuro, the redeemed Russians, who eventually joined the battle to defeat Hitler’s regime. Perhaps the princess represented all the freedom, hope, light, love and temperance that we so long for, the positive that remains in spite of the negative circumstances we face, while the rat and mouse populations, who determine deviation from the norm is an abomination, represent the masses of people who followed Hitler’s rule, whether out of fear or design.

 

Then again, maybe it’s just the tale of a brave little mouse, who redeems a rat, survives a dungeon, forgives his parents, saves a princess and restores soup to the kingdom. Either way, it’s a great tale, thought flowery in language.

Book Discussion:The True Confession of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

In The True Confession of Charlotte Doyle (click here for my full review), Charlotte Doyle, out of fear, out of survival, out of repentence and eventually, by choice, leaves her privileged life behind to live as a sailor, though she is just a child, and a girl at that. During an age (specifically 1832, the same year Louisa May Alcott was born) when educating a girl was, at times, seen as a distasteful act, particularly during the year when it was made illegal for women to vote) allowing one to dress as a man, performing man's work, side-by-side with other men, was deemed unnatural and wrong, dangerous and potentially illegal, resulting in jail, fines, persecution and in some cases, death. A woman's place was in support of her husband, and a girl's place was learning to take on that role and to provide sons to a husband who she would be advantageously married to, for the sake of the family. That is, if she were in the wealthy classes.

Girls and women in the poorer classes worked hard, were often abused, with little to no medical care, and struggled to survive from day to day, particularly if they were not attached to a man. Those that showed independence, such as celebrated authors, may have been celebrated in small circles, but in society, those that loved or supported them, were shunned, often missing out on essential wage earning opportunities and being excluded from important social engagements. Freedom from that pressure, and life, could easily have been the reason for Charlotte's unprecedented decision to leave her home, once arriving safely and being told never to speak of the ocean crossing again, and live as one of the crew on the Seahawk. If her behavior, or the hardships she encountered were leaked to polite society, not only would she be shunned, she would be ruined for marriage, with wild speculations laid at her door to ruin her reputation. As a consequence, she would be of no use to her parents, who valued her only as a pawn and a means to their own ends.

Instead, she moved on, in the way of the American pioneer women. Unafraid (now) of hard work and knowing who she could trust on the ship, she felt accepted for who she was and what she could do, rather that what she looked like and who she could marry. She chose a life of toil and uncertainty over a life of wealth, and aristocracy, for the sake of her soul, her personal freedom, her dignity and her sense of self. She shows every woman, young and old, every girl coming to that adult crossroads, that they are capable of great things, and of great survival, and that the most important thing is to find out who they are deep inside, and just to be that. Don't be afraid to be different, don't be afraid to stand up for who you are and what you believe, and most importantly, don't be afraid to do what is right, for yourself as well as others.

Review #42: Lemonade Mouth [video recording] by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Title: Lemonade Mouth [video recording]. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment , distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 2011. DVD $14.99. UPC 786936814743
Genre: Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Level: (Producer’s Recommendation)Young Adult/ My recommendation: 12 & up

Similar Titles: Radio Rebel [video recording] by Walt Disney Studios

Based off the book of the same name, by Mark Peter Hughes, a group of high school misfits, who find themselves in detention, whether deserved or not, soon overcome their differencesto find a common bond in music, an organic lemonade machine and upsetting the general rule of a principal that respects only order and money, and the power of his ruling class “golden students,” who also happen to have the most popular and successful band in the area.

Each band member has problems, both family and band-wise, that make them fuller characters and more interesting.

• The bass player, is classically trained, with a controlling, Indian father and is also secretly dating the guitarist of the rival band until he finds out of her new band and the threat of competition.

• The lead singer, who lives with her grandmother after her mother dies and her father is sent to prison for robbery, and has a paralyzing case of stage fright.

 

• The keyboardist, who, despite his apparent self-assuredness, has nothing but doubts and resentment toward his father’s attachment with his would-be  step-mother.

 

• The drummer, feeling that he constantly lives in his older brother’s shadow and can’t truly be who he is, or admit the crush he has for a fellow band mate.

• The lead guitarist, whose anarchy minded, rebel spirit causes tensions in her genius prodigy household and outright discrimination by the school principal, who believe she is inciting seditious behavior in her classmates.

Supported by their detention advisor, also the teacher of the school’s poorly funded and almost defunked music program, Lemonade Mouth grows in talent and support, as they attempt to give a voice to those that have none, while figuring out how to talk to their families, and have the bravery to step out as who they really are.

