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Frazier, Sundee T. 2007. Brendan Buckley's Universe And Everything In It.

It was the first Sunday of summer break, and I was in a hurry to finish my dusting chores fast so I could call Khalfani to ride bikes. I wasn't even thinking too hard about anything, like Dad says I do sometimes. Well, okay, maybe I was thinking a little bit hard. About Grampa Clem and how I'm going to miss fishing with him this summer. Which made me think about the funeral and how the man in the the black robe had said, "From dust we come and to dust we shall return." And then I started looking more closely at the gray particles I was picking up with my dust rag, and I thought, What is this stuff anyway? And where does it come from? And how come it keeps coming back no matter how many times I wipe it away? That's when the science part of me took over. (1)

That one paragraph hooked me. Brendan charmed me from the very beginning. Though that paragraph doesn't give you a full picture, the book shows him to be curious, eager to learn, sincere, and genuine. He's a thinker. But he's also a feeler. I love that I do. I love the way we see the world through his eyes. I am definitely wishing I'd read this one last year so I could have promoted it when it came time to choosing Librarians Choices. Because here's a secret--I SO would have voted for it.

The basics. A young boy, biracial, spends the summer wondering why his white grandfather refused to have contact with his mother after her marriage to his father. A summer wondering why even though they live so close--a quick bus ride away--he's never tried to meet his grandson. The two do meet. By chance. But that meeting tends to produce more questions than answers. Brendan and his family--his mother, his father, his grandmother--are so authentically presented, that it is a joy to read. (What do I mean by authentic you're wondering? They felt real. They felt human. They seemed to be so fleshed out, so genuine, that it didn't read like fiction.) A book full of questions kept in a young boy's journal. A book that searches the universe for a few answers. In case you didn't guess, I did love this one.

This is a boys' book, by the way, and I didn't love some of the details. The contest between two friends to see who could pee the most into their mountain dew bottle didn't thrill me. But then again, I'm not in the target audience range. I think this one works. And I am so happy to recommend it to others!!!

http://www.sundeefrazier.com/bb.php

198 pages

Lin, Grace. 2008. The Year of the Rat.

"Happy Year of the Rat!" Dad said as he toasted us with his glass. The clinking noises filled the air as the adults knocked glasses of wine against the kids' cups of juice.

What can I say about The Year of the Rat? Well, for starters it's a sequel to the oh-so-fabulous The Year of the Dog. I really loved the first novel. And I was super-excited to learn that another book was coming. It was one on my "wish list" for 2008 since early last spring.

The Year of the Rat continues the story of Pacy and her family and friends. She's a young girl, Tiawanese-American, who is "struggling" if you will with all the different shapes and sizes change can come in. The Year of the Rat, Pacy's told by her parents, symbolizes change. And change is something that can be more than a little scary for our young heroine.

One of the scariest changes for Pacy? Her best friend, Melody, is moving away! It's awful; it's terrible; it's true. Pacy now has the challenge or struggle of learning to live life without her best friend so close. School, her classmates, everything is different now. Emptier. Sadder. Lonelier. Can she find a place where she belongs?

This novel is all about being comfortable with who you are, discovering who you are, and learning what you want to be and see and do. It's a process. Change isn't always easy and it's definitely not always welcome. But Pacy will learn that a little change can be a good thing.

If you loved the first in the series, you're going to want to continue on with the rest. I just loved it!

182 pages.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 2002. Because of Anya.

Because of Anya is told through multiple view points. Keely, one of our narrators, is one of a group of ‘popular’ kids that begin to tease or ostracize Anya because she is different. It is more than her shyness. Lately, Anya has been more nervous. Scared almost. And then one day she comes to school in a wig. Keely knows ten year olds don’t wear wigs unless they’re sick. What if Anya is dying? Anya, our other narrator, is struggling with her self-esteem. She was recently diagnosed with alopecia. She has been told that she may never grow her hair back. She might in fact lose all her body hair--including her eyelashes. Scared about what this all means, Anya needs special friends to help her through it. But can anyone in her class understand what she’s going through? Can anyone see her true beauty?
It is a powerful story of how friendships are made and how first impressions can be deceiving.

Choldenko, Gennifer. 2007. If A Tree Falls at Lunch Period.

Opening line: This is lame but I'm actually looking forward to school this year, because every day this summer was like crap: dog crap, cat crap--I even had a few elephant crap days. Trust me, it was bad.

If A Tree Falls At Lunch Period has two narrators: a young girl, Kirsten McKenna, and a young boy, Walker Jones. One white, one black. Kirsten is going through some personal drama. Whether she's just a bit pudgy or actually bordering on overweight, her mother is on her case day and night 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (Who wouldn't want to self-comfort with food after listening to her mother nag and nag and nag and nag and nag?) In addition to Kirsten's weight issues, Kirsten's parents seem to be having troubles of their own. They argue nonstop. It seems Kirsten's mom is bent on making sure no one in the house has any peace or self-esteem. No wonder Kirsten and her sister, Kippy, like to take refuge in the basement and watch tv and play with their pet rabbit. "They stopped seeing my little sister, Kippy, and me, and they definitely stopped hearing what we said. . . . It was funny for a while. Then it wasn't" (1).

Walker's troubles seem to be with finding his place in a new school. If memory serves me, he's new to the community, new to the school. And he's trying to balance his old life, his old friends, his old neighborhood, with the new. He's at a private school for one thing. And all the kids are from a different class, most are white.

These two become unlikely friends for a while. Then....well...that's a surprise.

