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Though I am not a stick in the mud, never make changes kind of a person, I do like a fair amount of stability. I anticipated when I started my blog on WordPress that I would be keeping it here for…well…at least a year, hopefully longer. However, not long after setting up my blog, I began to realize that I wasn’t going to be able to design it the way I imagined. My friend, Alethea (@frootjoos), spent hours trying to figure out how to do what I wanted to do. But alas…it wasn’t happening. So before the start of the new school year, I decided to make a leap over to Blogger.
On Saturday, August 28, 2010, I am going to announce a contest for all my current followers. If you would be so kind as to follow this blog over to my new site, you will be entered into a special contest just for you. Sort of a thank you for being flexible and faithful. (Note: New followers – I will do a little something for you too – just different.)
If you are looking for the new site here it is www.kidlitfrenzy.blogspot.com
Thank you’s to those who have already switched over. And much thanks for those who join in.
Author: Ellen Potter
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (September 14, 2010)
Reading Level: Grades 4th to 8th
Source: ARC for review
Rating: 5 Stars – Highly recommend
Description from GoodReads:
The book’s set in a small English town and follows the Hardscrabble kids who are relocated to live with their aunt in London, where they discover they might be living next door to “a horribly misshapen boy who has figured in local legend.” It’s the story of the three Hardscrabble siblings and their search for the legendary Kneebone Boy.
There are books that are fun to read. There are other books that are amazingly well written. Sometimes, though, it is a struggle to find “fun to read” and “amazingly well written” between the same covers of a book. However, as I read through Ellen Potter’s newest book The Kneebone Boy, I found myself repeating in this awestruck manner “This book is brilliant”. Both fun and well written and bound behind a spectacular cover. (Click here to read a post from Potter about the cover of the book illustrated by Jason Chan.)
The Kneebone Boy is a tale of 3 children, siblings, living in an odd home with a somewhat eccentric father in England. There is a mystery surrounding the disappearance of their mother which permeates their lives and influences their actions. When they find themselves on their own in London, rather than return home, they set out to find their great-aunt. Their journey turns out to be an adventure of a lifetime. One that will challenge and test them on many levels, but will ultimately provide them with new understanding.
I am determined not to spoil this story so if some of the details seem vague it is for exactly this reason. Potter is a master storyteller and has crafted this novel in a manner that reveals just what needs to be at each step of the journey. As I read each page, I never felt that I wanted more or less than what was given to me. Even as I arrived at the end of the book, I was pleased with the manner in which she pulled together all of the aspects of the story and provided the reader with a deeply satisfying ending.
It should be noted that The Kneebone Boy is written in a style that fans of Lemony Snickets’ Series of Unfortunate Events or Pseudonymous Bosch’s Secret Series will be familiar with. Yet, the story begins in a very different voice and style from other novels by Potter. If you are not familiar with Snickets’ or Bosch’s stories, and more accustomed with Potter’s traditional writing style, then I would suggest that you give the story a couple of chapters to acclimate yourself to the narrator’s manner. Once in the rhythm of the story you will find yourself, enjoying the interjections and information provided by the book’s narrator. I will make the argument that I truly felt as if Potter has taken her writing to a whole new level with this story. There is a richness and complexity with the story that will appeal to older Middle Grade readers and even adults who are reading along with their children.
The Book-A-Day Challenge hosted by Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisper) has been one of my favorite challenges. Not only did it really help me focus on my reading goal for this summer, but using the #bookaday hashtag on twitter introduced me to some great teachers and school librarians and added a whole community feel to the challenge. I just want to give a shout out to some of my favorite Book-A-Day folks: Kathy (@thebrainlair), John (@mrschu81), Jamie (@fiteach), David (@tkslibrarian), Elisha (@elishakarr), Denise (@ddigiova), Paul (@paulwhankins), and Donalyn (@donalynbooks). If you are on twitter, go follow them.
Now onto my update, I will preface this and say it was a big picture book week. A bookseller friend of mine gave me free reign to go through her galleys for new releases coming out in late fall/early winter. The only thing that kept me from reading more is that I actually had to get to a meeting and ran out of time.
You will also notice a lot of books by Melanie Watt included below. When I had admitted that I hadn’t read her stuff before, my friend pulled everything off her shelves for me to read. Just for references purposes, I have indicated below the release dates for the ones not yet out.
Picture Books
The Monster Princess by D.J. MacHale, Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger – This is a debut picture book by MacHale. Written in typical fairy tale style, MacHale tells the story of a little monster who really wants to be a beautiful princess.
Will It Be A Baby Brother? by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Beth Spiegel – A mom and her preschooler discuss the pending birth of the new baby in the family. This big brother wants a “James” (brother). Mother assures him that whatever he gets will be just right.
Grandma’s Gloves by Cecil Castellucci, Illustrated by Julia Denos – A debut picture book by YA author Castellucci and a very wonderful one at that. Get out your box of tissues. There will be tears. Castellucci does a beautiful job with telling one child’s story of losing her grandmother and how she deals with her grief.
Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt – Scaredy Squirrel is afraid of just about everything. One day things don’t go exactly as planned and Scaredy learns something new about himself and takes a risk. Funny and wonderful.
Scaredy Squirrel At Night by Melanie Watt – In a similar vein as the first book in this series, Scaredy is afraid of his dreams. What will happen to him if he falls asleep? As with the first one, Scaredy learns a lesson and conquers a fear.
Scaredy Squirrel At The Beach by Melanie Watt - This may have been my favorite out of the three. Scaredy tries creating the beach at home but he is missing something that he can only get by going to the actual beach. Once there, things don’t go as planned but then readers have learned that this is the best thing for Scaredy.
Chester by Melanie Watt – I love Scaredy Squirrel but I might even love Chester more. Chester is a very fat, orange tabby who is snarky and difficult and loves to challenge Watt. Chester, along with his red pen, is very funny but Watt usually has a surprise and Chester gets his comeuppance at the end.
Chester’s Masterpiece by Melanie Watt – As if Chester couldn’t get any funnier, this time he has hidden
Author: Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Publisher: Knopf Book for Young Readers (May 11, 2010)
Reading Level: Upper Middle Grade/YA
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 Star (A definite must read)
Description from GoodReads:
The Red Umbrella is the moving tale of a 14-year-old girl’s journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro’s revolution.
In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched.
As the revolution’s impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía’s parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own.
Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?
The Red Umbrella is a moving story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home.
In late November 2009, I signed up for The Story Siren’s 2010 Debut Author Challenge. The challenge – to read at least 12 novels by debut authors in 2010. With this review, I will be logging in on #12. WooHoo! I still plan on continuing with the Challenge for at least another 12 books. Now on to the review….
History does not have to be dry and boring and Christina Diaz Gonzalez proves that to us in her debut novel The Red Umbrella. In this powerful and personal story of a young teenage girl named Lucia, readers learn about the events that took place in Cuba and the United Stated in the early 1960′s. Gonzalez used the stories of her parents and mother-in-law as the original seed for telling the world about Operation Pedro Pan, when families in Cuba sent their children to the U.S. to avoid Castro’s revolution.
According to Gonzalez, there were nearly 14,000 children who arrived in Miami during the years of 1960 to 1962. Some were met by family and friends while others were placed in a camp until a foster home could be located for them. Her research uncovered that of these 14,000 children nearly 90% were reunited with their families over a period of time.
With this as her background, Gonzalez paints a vivid portray of what life would have been like for a teenager in Cuba in 1961. What might she have worn, or what music she listened to, or even what movie she might have seen. This attention to detail and desire for accuracy rather than slow down the story allows the reader to image what life would have been like. Lucia, along with her younger brother Frankie live a comfortable life with their parents. Initially, their parents seek to protect them from the realities of Castro’s revolution. However, there comes a point when their parents are no longer able to keep out the atrocities that are occurring. In a final attempt to protect them, Lucia and Frankie are sent to the United States in hopes that they will eventually be reunited as a family.
The book is divided into two parts – the first half of the st
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 2010)
Reading Level: YA
Description from GoodReads:
Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can’t figure out if it’s for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.
The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father’s death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn’t answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?
Recently, I acquired an ARC of CRESCENDO by Becca Fitzpatrick. I am pretty certain that the person who had it was clueless about how many people would do just about anything to get their hands on it. I started to think about it and decided that rather than keep it solely for myself I would hold a contest. But I didn’t want to hold any contest. I decided I wanted to connect it with something that is really important to me. Early literacy is a big concern of mine. How do we help children get excited about books and reading?!
Rather than just have people comment about why they want this ARC or have you follow the blog. There will be some challenges which will help support literacy and earn you entries.
Here are the rules:
1. All participants must complete an entry form.
2. You must be 13 or older to enter.
3. On the form, there are some required items that anyone can complete in order to enter. To earn additional entries, there are some challenges that I believe most people can complete but are not required in order to enter.
4. The contest is open internationally. International participants – if you are unable to complete something because it does not apply to your country, please email me at: kidlitfrenzy(at)gmail(dot)com.
5. To encourage people to do more than just comment and follow the blog, I will also throw in an ARC of Matched by Ally Condie . What does that mean? If the selected winner only did the basic and wins, you get the ARC of CRESCENDO. However, if the selected winner did many or all of the items, then s/he will also win MATCHED. (Note: Judging this will be at my discretion.)
6. The contest will end at 11:50 P.M. PDT on August 23, 2010.
Click here to complete the entry form. Please email me at kidlitfrenzy(at)gmail(dot)com if you are unable to access the link for the form.
10 Comments on Win an ARC of Crescendo & Support Literacy, last added: 9/2/2010
It is already August and I know in some places people will be returning to school soon. My school; however, did not get out until June 23rd so I still have about another month to reach my Book-A-Day goal of 80 books. if you don’t know about the Book-A-Day Challenge you can check out Donalyn Miller’s (The Book Whisperer) blog post about the Book-A-Day Challenge . Several educators and librarians have been sharing our reading on Twitter, GoodReads, and through our individual blogs. Currently, I have read 54 books towards my total goal of 80.