Having been one of those kids in high school that marched to the beat of my own drummer, I loved Lemonade Mouth, not only for the catchy songs, led by the endearing Disney Channel star, Bridget Mendler,  but also on the focus on originality and being true to yourself, rather than of changing yourself to fit in and be popular, like many of the fad artists of today seem to do. I appreciate films and books that encourage young adults to stand up for who and what they believe in, no matter the popular opinion.

Well acted, particularly for this genre of film, with an awesome soundtrack, kids as young as 12, as this is the age when sense of self and fighting peer pressure are particularly difficult, will really appreciate the lessons that Lemonade Mouth has to teach, as well as the meaningful lyrics of the soundtrack, which are not only easy to dance to but have a message all their own.

Review #41: Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton

Title: Skelton, Matthew. Endymion Spring. Delacorte Press. 2006. 392 pages. Paperback $14.92. ISBN 978-0-385-73456-1

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level/Interest Level: 6.3/Grades 5-8
Series:
Similar Titles: Eragon by Christopher Paolini, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Have you ever read a book and wanted to know just as badly how it ended but also how it came to be? Then Endymion Spring is the book for you!

 

In a tale about the search of two children for a book of all the knowledge that Adam and Eve gained, and subsequently lost, in the Garden of Eden, after tasting the forbidden fruit, just as much time and presence is given to the story of how they came to know about it (which takes place in the 15^th century) versus how they go about searching for it (in the modern day) and the dangers they encounter. With mysterious literary societies, suspicious librarians, The Person in Shadow whose soul has gone bad for destructive want of the knowledge within the book, devils and 15^th century printers and dangers coming from all sides, both story lines are enough to each fill their own novels. So you better make sure you are paying attention, or you will miss something, or like me, you’ll get confused and find it difficult to keep both story lines straight.

 

There is a strong theme of the importance of knowledge but also the responsibility and dangers that can come with it, both for author, distributor and reader. The journey that Duck and Blake take to find the book, as well as Endymion Spring's struggle with his conscience, are representative of that struggle, but also of how we, as people, develop and find out true selves during the journey and through the adversity that can come with it.

Definitely written for a more mature audience, I see this title as being a challenge for 5^th graders, but 8^th graders will most definitely enjoy the magic, adventure and danger, while being able to see the two storylines for what they are, no matter how far they are from the two storylines meeting. Children of this age tend to think better in the abstract and this is a great novel to keep them guessing, as long as they don't get tangled in the details. Now I’m off to read it a second time, hoping this time, I can keep it all straight!

Review #40: Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Title: Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. Random House. 2003. 509 pages. Tr. $22.72. ISBN 978-0-375-92668-6
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy

Reading Level/Interest Level: (publisher recommendation) Young Adult/ (my recommendation) Ages 12 & up/ Grades 5-10

Series: Inheritance (Book 1)

• Eragon
• Eldest
• Brisingr
• Inheritance

Similar Titles: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McAffrey

For having been written initially by a 15 year old, Eragon is an amazingly complex tale about a 15 year old boy who mistakenly finds a dragon egg, not knowing what it truly is. Once the dragon, Saphira, hatches, they are eternally bonded and his life will never be the same. The evil king, Galbatorix, who has destroyed the former glory of the dragon riders, seeks no less of a fate for Eragon and Saphira, using his army of Urgals.

In the ensuing melee, Eragon’s  only remaining family, his uncle, is killed and Eragon is forced to flee. He is spurred into action by the mysterious, tale weaving Brom, who, upon facing his own mortality, tells one last tale to Eragon that reveals they are more similar than he ever could have imagined, as well as the dreams he has nightly about the woman Arya, who transported the egg away from Galbatorix’s Shade, where Eragon found it.

In an effort to save Arya, who he later discovers is an elf, imprisoned by  the Shade, Durza, and find the rebel camp of the Varden, Eragon thrusts himself headlong into a world of magic, mystery, treachery, and history as he battles to for the freedom of his people, the memory of those he has lost, and the life of his dragon.

Also a major motion picture, but read the book! There is so much more detail in the book, and in the movie, you never really find out that Arya is an elf, or that there are dwarves involved at all. While I like the movie for the dragon graphics, I love the book for the rich detail it provides and any tween, teenager and adult who loves fantasy stories will think so too!

This is a bit much to chew for a younger tween, but a mature 12 or 13 year old who made it through the last 3 Harry Potter books can easily take on this challenge and enjoy it.