Most of what I have to say about If A Tree Falls At Lunch Period comes from anger. Not anger or disappointment or frustration with Gennifer Choldenko. If anything, it speaks to her skill that her characters are so well-developed, so authentic, that they were able to rub me the wrong way. Who am I angry at? I hate--hate with a passion--Kirsten's mom. She is so condescending, so infuriating. She actually sides with the popular kids and the popular kids' moms against her own daughter. She essentially tells her daughter that all her problems are her own fault. That the popular kids who are so mean to her, so cruel to her aren't really mean; they aren't bullies. No, this mother has the gall to say that those kids are nice and wonderful and friendly. And that it is her daughter's fault that no one likes her. And the way she nags her about her weight, the way she NEVER listens to anything her daughter has to say, it made me want to smack her. The other people that irritated me are the popular kids, particularly a brat named Brianna. She's mean, she's cruel, she's racist, she's a snob. If there was any justice in the world, she'd be struck with lightning.

Anyway, the book is well written. And it's a fast, enjoyable read. While not all the characters are likable, all are well-developed.

Urban, Linda. 2007. A Crooked Kind of Perfect.

I read this book initially for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. Now, less than a week later, I have reread this little gem of a book. It's a book that I would describe as practically perfect in every way. (I don't know if Linda Urban would want me to stress the near-perfect part since the message of the book seems to be that nobody can be perfect, that life isn't perfect. But even the message seems perfect to me.) Our heroine, Zoe Elias, is ten-going-on eleven. She has one dream--a very big dream. She wants to play the piano. In what could be one of the best openings of all times we read about "How It Was Supposed To Be" versus "How It Is."

I was supposed to play the piano.
The piano is a beautiful instrument.
Elegant.
Dignified.
People wear ball gowns and tuxedos to hear the piano.
With the piano, you could play Carnegie Hall. You could wear a tiara. you could come out on stage wearing gloves up to your elbows. You could pull them off, one finger at a time.
Everybody is quiet when you are about to play the piano. They don't even breathe. They wait for the first notes.
They wait.
They wait.
And then you lift your hands high above your head and slam them down on the keys and the first notes come crashing out and your fingers fly up and down and your foot--in its tiny slipper with rubies at the toe--your foot peeks out from under your gown to press lightly on the pedals.
A piano is glamorous. Sophisticated. Worldly.
It is a wonderful thing to play the piano.

The next chapter...Zoe's reality...

I play the organ.
A wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ.
The Perfectone D-60.

That's it. The entire second chapter. What a statement! But I better watch my exclamation points in this review, just in case Zoe (or her creator) is reading. Zoe really doesn't like the excessive and unnecessary use of exclamation points.

Zoe's life isn't perfect. She wants to play piano, but she's stuck with the Perfectone D-60. She wants to be playing real music. She's stuck with beginning level songbooks like Television Themesongs and Hits from the Seventies. And her social life? Well, she's been recently dumped by her best friend because her friend's interests are changing--lip gloss, tv, music, clothes, and boys. That leaves Zoe with no one to sit with at lunch, doesn't it?

Enter Wheeler.

Usually, Wheeler Diggs is a mess.
Except his hair.
On anybody else, his curly hair might look goofy, but on Wheeler Diggs it looks just the right kind of wild. And it's dark, which makes his blue eyes look even brighter. And his smile, which is kind of lopsided, looks like he's trying not to smile, but he can't help it.
Which is why, sometimes, every once in a while, somebody will smile back. And sometimes, most of the time, those people will get punched in the stomach. Which is why even the kids who sit with him at lunch are a little bit scared of him and why, really, Wheeler Diggs doesn't have a best friend, either. (58-59)

Wheeler and Zoe are the unlikeliest of friends. But when he follows her home from school one day--to get his hands on some more of her dad's cookies--it's the beginning of an odd but satisfying friendship. Though Zoe doesn't admit this for the longest time. In this book, the reader sees if practice really does make perfect. . .and if wishes really can come true.

The characters, the relationships are about as perfect as can be. I've never seen family dynamics so well captured, so well displayed. Linda Urban has created memorable, authentic characters. The book has it all--moments of happiness, frustration, disappointment, loneliness, and joy. And plenty of humor!

It kind of goes without saying, but for the record...this is one that I love, love, loved!

Linda Urban's website is great too! (I better watch those exclamations.) You can find the recipe for Bada-Bings cookies. You can read her thoughts on writing 'the perfect' book. (She writes in part that: "There is no perfect book. But there is a novel to be written that is perfectly you.")
And of course, you can find out more about Linda Urban on her bio page. She also has a livejournal page where you can read her latest thoughts.

Pennypacker, Sara. 2007. The Talented Clementine.

First sentence: I have noticed that teachers get exciting confused with boring a lot. But when my teacher said, "Class, we have an exciting project to talk about," I listened anyway.

Clementine is back. For those that aren't familiar with this spunky, zany gem of a character visit my review of the first book, Clementine. The teacher's "exciting" announcement was the fact that the school was going to be raising money. The third and fourth graders will participate in this school-wide event by putting on a talent show. Almost every kid hears this news with joy. They're excited at the chance to show off--most want to do cartwheels as an act. But Clementine, well, Clementine is worried. She is not quite sure what her talent is. You can't really label the special talents she has.

Clementine is a wonderful narrator with a way for words. Note Clementine's exchange with her principal, Mrs. Rice.

