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From Jan. 2007 to Jan. 2009, I'll be reading many children's books (for 0-14 of age) for the Notable Children's Books Committee. I'll only blog books that I feel strongly about: most positively, occasional the ones that trouble me in one way or another. Once again, these are not book reviews, nor book summaries. They are my personal reactions. I'm also known online as fairrosa. And in the virtual reality game world GoKrida, I go by the name xiaomu. I have two Masters Degrees: one in Children's Literature and one in Library and Information Science. I have the good luck to have a job that I truly love: I'm a Middle School Librarian at a school where reading is valued and many students are avid and thoughtful readers. The one thing that really excites me is to get someone, young or not so young, to read and enjoy a fantastic book and share my enthusiasm!
1. Al Capone Shines My Shoes

Al Capone Shines My ShoesAuthor: Gennifer Choldenko
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th to 7th Grade


Publisher: Dial
Edition: Hardcover, 2009 (galley)


I am completely delighted by this book. I really enjoyed the first one and this one holds up, well and strong, and I think it works even better. Maybe because I thought, "What can she come up with that can top the first book?" before starting to read this one.. and Choldenko absolutely pulled it off. There is humor and tension all throughout the book, not to mention some hard-to-sort-out moral dilemmas. Over the years, my students have loved the first book -- from really strong readers to really reluctant ones - and both girls and boys do, too. I can see this one achieves the same effects: not a book that gets everyone super-excited, but one that gets talked up by young peers and gets passed around without making too big a wave. Its "beloved-ness" will last quite a while, I believe.

I also really appreciate the author's notes. This will make for a good historical-fiction writing assignment starter book. (I can see a whole class reading the book, discussing the facts and fiction aspects of the story, and doing some sort of historical research and writing a short story. <-- with my librarian's hat on, of course.)

View all my goodreads reviews.

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