Continuing on my quest to find books for my soon to be nine-year old niece, I read Karen Harrington's Sure Signs of Crazy last week. While I enjoyed the book a lot and recommend it for the over ten crowd, I think I'm going to hold off my girl until she's a wee bit older.
Protagonist Sarah is 12 and new in town. She and her father move around a lot as Sarah's mother was the object of a notorious trial and is now committed to a mental hospital. Her father was also tried but found innocent; he still struggles a decade later to cope and while a loving father, definitely self-medicates with alcohol.
In the course of one summer, Sarah fulfills an English assignment by writing letters to Atticus Finch, crushes on the college boy across the street (we've all been there) and builds up her courage to challenge the family secrets. She's smart and funny and determined which makes for a great protagonist. Most interestingly though, considering her family drama, Sarah is also very easy to identify with and I'm sure many young readers will like her a lot.
For my purposes though, I think the alcohol and the reasons behind her mother's trial, are just too much for my particular nine-year old. At least a year, maybe two and she will be ready. I'll be keeping Sure Signs of Crazy for the future.
I have an 8-year old niece who has always been able to read above her reading level. The problem, of course, is the content found in books for older children and teens. So I'm always on the lookout for middle grade titles that are written in a more sophisticated style but still tell stories that are appropriate for a typical little girl.
It's ridiculous how not easy this can be.
I just burned through a couple of great books for her though and wanted to share them. In A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, Felicity Pickle is used to traveling at a moment's whim with her mother and younger sister. They have now unexpectedly arrived in her mother's hometown of Midnight Gulch however and Felicity finds the idea of leaving to be terribly upsetting. She has found a home, not just a stopping place and hopes her mother will realize this before they move on yet again.
In Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder, Annie and her mother have returned to the Hotel Calvert, which Annie's rather unpleasant and now dying grandmother owns and has lived in all of her life. Annie goes to sleep in the crumbling hotel and wakes up in 1937 where she meets "Molly" - her grandmother as a young girl. The girls bond, Annie learns a lot about her grandmother's difficult childhood and in the process of trying to get back to her own time, she discovers the Baltimore that was. (And of course Molly & Annie are deeply changed by their time together.)
Both of these books emphasize family and the weight of unsaid words and worries. It is only when Annie arrives in her life that Molly is able to verbalize her fears and Felicity feels protective toward her own mother and thus does not tell her how much she wants to stop moving until her friends and family in Midnight Gulch convince her to speak up. Both girls also learn the value of friendship and adventure, the importance of being brave and honest. They are both quite heartwarming but not the slightest bit cloying and for my purposes (a certain 8-year old girl) dang near perfect.
I liked all the kids in these books--protagonists and supporting characters. They are smart but not magically brilliant, caring and thoughtful, concerned and questioning. They also occasionally say the wrong thing, act defensively and make a mistake. They are just kids, but especially delightful ones and a lot of fun to spend time with while reading.
Add both of these books to your lists for discerning 8-12 year old readers; they are excellent and highly recommended.