"Come in," Principal Rice said. When she saw it was me, she held out her hand for the note from my teacher that would tell her what kind of chat we should have. We have done this a lot.
But today I just sat on the chair and started right in. "Which are smarter? Chimpanzees or orangutans?"
"That's an interesting question, Clementine," Mrs. Rice said. "Maybe you could ask the science teacher after you've told me what you're doing here."
"Also, I've been wondering what the difference is between smashed and crashed."
Mrs. Rice handed me her dictionary.
And then suddenly I didn't want to know anymore! That is the miracle about dictionaries! (5)

Clementine's observations about herself and the world around her--her family, her classmates, her teachers, her principal--make for an entertaining, often funny read. I really can't recommend Clementine highly enough. This narrator has won my heart.

I'm lucky that way: astounding ideas are always popping into my head, and I don't even have to use my brains to get them there. (20)

And I love Clementine's question:

If a teacher can have a substitute teacher, how come a kid can't have a substitute kid? (84)

Pages: 137
Time Spent: About 40 minutes

Hickey, Caroline. 2007. Cassie Was Here.

Bree is an eleven year old girl who wishes she could be thirteen just like the girl-next-door Cassie. Cassie is so different. She’s older. She’s wilder. She’s vibrant. And compared to her new friend, Bree feels she is...well, rather boring. But Bree also learns that sometimes you’ve just got to be yourself and hope people like you for that. Bree isn’t really boring in the traditional sense either. Most “boring” kids aren’t eleven and still playing with their imaginary friends. But while Bree has her quirks, she really begins to learn more about herself during this turbulent summer.

Overall, Cassie Was Here is an enjoyable book.

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2007. Feathers.

Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all --Emily Dickinson

I neither liked nor disliked Feathers. It's in some ways an odd book. I think it is trying too hard to be surreal. That is to say, it's not to my taste. Other people could love it. And they think the amount of surrealness to be perfect. But I'm not other people. Frannie is a young girl, and Feathers is the story of a mixed-up winter. When a new boy comes to her school--to her class--it seems he brought a strange mood or effect with him. He looks different--he looks white though he claims he isn't--he acts different too. With his long hair and near-white skin, he has folks calling him "Jesus Boy" some kids think its funny. But one kid, Samantha, Frannie's best friend, takes him more seriously. She ponders what it really would be like if Jesus came back and was a kid--a kid like them. Samantha always has been "holy"--that's the word Frannie uses. Frannie really can't see the point of faith, going to church, reading the Bible, believing in the unseen. But Samantha--she has something, sees something--that makes Frannie question a bit who she is and what she believes. She asks herself--at least for a short time--questions about herself and ponders her own belief system. But this *strangeness* doesn't last, and soon this "Jesus-boy" is just another boy in her class. Soon Frannie is the only one left wondering, questioning what it was that had happened to everyone. It's a book about hope. It's a book about race and prejudice. It's a book about differences. It's a book about building bridges.

This 'odd' book is short. Just 118 pages in length. And it wasn't a difficult read. You could easily tackle it in one sitting. But the writing style just didn't click with me for whatever reason. Maybe you'll have better luck appreciating this one.

Holm, Jennifer L. 2007. Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf.

This may just be my favorite book about seventh graders ever. Maybe. It is just so, so, so good. So realistic. So right. And I love that it is told through stuff. It is a visual treat that engages you from the beginning. The opening page, a back-to-school shopping list hanging on the refrigerator door with magnets. The second page? The same note with the mom's handwritten reply in addition to a posting of her schedule for the new year. And thus begins the saga of Ginny's quest for a yellow sweater. Although there are plenty of other sagas and dramas (some serious and some just seemingly so to a twelve year old) in the following pages. I have many favorite bits, but one of the things I love best is that she has trouble following the beauty advice in magazines. The results are somewhat comical. (With backdrops of refrigerator doors, notebook paper, tables, counters, lockers, screensavers etc., it is just fun, fun, fun.) You might not think that scrapbooking would be an effective storytelling tool. I know I certainly didn't think a life could adequately be captured in "stuff", but Holm proves it can be done...and done well. And even done poetically. There was something that just rang so true and right with our narrator, Ginny (Genevieve) Davis.

Anyway, I loved, loved, loved this one!

Konigsburg, E.L. 2007. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World.

Last week was a somewhat weird reading week, I read a series of books all in a row--Eggs, Tamar, and The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World--that I was all iffy about. Each had strong elements. But each one had just one or two things that made me hesitate about saying that I loved them...or in some cases saying that I enjoyed them. I liked The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World. I might even say that I really liked it. But I don't think I can say I loved it. But I am glad I read it.

Amedeo Kaplan has just moved to a new town and..."For the first time in his life Amedeo was dealing with being the new kid in school, the new kid in town, and finding out that neither one made him special. Quite the opposite. Being new was generic at Lancaster Middle School. The school itself didn't start until sixth grade, so every single one of his fellow sixth-graders was a new kid in school, and being new was also common because St. Malo was home to a lot of navy families, so for some of the kids at Lancaster Middle School this was the third time they were the new kid in town. The navy seemed to move families to any town that had water nearby--a river, a lake, a pond, or even high humidity--so coming from a famous port city like New York added nothing to his interest quotient. Amedeo was beginning to think that he had been conscripted into AA. Aloners Anonymous. No one at Lancaster Middle School knew or cared that he was new, that he was from New York, that he was Amedeo Kaplan." (2)

Amedeo is a likeable character. He is easy to relate to. Who hasn't at times felt like they were in Aloners Anonymous? (Especially at the age!) And as the book goes on, Amedeo's search for a good friend or two becomes interesting. The main characters of the book are William Wilcox, a boy his own age who happens to live in the neighborhood, and an eccentric old neighbor, a lady, Mrs. Zender, and his godfather, Peter Vanderwaal.