Review #39: Smuggler's Cave by Sonya Spreen Bates

Title: Bates, Sonya Spreen. Smuggler’s Cave. Orca Book Publishers. 2010. 57 pages. Paperback $6.95. ISBN 978-1-55469-308-5

Genre: Fiction/Adventure
Reading Level/Interest Level: 3.1/ Grades K-3
Awards: None
Series: Orca Echoes Series
Similar Titles: The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W Dixon

Jake, at 10 years old, is tired of being defeated at every game and race by his smaller, gloating, 9 year old cousin, Lexie. Determined to beat her if it’s the last thing he does, they arrange a row boat race to the island just off shore, the opposite side of the island, to Smuggler’s Cave, where strange things happen. All seems to be going fine as Jake, with his little brother Tommy on board, manages to pull ahead, until the waves decide they have other ideas.

 All three children eventually are sucked into Smuggler’s Cave as the tide is rising, a boat is lost, and due to pride and panic, one of their two remaining oars is broke. It seems there is no escape. They have no other option, but to find another way out. Searching the rocks and crevices in the back of the cave, they encounter a large colony of bats that might just lead them to freedom, if only they can work together, and conquer their fears after Tommy is hurt.

A short and exciting read for the younger of the tween set, I don’t see it being as interesting for the publisher’s suggested Kindergarten and first grade range. It is a short chapter book, to be sure, and has a few illustrations, but often in the younger ages, it is difficult to hold the attention of the child with a non-picture book unless they have an advanced reading level. Having said that, it is still a good story, with age appropriate themes and easy vocabulary on par with older readers and beginning chapter books.

Review #38: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Retold by Alvin Schwartz

Title: Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Scholastic. 1981. 113 pages. Paperback$3.90. ISBN 978-0-06-083520-0
Genre: Fiction/Folk Tales/ Ghost Stories
Reading Level/Interest Level: 4.1/ Grades 5-8
Awards: None
Similar Titles: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

More Scary Stores to Tell in the Dark is exactly what it claims to be, a series of short stories, perfect for telling around a campfire or on Halloween. With classics like “The Babysitter”, “The Hook” , "Highbeams" and “The Wendigo” in the mix, you’ll find a great selection of well known scary folktales, urban legends and spooky stories to cause shrieks and delights.

On a personal note: I re-read my original version of this book (pictured here), which, honestly, has haunted me to this day as one of the scariest books I ever read at as a child. Even so, I loved to camp out in the backyard with a tent and a flashlight on summer nights, while toasting marshmallows and scaring my friends with spooky narrations of these tales and the “Worms crawl in, the worms crawl out” song. My copy is very well loved after more than 20 years, and re-reading them, I notice that, while I might have found them scary at the age of 10, Schwartz was gracious enough to make sure that every tale ended safely, and in an age appropriate manner, unlike the scary stories I read as a teen.

All in all, I would recommend this book for perhaps mature 11 and 12 years olds on up , though, as I said, I read it at the age of 10. The stories were very well told, short and just as spooky as they ought to be. The illustrations have been redone, but my original version had illustrations that could have scared you out of your pants alone. Hands down, it is the best compilation of scary stories I own. It must be, after all, this paperback version is still in my collection after 2 decades.

Review #37: Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren by Barbara Page

Title: Park, Barbara. Junie B Jones Loves Handsome Warren . Random House. 1996. 71 pages. Paperback $4.99. ISBN 978-0-679-86696-1
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 2.2/Grades K-3
Awards: None   
Series: Junie B. Jones –Stepping Stone
Similar Titles: Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary

The crazy and wild Junie B. Jones is back and learning how to make new friends. When her best friends, Gracie and Lucille, fall head over heels with the new boy, “Handsome Warren,” she does everything she can to get his attention, only to be labeled as a nutball. The harder she tries, the crazier she seems, until she finally settles down to being herself, and really makes a new friend, where those who were only trying to show off to get Warren’s attention, show that they weren’t true friends to begin with. Junie B. has no choice in the matter. She simply knows no other way than to be her usual zany self, which is exactly what Warren needs when he begins to miss his old school.

The awkward syntax and wild situations Junie B. gets into, is what really sets apart the Junie B. Jones series. Kids like these books because they are written from a Kindergarten, 1^st grade and second grade perspective, using the same syntax errors, situations and social comedies that occur when growing up. They are real and easy to understand and the reader comes to love Junie B. for her quirks and her “realness.”

The Junie books in this series are short and easy to read, with a few black and white ink drawings, much like the Ramona Quimby books. Also, like the Ramona Quimby books, while the publisher might market them to Kindergarteners, I think they are better, as an independent read, for first and second graders. However, in a group read setting, or read by a loving adult, Junie is more than adequately appropriate for the Kindergartener with a longer attention span, who will love the way that Junie B. finds her way out of the same situations they have found themselves in.