Mrs. Wilcox, William Wilcox, and Amedeo are cleaning, sorting, and organizing Mrs. Zender's estate as she is preparing to move to a retirement community. Each room, each item has a story it seems. And the woman is very particular. At times she's likeable. But at others, she is very aloof. Very strange. Not quite within reach. Each day after school, William and Amedeo go to Mrs. Zender's house and help out. They enjoy searching for treasures. Both hope to make a great find. Especially Amedeo.

But the book isn't narrated by Amedeo alone. It isn't his story alone. The chapters alternate between Amedeo, middle schooler, and Peter Vanderwaal, art dealer. It was harder for me to connect with this storyline. I knew that eventually--probably three-fourths through the book--there would be a great aha moment when the narratives would begin to come together and make sense. But it was a long journey. Peter is considerably older than Amedeo of course. He runs an art gallery of some sort, I believe. (Or else maybe an art museum??? Anyway, he displays art and has art shows). His narrative has him returning home for his father's funeral, returning with a box of his father's belongings, and working diligently on a new show that will be opening featuring some of the Degenerate Art as deemed by the Nazi party.

So you've got two settings. Two narrators. More than a few story lines and plots floating around. Overall, I liked the story. I really enjoyed some aspects of it. I liked some characters better than others. I liked some elements better than others.

This isn't your typical book. This book isn't about a typical middle schooler who is trying to make friends, trying to avoid the school bully, and complaining about homework or teachers or parents. This is a 'unique' boy with unique interests. I typically love books where young people--teens and kids--befriend the older generation. I love intergenerational novels. But this wasn't even that. It had some elements of that, but really all you can say about it is that it's in a category all by itself.

Spinelli, Jerry. 2007. Eggs.

I read this book about six or seven days ago. I am still not quite sure what I think about it if I'm being honest. There were parts I liked. There were some parts I questioned. And I'm undecided as to how much I liked it. I know I didn't hate it. David is a young boy--9 or 10--who is grieving the loss of his parents. His mom is actually dead. His dad, well, he is just missing in action since his wife's death. He has become consumed with work and hiding himself and burying his own feelings. And so he's become neglectful and thoughtless. I don't know how much of this was done intentionally on his part. I don't think he sat down and said, "hmmm, I think I'll withdraw from my boy's life completely because I don't want to be bothered with having to watch him cry and ask questions about his mother." But David is in the care of his grandmother. The grandmother is in a difficult position. She loves her grandson. Loves him. But he doesn't love her. He doesn't care about her. He is angry. He is bitter. He is upset. He is withdrawn. He won't talk to her. He won't hug her. He won't show any affection whatsoever. Which I suppose is very explainable--like father like son. But it is hard for the grandmother to watch her grandson be in pain but not be able to reach him and connect with him emotionally. She's willing, but he is not.

The book begins with an Easter egg hunt. David, as you can imagine, is not a happy guy. He doesn't want to be hunting easter eggs. He feels its a little too demeaning. Isn't he old enough not to participate? And not only that it was around this time last year that his mother died. So there aren't really any happy memories going on when the book opens. Yet hunting eggs is what David must do. And in doing so he makes a very very unusual friend, Primrose. She isn't one of the kids hunting eggs. No, that would be usual. No, she is underneath a pile of brown leaves with an Easter egg on top of her face. At first, David thinks she's a dead body. Which is precisely the effect Primrose was going for. She was 'playing dead.' It's not until days--maybe a week or two--later that he sees this 'dead girl' at the local library.

And thus a very unusual friendship comes to be. Primrose is older than David. I believe she's 13. But being older doesn't necessarily make her wiser. And Primrose's life is far from perfect. Like David, she is a broken soul. She's never known her father. Her mother is eccentric at best. (Her mother is a psychic.) And when David meets her, she is by choice living in a van without wheels in her front yard. She's tired of sharing the teeny tiny house with a crazy lady.

Two kids, both with problems of their owns, become friends and have adventures. But sometimes the adventures go a bit too far in my opinion. For one thing,

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both kids are in the habit of sneaking out of the house after dark night after night after night. And it seems that the adults involved either aren't aware or don't care. In the case of the grandmother, I think it is a fact of not knowing. But these kids aren't completely nonsupervised. They sometimes visit during the night an eccentric adult they call Refrigerator John. He is a friendly adult who likes children better than other adults. He lives by himself. And he doesn't think it's *odd* that two children come by his place alone without permission several nights a week. He gives them a place to talk, a place to watch tv, and sometimes an outdoor adventure to go on. For example, he encourages them--actively encourages them--to go on flashlight adventures and gather pieces of junk from the trashcans on their neighbors' curbs. He then fixes and cleans and sells the 'junk' as treasure. These adventures are done by themselves. So they're unsupervised kids wandering the streets at night with a flashlight. Anyway, he also for a bit encourages them to go hunting for worms. While all of this is strange, the fact that he is more interested in being friends with these kids instead of letting the parents and guardians know what their children are up to while they're asleep is a bit questionable in my opinion. While a 13 year old has no business out at night without her parent's consent, a 9 year old definitely doesn't. It just screams out that it's wrong, wrong, wrong. So I don't think these nightime adventures are harmless fun expressions of friendship. I think they're trouble waiting to happen.

Anyway, I won't tell you how the book ends. There is some resolution. And I do feel like the kids are in a better place at the end. That they're brokenness is on the way to being mended. But it's a long journey to get there.

Washington Post's Review of Eggs
Kidsreads.com's review of Eggs
Propernoun's review of Eggs

Green, Jessica. 2007. Diary of a Would-Be Princess.

Jillian James is a fifth-grader who is keeping a required journal for her teacher Mrs. Bright. At first the entries seem forced, but as the year progresses, Jillian seems really to get "into" this whole journaling concept. The journal shows her progress through the year, her changes which are mostly social. For example, Jillian starts out the year as a loner. She doesn't have any close friends. And she definitely doesn't have a best friend. She's definitely not popular like the princesses in her class. But through several school terms, we see her make friends with many other kids in the class. Often she makes friends with those the popular kids deem unworthy of existing. But together, they learn the true meaning of friendship. One thing I really liked about this book was that it showed her relationship with her teacher. Mrs. Bright would make weekly comments at the end of the week. She would offer advice. Provide counsel. Show support. I thought the narrative, Jillian's voice, was very well done as well. Jessica Green has captured some of the frustrations and angst of being that age...of being in school...of life in general. I especially especially loved Jillian's end-of-year speech on procrastination. Overall, this book was fun and enjoyable.

This book was originally published in Australia in 2005.

Shalant, Phyllis. 2007. The Society of Super Secret Heroes: The Great Cape Rescue.

Finch and his three best friends, Elliot, Rajiv, and Kevin, are enthusiastic superheroes wannabes. They spend their free time writing and illustrating the comic book adventures of two superhero ferrets. But Mimi, Finch's older sister, teases him that now he's about to be in fourth grader, he shouldn't pretend anymore. After all, wouldn't his classmates tease him if they knew the he and his friends spent all summer pretending to be superheroes with super powers? So reluctantly, Finch sees that maybe some times are best left at home. No more playground fun as superheroes.

But a 'mysterious' towel has other ideas. As a child, his mother bought Finch a green towel with lightning bolts and sewn on strings. A cape to make any superhero proud. But those days are long behind him, he thinks. But then he starts hearing a strange voice in his head. And then, his friends start hearing this mystery voice too. Could this towel be the incredible Thinking Cape?

4 fourth grade boys, 1 glorified green towel, and 1 secret oath make for a very funny, lighthearted read that many youngsters will enjoy.

I promise to do my best to help others at all times, to fight only for truth and justice, never for selfish or evil ends, but to solve problems by thinking, not fighting, whenever I can. As a member of the Society of Super Secret Heroes, I will carry out all missions without ever letting anyone know that it was me. I will protect the Thinking Cape from falling into the hands of ordinary people. And most of all, I will keep my true identity hidden and the SSSh a secret until I die. (62-63)

Wilson, N.D. 2007. Leepike Ridge.

Let me just say this right up front. It had me at hello. Seriously. Could there be a better first sentence?

In the history of the world there have been lots of onces and lots of times, and every time has had a once upon it.

But it continues.

Most people will tell you that the once upon a time happened in a land far, far away, but it really depends on where you are. The once upon a time may have been just outside your back door. It may have been beneath your very feet. It might not have been in a land at all but deep in the sea's belly or bobbing around on its beck.

Does this book not cry out to be read?

Thomas Hammond is an eleven-year-old boy who is about to take part in a very exciting, very dangerous accidental adventure. When he goes on his night-time stroll, he never expected this to happen. What is the this? Well, let's just say that his idea to float on a foam "raft" from the refrigerator packaging was not his brightest or his best. He was upset. He was bored. And I suppose a part of him did want to get away from it all. After all, who wants their mom to get remarried to a guy like Jeffrey Veatch...but he wasn't trying to run away, and he certainly wasn't planning on almost drowning...and getting lost in an underground cave in the mountains. But what's done can't be undone. You can't wake up and have it all be a dream--a bad dream--though Tom certainly tries. Leepike Ridge is an exciting mystery, a survival novel. One that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Yes, I loved, loved, loved this one. I loved the style. I loved the characters. I loved the pacing.
I will definitely be recommending this one over and over again.

Fleming, Candace. 2007. The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School.

I greatly enjoyed The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School. Candace Fleming creates humorous modern-day tales based on the classic fables of Aesop. The main idea of the novel is that there is an out-of-control fourth grade class at Aesop Elementary School. These kids will need to be tamed by an incredible teacher. This teacher who will work his magic and teach the impossible kids? A Mr. Jupiter who makes a Mary Poppins like appearance.

Rubbing her throbbing temples, she sighed, "How I wish a teacher would walk through that door." At that precise moment, a breeze blew through the principal's office. It rustled the papers on her desk, rattled her window blinds, and flung open the door to reveal a tall, dark man wearing a pith helmet and clutching a copy of the morning's want ads. (2-3)

When asked to describe himself to the principal, Mrs. Struggles, he says:

"My first job was as an assistant dog groomer aboard King Bernard's yacht, the SS Pooch, anchored off the Dalmatian coast. After receiving my degree in nanothermal economics from Dummer University, I led an expedition in search of the dodo bird. Later, I conducted the Timbuktu Philharmonic Orchestra, worked as a translator for Bigfoot, became the first man to ski down Mount Everest, collected mummified cats in Egypt, and discovered the lost city of Atlantis." He smiled. "Among other things." (3)

"I was head tetherball coach at Matilda Jane's School for Prim and Proper Girls in Las Vegas, as well as the swimming instructor at Loch Ness Middle School. I also taught Swahili as a second language at Dooglehorn Elementary in Switzerland, hula dancing at Balderdash Academy for Boys in London, and organic geochemistry at Harvard." He smiled again. "Among other places." (4)

Perhaps because of her desperation or perhaps because she finds his strangeness oddly charming, Mr. Jupiter is hired on the spot.