Review #36: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Title: MacLachlan , Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. Harper Trophy. 1985. 67 pages. Paperback $7.50. ISBN:978-0-06-440205-7
Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction

Reading Level/Interest Level: 3.4/Grades 3-6     

Awards: Newbery Medal 1986, ALA Notable Children’s Books 1995,  Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction 1996, Golden Kite Award 1996

Series: Sarah Plain and Tall

• Sarah, Plain and Tall
• Skylark
• Caleb’s Story
• More Perfect Than the Moon
• Grandfather’s Dance

Similar Titles: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

In the wild open spaces of the American frontier, a widowed father, named Jacob, still grieving for his wife who died during the birth if his youngest child years prior, places an ad for a wife. A response comes from Sarah, an intelligent, strong witted woman from Maine, whose first love is the sea, but whose brother is to be married, his new wife displacing her as head of the house.

Sarah decides to visit Jacob, Anna and Caleb for a month, to see how it will all work out. They will know her, she says, because she will be wearing a yellow bonnet, and is plain and a tall. Upon her arrival, Caleb and Anna fall instantly in love with her easy manner, quick smiles, independence and kind nature. Their father too, though quiet, grows to love and value her. Anxious are their hearts, as the time would come for a wedding , if she stays, after Jacob teaches her to drive the wagon at her insistence, so that she can drive into town on her own. Will Sarah come back? Will Caleb and Anna finally have a mother to bring song back into their lives and love into their heart? Or has the call of the sea overwhelmed her enough to make her forget them. You’ll have to read this easy, and fast paced book yourself, to find out!

HIGHLY  recommended. The whole novel has a kind, practical and loving quality about it, easily conveying the emptiness of the Witting’s world if Sarah never returns and the importance of family, in all its forms.

Also a major motion picture starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken (combining elements of more than one book in the series.....which of course I had to check out from the library again after reading this book ;) ).
 

 

Review #35: Hannah's Journal by Marissa Moss

Title: Moss, Marissa. Hannah’s Journal. Harcourt, Inc. 2000. 65 Pages. Paperback $7.00. ISBN 978-0-15-216329-7
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 4.3/Grades 4-6
Awards: None
Series: Young American Voices
Similar Titles: Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Rachel’s Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl by Marissa Moss, Galen: My Life In Imperial Rome by Marissa Moss, American Girl series.

Many of us can trace our ancestors back to the great immigration wave that hit the United States between the 1880’s and 1910. In many of those cases, or in most of the cases that we read about, those immigrants were men and boys who came to America to escape persecution, work hard, claim the freedoms that their home lands denied them, and then were to send back for their families to join them. Very seldom do we hear tales of women and girls doing the same, until now.

Hannah’s Journal is the story of a twist of fate that sends 10 year old Hannah, the only girl in a family of 7 Jewish children growing up in Lithuania, to America, with her 14 year old cousin, to find work and send back for her family, one at a time.  Her family is living in Russia during a time of great civil unrest, when Cossack raids and religious prejudice caused the death and financial ruin of many Jewish families. When her family narrowly escapes one such violent raid, shortly after the death of her 16 year old cousin, Rivka, a decision is made between Hannah’s parents and her Uncle to send Hannah and her remaining cousin, Esther, to America.

Esther will travel with Rivka’s papers, to meet her intended bridgegroom, their sponsor, while Hannah will travel as Esther, so as not to waste the tickets and passport. But first, the timid Esther and the brave Hannah will have to make their way to Hamburg, Germany to find and board the steamship that will take them across the ocean to their new lives. Along the way, they meet the helpful and ingenious, Samuel, whose parents were killed by Cossacks near Minsk. Together they help each other survive the poor conditions of steerage and the frightening proposition of failing inspection and being denied entry into the United States.   

Based on facts taken from the lives of the author’s family, tales like Hannah’s need to be told over and over, not only because they show where we came from, but of what we are capable of, even as children, and how much we have to be grateful for. How often does a 10 year old today think of the poor conditions and grueling work that their forefathers endured to make a better life for their families? When a child finally realizes what was expected of children a few generations previous, their 21^st century complaints might not seem so relevant, for who can complain of a having to wash dishes by hand when the dishwasher is out once they learn that their great-grandparents were lucky to HAVE dishes at their age, escaping starvation only by the $1.50 a week they made (most of which was saved) by their jobs and the spoiled or partially ruined food they were able to obtain, working in cramped factories in poor conditions, without the luxury of their parents’ presence.