The chapters read more like short stories as these familiar morals are retold in fable-form. Overall, I thought they were nicely done. I had some favorites among them though.

Here is one entitled "March Madness"

March was testing time at Aesop Elementary School. "Everyone take out a number two pencil," directed Mr. Jupiter. Calvin raised his hand. "Are we being given the I.S.B.N.A.C.T.'s?" he asked. "No, no," corrected Bernadette. "These are the Y.M.C.A.G.R.E's." "Actually," said Rose, "they're the H.I.J.K.L.M.N.O.P's." In the back row, Stanford snorted. "Get serious," he said. "We're taking the E.S.B.A.F.C.A.E.F.G.A.E's, otherwise known as the Every State Basic Abilities and Fundamental Cognitive Assessment of Essential Fourth Grade Achievement Evaluation Test." "Whatever," shrugged the others. "I couldn't agree more," said Mr. Jupiter. "Still..." He looked around the room. "Does everyone have a pencil?" The children nodded. "Then I suppose we should get started," he said. And for the rest of the month, the fourth graders did nothing else.

MORAL: Time is often wasted on things of little consequence. (142-143)

The stories are funny and enjoyable. And I think it is a great collection of loosely related stories. (Actually, these stories remind me in an indirect kind of way of the enjoyable Mrs. Piggle Wiggle stories.)

Releasing August 2007.

Gifford, Peggy. 2007. Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little. Photographs by Valorie Fisher.

Peggy Gifford is brilliant. That is all I have to say about it. Not really. That would be a very short review indeed. But let's just say that I loved, loved, loved Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little. And does my love extend to the incredibly charming and funny photographs? Of course!!! Valorie Fisher is marvelous. Loved, loved, loved those as well. Especially the ones of the messy/clean bedroom. And the mud-splattering ones. Who am I kidding? I loved them all. All I can say, is that in my opinion, Moxy Maxwell is a must read for everyone. I don't care how young or old you are, I think you'll love Moxy Maxwell. She's just that kind of girl.

Chapter 1
In Which
Moxy Maxwell
Begins to Read
Stuart Little

Her name was Moxy Maxwell and she was nine and it was August and late August at that. It was so late in August that tonight was to be the "Goodbye to Summer Splash!" show at the pool. Moxy was one of eight petals in the water-ballet part. She and the other seven petals were going to form a human daisy at the deep end while carrying sparklers in their left hands.

Next year Moxy planned to do a rose solo. Moxy Maxwell was just that sort of girl--the sort of girl who even at nine had big plans. In fact, last April when Miss Cordial asked the class to write a list of Possible Career Paths, Moxy had needed a third piece of paper. Moxy was going places all right.

She was going to her room. And she was going to stay there until she read every word of Stuart Little. Mr. Flamingo, who was going to be Moxy's fourth-grade teacher this fall, had assigned the book for summer reading. They were going to have a quiz on it too--on the very first day of school. And tomorrow was the very first day of school.

Now, Moxy loved to read books. She loved books so much that sometimes she would stay up all night and read. It's just that Moxy liked to read what she wanted to read and not what someone told her to read. (1-2)

Are you hooked yet? Curious to read more? I know I sure was. Moxy had me from the very beginning. The book is her journey of excuses and delays--in other words her procrastination--in facing the inevitable...the reading of Stuart Little. It is very entertaining. It is very funny. It is authentic through and through. The family relationships were dynamic. The book is practically perfect in every way.

Barshaw, Ruth McNally. 2007. Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel.

Ellie McDoodle is an enjoyable read. Ruth McNally Barshaw has created a memorable heroine in Ellie, Eleanor Marie McDougal. She is twelve years old. She loves to draw. She likes to capture her perception of the world in her journals. She uses both text and drawings to communicate to the reader in a unique voice. This book, Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel, captures a week-in-the-life of Ellie as she faces the dauntingly unpleasant task of a family vacation with an aunt, uncle, and a vanful of cousins...not to mention her baby brother. You see, her parents are going to a funeral...and while Ellie's older brother and sister--both in their mid to late teens--are allowed to stay home, her and her baby brother are going to be in the care of her aunt and uncle...on a camping trip. So if you like camping/outdoor adventures, family dramas full of games, spats, and sarcasm, or books with heroines that use art to 'find' themselves....then Ellie McDoodle may just be for you.

I loved so many things about Ellie McDoodle. I loved that the text is full of both facts--outdoorsy/nature type things--and how tos--instructions for how to play games both indoor and outdoor. But more importantly I love how Ellie's voice is captured. She seems so authentic. So real. Yes, she's emotional. Yes, she can be a bit of a pain. She can be happy one minute, mad the next. But that IS what it is like to be twelve. And Ruth McNally Barshaw really gets the family dynamics...how a girl can hate her family one minute, and love them the next. How irritations and frustrations can rage one minute, but then there is always time to be soothed and rational again. The rest of the characters--family members--do seem one-dimensional, but I believe this is because we're seeing them through Ellie's eyes. This is her story. This is her drama. She doesn't know these people, so of course they're going to be depicted rather shallowly and harshly until she does begin to know them.

http://www.ruthexpress.com/ellie.html

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2007. Reaching for Sun.

Josie Wyatt, a seventh grader with cerebral palsy, is tired of feeling different. She's tired of her special ed classes. She's tired of the occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy. She wants--just for once--for her mother to treat her like she's normal.

Poppies

When poppies first
push themselves
out of the ground
they look like a weed--
hairy, grayish, saw-toothed foliage--
easily a member
of the ugly family.

When I push
sounds from my mouth
it's not elegant either.
I wrestle to wrap
my lips
around syllables,
struggle with my tongue
to press the right points.

When poppies bloom
the same red
as a Chinese wedding dress--
satiny cups with ruffled edges,
purplish black eyes--
they're a prize for patience,
and if I take all that trouble
to say something,
I promise
to try
to make it worth
the wait too.

(p. 43-44)

Josie is being raised by her mother and grandmother on a small farm. Reaching for Sun follows the family through a course of a year as each family member changes and grows. When the book opens, Josie feels excluded and left out. She has no friends her own age--although she doesn't lack for older friends. But in the spring time, the warmth of the sun brings along a new friend, one her own age, Jordan. The summer brings changes as well. Some more unexpected than others. But together this family can make it through anything and everything. With patience AND love.

Reaching for Sun is a verse novel, a very good verse novel. I do recommend this one!!!

And for the record, add this one to the growing stack of 2007 books with the theme of lying/deception.

Boyce, Frank Cottrell.2004. Millions.

Anthony and Damian are brothers who find a bag full of money in their yard that seemed to just fly right into their hands. The money was bound for destruction--on a train on its way to be burned. But it still seems a bit too good to be true. Damian, a bit more naive than his brother, thinks it’s a sign from God. Anthony is suspicious about where the money came from. But both want to spend the money and keep it a secret. Thus begins MILLIONS. The novel is a book about how money changes people. About how money changes the way you view people, and how people then view you. Damien, ever pure at heart, is the only one who remains virtually unchanged by money. He wants to use the money for the greater good. He wants to feed the poor and house the homeless. He wants to build wells in third-world countries. He wants to change the world. His brother is more interested in buying things. Expensive things. The plot gets rather complicated towards the end, but overall, Millions is an interesting read.
Is it possible to like the style of the book, but not the book itself? To love the flow of the sentences. The language. The rhythm. The uniqueness of it. I was really liking this book up until a certain point. I was about three-fourths through the novel, when it started getting old.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
For example, when the boys start trying to protect their money and suspecting all the adults in their lives of being the thief. Conspiracy theories run rampant, but it wasn’t always clear to this reader if the theories had any truth to them...or if they were all lies. I was confused about who was actually after the money. Was it Dorothy??? Or did he imagine her being the bad guy? And what was up with him ‘seeing’ his mother? Was she dead or not??? What was up with that? I know he was seeing visions and all that through the novel, but exactly why???? Anyway, if I could have left the novel understanding some of these unanswered questions, I would have still ‘really liked’ it. As it is, I still enjoyed it. Maybe rereading it will help some if I ever choose to go back.

Lord, Cynthia. 2006. Rules.

Rules is a story of friendship and patience. Catherine is used to having to help her younger brother, David, who is autistic cope with life. She’s accustomed to helping him create boundaries and provide rules or guidelines for him to help him know how to live and interact in the real world. Rules such as, “No toys in the fish tank” and “Keep your pants on in public.” But sometimes Catherine needs a few rules of her own. It is easy for Catherine to blame her friendless state on her brother or her family, but could the truth be that she doesn’t know that you have to be a friend before you can have a friend? It’s a learning process for Catherine as she makes a few new friends, and discovers her own weaknesses. Jason, her ‘special’ friend is wheelchair-bound and communicates by pointing to word cards, but he is the one who ends up teaching her some important life lessons.

Wolfson, Jill. 2005. What I Call Life.

Cal Lavender knows only one thing: the life she is living now...it is not her life. It all started when her mom had an episode at the local library. Now Cal finds herself living in a group home, sharing a bedroom with other foster kids--none of them ‘normal’--and learning to knit from the Knitting Lady. This environment isn’t home. These strange people aren’t her family. She doesn’t know what to think about anything...but day by day she begins to piece together her life and come to some important conclusions. She’ll have to unlearn some habits, but she might just figure out this thing called life.

I, Cal Lavender, was definitely not myself. A fuzz brain, crying and whiny the night before. Definitely not me. But after I brushed my teeth, checked the mirror, and adjusted My Face for Unbearably Unpleasant and Embarrassing Situations, I felt more myself. Or at least as close to myself as an eleven-year-old can be when she is being forced to live not her real life. (44)

It can happen that way, can’t it?? One day, things are one way. And the next day, the life you are living, what you call life, changes forever. (105)

http://www.jillwolfson.com/

Kent, Rose. 2007. Kimchi & Calamari. 220 pages.

You wake up and you're fourteen. The world is your supersized soda waiting to be guzzled, right? Wrong. My birthday tasted more like Coke that went flat. Make that flat Coke with cookie crumbs from my little sister's backwash. Not that I planned on a lousy birthdya. After all, I'm Joseph Calderaro, eighth grade optimist. The bag of barbecue chips is always half full in my mind. As I searched for my Yankees T-shirt that morning, I tapped out my favorite band tune with my drumsticks. I was ready to hit the halls of Johansen Middle School bursting with I'm-all-that attitude. I couldn't wait to hear "Happy Birthday to Joseph" chants from cute girls in the hallway between classes. And of course, I expected to uphold my family's tradition of gorging on my favorite dinner. Fried calamari. Eggplant Parmesan. Chocolate cake with gobs of cannoli frosting. Even the whines from Gina and Sophie couldn't ruin that meal. Little did I know that my burned Pop-Tart breakfast would be a sign of trouble ahead. Or that the day's events would spiral downward, just like that pastry--from strawberry frosted and gooey good to black-on-the-bottome and smoking bad. (1-2)