This book is presented as Hannah’s journal, written in cursive script on lined pages with illustrations and notes filling in the margins, but with a glossary and further culturally relevant notes at the end of the story. The "child drawn" pictures help convey the emotions, conditions and sights that a 10 year old would have experienced during such a journey and it is obvious that the author has done a lot of research to make it as realistic as possible. Readers will forget, after having read only a few pages, that this title is a work of fiction, as they gobble up each page as hungrily as if they were reading their sister’s diary.  Hannah’s Journal gives a renewed depth and purpose to the lives of many tweens, and more importantly, connections to their pasts.

On a personal note: My absolute favorite part of this book, as an educator and future librarian, was when Hannah sees a grand New York library for the very first time. Realizing that all people are allowed to use it (for she, as a girl, was not allowed an education in Russia, though her father and brothers taught her as much as they could), she writes home to her parents, recounting the experience as well as that of her new night classes in English, beyond delighted at the opportunities before her, stating, "We had found the gold that people had said paved America's streets, and we felt very rich indeed.

Review #34: The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History by Jane Yolen & Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple

Title: Yolen, Jane and Stemple, Heidi Elisabet Yolen. The Salem Witch Trials: An Unsolved Mystery from History.

Genre: Non-Fiction/North American History
Reading Level/Interest Level: 6.4/ Grades 3-6
Similar Titles: The Mayflower Compact by E.J. Carter

The story of the Salem witch trials is nothing new to adults, but as children, this can often be a scary and difficult subject to approach, no matter how important the history or moral. Yolen and Stemple’s book, The Salem Witch Trials, seeks to relay the information in an age appropriate, non-threatening manner, by beginning with narration by a child exploring the tale for clues to be able to make her own decision about what really happened in 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts.  

Laid out much like a field journal with notes, the story is told in text boxes with smaller boxes or bubbles bordering the page with explanations of subject appropriate terms and brief explanations of historical context, making the subject matter easier to understand. Given the extensive vocabulary needed, I do believe this to be best for 4-6^th graders, but what is most impressive about this book is the last 4-6 pages.

Yolen and Stemple tell the facts of circumstances behind the Salem witch trials, provide proposed, accepted and possible explanations and open ended questions, at the end of the tale, to not only encourage open discussion (which means it is perfect for curriculum and group reading) but to force the reader into examining their own opinions as to why things happened. This forces the development of 21^st  century skills such as critical thinking, and if directed in a group environment, a collective consciousness, something that is sorely lacking in children’s literature today.

All in all this is a good introduction to the Salem witch trials, critical thinking and unsolved mysteries, which might just foster another literary love, all on its own. Even I learned something new....the fact that many believe Tituba was not African but Indian! You learn something new, every day.

Review #33: The Trellis and the Seed by Jan Karon

Title: Karon, Jan. The trellis and the seed : a book of encouragement for all ages. Puffin Books.2005. 32 pages. Tr. $15.95. ISBN 978-0-670-89289-0

Genre: Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level: 3.9/ Grades 3-6
Similar Titles: Unknown

In a gentle tale of encouragement, a little seed starts out hard and full of doubt, as the expectations set for its destiny seem insurmountable and time goes by so slowly.

 

In the care of a nice lady, the seed becomes soft and sprouting, begins to see a little possibility in its future. Planted in just the right spot in the garden, the seed begins to understand that, in goodtime, its grand life will begin to unfold, with nurturing, time, patience, encouragement and hope.  Even so it doubts, though the nice lady is constantly reassuring.

 

Can it grow to the top of the trellis? Will it drown in the rain? What happens when its growth seems to stall? Even if it does reach the top of the trellis, what happens when all the other plants are in bloom but it has still not fulfilled its purpose?

 

One night, as it feels a tickle and a kiss, the encouragement of the Earth, the love of the nice lady and the light of the moon, it begins to truly understand how different is wonderful, as it becomes the only plant to bloom at night, the gorgeous, silky blooms of the MoonFlower.

 

The nice lady awakens from her sleep, lulled by the a beautiful sent from the garden, gasps at what the little seed has become and says, “I just knew you were going to be something wonderfully different!.......Thank you!”,  proving that different is beautiful, and that just because we may develop differently does not mean that we are any less spectacular than our surroundings. In fact, often, those that take a different path, might just become the most valuable of all for the journey, and all it takes, is a little support, patience and time.

 

Everyone goes through life wondering if they will ever be what they want to be, look like they want to look, get where they want to go. Odds seem insurmountable. Doubt, fear and sadness grow. The Trellis and the Seed, while yes it does mention "God", in 2 points (just to point that out for those who object to theology in their children's books), the point is simple....you have a purpose; you have potential and sometimes you have to let go of the reins long enough to let nature take its course. You just have to believe in the encouragement of others, in yourself, and of all the creative potential that one little seed can create.