Homework assignments are never fun...at least not through the eyes of an eighth-grader. But Joseph finds one assignment in particular to be extra-impossible. His social studies class is supposed to write a 1500 word essay on their ancestry. The problem? This "Italian" kid is Korean. He's adopted. Joseph would find it awkward to write about his Italian heritage--even though that is how he's been raised. He knows and loves his Italian-sized family. He loves the food. He loves the get togethers. He loves the traditions. But he also knows that it is sort've obvious to the rest of the world that he isn't Italian. But he finds it equally impossible to write about his Korean ancestors. He's adopted. He knows nothing except that he was found in front of a police station in Pusan. No names. No reasons. So he decides to bend the truth just a little. He researches Korea in the library and on the internet, chooses a famous Korean, and inserts him into the family tree. Soon, Joseph had a tangled web of lies that even Spiderman couldn't get out of. But some truths have to be told. Some words need to be said.

Through the course of Kimchi and Calamari Joseph begins to discover who he really is. And he makes peace with both his Korean and Italian ethnicity.

Day, Karen. 2007. Tall Tales. 229 pages.

Meg Summers is a sixth grader whose biggest hope is to find a friend, a true best friend. But since she's the "new girl" at school, she's not quite sure how to go about it. Sure, it's easy to think about going up to strangers and saying "Hi, my name is Meg." But to actually do it...requires more courage than Meg has at the moment. So the first few weeks of school, Meg eats lunch in a bathroom stall. But then things start to change. It all happens so suddenly too. A lie here. A lie there. Soon there are lies everywhere. Then Meg meets Grace Bennett. A girl who would be a perfect best friend. The two are fast friends, but how long will their friendship last if Meg keeps telling lies to everyone. The truth--the truth she will hardly even admit to herself--is that her Dad is an alcoholic. That he has a problem with his anger regardless of how sober he is. Can Grace love Meg despite a few tall tales and in spite of her dysfunctional family? Can Meg learn to tell the truth and change her destiny?

"Today in the library I read this book about a girl who is 'different.' I don't know anyone like her, anyone who reads a lot and wants to be a writer. But I think, I'm like that girl. I almost laugh out loud. I just wish the girl were real and lived here in Lake Haven." (20)

http://www.klday.com/

Holmes, Sara Lewis. 2007. Letters from Rapunzel.
Note: Winner of the Ursula Nordstrom First Fiction Contest

First Impressions: The cover of the book is, in my opinion, somewhat deceptive. With the long-haired Rapunzel gazing out the tower window, it could be just another fractured or retold fairy tale. It could be. But it isn't. Whether that is good news or bad news depends on the expectations of readers. Although I must say that while Rapunzel and her tower feature predominantly on the cover, there are rows of houses--modern-day houses--on the cover as well. So there are some clues that it is contemporary. The book is described thusly, "an enchanting debut novel [that] is a breath of fresh air. Told through letters, with a liberal sprinkling of fairy dust, Rapunzel's quest for a happy ending gives every reader something to believe in."

When "Rapunzel" finds a scrap of a letter in her father's chair addressed to "Box # 5667", she begins an unusual correspondence with one of her father's inspirational muses. Her father, a poet, has been hospitalized with clinical depression. Rapunzel, however, is too young to really understand that diagnosis. All she knows is that her father is under an evil spell. She hopes by writing her father's friend--his poetic guide--that she will somehow break the spell. That she will be rescued from her tower--the horribly yucky after-school Homework Club. And that her father will be rescued from his tower--the hospital. (Or clinic, or institution--I can't remember if the book was too specific in saying where the father was being kept).

Who is Box #5667? A mystery that won't be solved until the final chapters. I certainly won't tell--or even hint. But the correspondence isn't so much about "Box #5667" as it is about a young girl's inner thought life. Her joys. Her concerns. Her worries. She can be funny. She can be entertaining. But she can also be quite serious. She wants to do anything and everything she can to help her father. But there is nothing she can do. School and the homework club are just two of her troubles. Homework--so isn't fun. Teachers--so don't understand her sense of humor. Classmates--don't understand where she's coming from.

Letters from Rapunzel is an enjoyable read. The characters are well-written, and the story is heartfelt.

http://saralewisholmes.com/

Matthews, L.S. 2006. A Dog For Life.
As I mentioned in my review of Grace Lin’s The Year of the Dog, I typically stay as far away as possible from dog books. Particularly books with dogs on the cover. I figure that 90% of those books lead to one thing: the tragic death of a dog. But I was brave. Well, half-brave, the reviews I’d read hadn’t mentioned any tragedy that was dog-related, and it had appeared on several recommended lists, so I chanced it.
Set in England, A Dog For Life is the story of a boy, John Hawkins, and his dog who set out on an adventure together. Since his brother was diagnosed with a serious medical condition, a condition that sometimes proves terminal, the mom had announced that their pet dog, Mouse, must be given away or taken to the shelter or pound. Regardless, she was not to stay there. The boys are naturally upset. But what upsets them most is that Mouse is no usual dog. And their relationship to the dog is most unusual. You see, they are able to telepathically communicate with each other. The bond between these three is not meant to be broken. And if it’s up to John, it won’t be. His plan A: to run away from home with the dog and go to his uncle’s house. The problem, he only has enough money to get their halfway by train. But he’s determined not to let Mouse or his brother, Tom, down. The trip is full of excitement, adventure, and slight traces of danger as a boy and his dog set off on an unforgettable journey.

http://www.lsmatthewsonline.co.uk/
http://www.lsmatthewsonline.co.uk/myblog.htm