During week 6, my sister came out to California to visit me. With all the running around, I was left with little time for reading. Hence a combined two week post.
Book-A-Day Weeks 6 & 7 reads:
Picture Books:
Big Wolf & Little Wolf by Nadine Brun-Cosme, Illustrated by Olivier Tallec and translated by Claudia Bedrick – This is a beautiful story of friendship between a big wolf who is use to being on his own and worrying about no one and a smaller wolf who manages to make a big impression. Children will enjoy this tale. Bedrick’s translation work earned the book a Batchelder’s Honor Award.
Fancy Nancy: Hooray For Beauty Day! by Jane O’Connor, Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser – Fancy Nancy books are always fun. I enjoy the way it introduces children to a variety of vocabulary. My only minor concern with this book is that the pages seemed very “full” almost distracting. In addition to the wonderful illustrations and regular text, there were “tips” for how to perform certain things (i.e., applying nail polish, or doing a facial).
Animal House by Candace Ryan, Illustrated by Nathan Hale - This is a fun story about a boy who lives in a Gorvilla and where everything is not what you would expect. The classroom teacher thinks Jeremy just has an overactive imagination until she does a homevisit. This will make you laugh out loud. Click here to read my review.
The Exceptionally, Extraordinarily, Ordinary First Day of School by Albert Lorenz - This book was different. There appears to be an attempt to deal with a child’s fears with the first day in a new school but instead it turns out to be an overly busy book. Every page is filled with elaborately detailed illustrations, speech bubbles, text, and vocabulary definitions. Click here to read my review.
Graphic Novels, Middle Grades
Over My Dead Body (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise, Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise – This is the second book in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series by the Klise sisters. I need to start a writing petition for more books. Nine & ten year olds will love the story of a boy, a ghost, and a grumpy old writer who all share a home. Click here to read my review.
Copper by Kazu Kibuishi - Readers are introduced to Copper & his dog Fred in Kibuishi’s Flight Explorer Series. In this book, it is all about Copper and Fred. The book is composed of a series of short stories (similar to a weekly comic strip series). Copper & Fred are a bit of an odd pairing but co
Author: Jennifer Cervantes
Publisher: Chronicle Books (May 5, 2010)
Reading Level: Grades 4th to 8th
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 Stars
Description from GoodReads:
A tender, magical story about 12 year old Izzy Roybal who is sent to spend the summer in her nana’s New Mexico village where she is soon caught up in the foreign world of her own culture, from patron saints and soulful food to the curious and magical blessings Nana gives her tortillas. In Nana’s village she meets Mateo, the adventurous, treasure seeking thirteen year old boy who lives on the other side of the bolted door in Izzy’s bedroom and six year old Maggie who is raising her cat, Frida, as a dog and sees marshmallow ghosts float out windows. When the wind begins to whisper to Izzy, she is soon led on an adventure to learn about her father’s mysterious death, who she really is, and to connect the hidden pieces of her past.
Several months ago, I signed up to participate in The Story Siren’s 2010 Debut Author Challenge. I will add admit that Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes was a late addition to my list of Debut Authors. However, I am so thrilled that I found this absolutely lovely book.
If you hang around me for any length of time, you will know that trying to find books that my students will relate to is a big concern of mine. The majority of my students are from Hispanic backgrounds. Many are Mexican American. There are some but not enough stories that feature Latino characters. I was barely a chapter into Tortilla Sun when I knew that this was a book that I not only wanted to share with my students but that I would use as a read aloud with my fifth graders.
By now you may be wondering, what is so special about Tortilla Sun? Cervantes has created a story filled with well-developed characters, a vibrant setting, and a message of loss, love, family, and hope (pull out your tissues when reading this – I sobbed for nearly the last 1/4 of the book). Twelve year old Izzy never met her father who died before she was born. Her mother and she have never settled into one house or an apartment for any extended time. After moving into yet another new place, Izzy uncovers a box of things that belonged to her father including a baseball with the worn words “Because____ ____ magic”. Shortly after this discovery, Izzy’s mother is called away on a research trip and sends Izzy off to spend the summer in New Mexico with her grandmother. At first Izzy is unhappy with this decision but shortly after arriving she discovers that the summer may be a time where she can learn about who her father was and what are the missing words rubbed off from the baseball. From her Nana, she discovers the magic of homemade tortillas, and learns that the past needs time to be revealed. From 13 year old Matteo and 6 year old Maggie, she learns about friendship, adventure, and caring about others. From the adults that surround her in this small village, she learns to embrace the magic around her and discovers who she is. Cervantes also weaves together Spanish words and phrases along with wonderful references to food and activities that further embrace the Latino culture.
This coming of age story is beautifully and masterfully told. Cervantes has hit her own home-run with this debut offering and I am eager to read any future books from her.
6 Comments on Book Review – Tortilla Sun, last added: 9/2/2010
Though I am not a stick in the mud, never make changes kind of a person, I do like a fair amount of stability. I anticipated when I started my blog on WordPress that I would be keeping it here for…well…at least a year, hopefully longer. However, not long after setting up my blog, I began to realize that I wasn’t going to be able to design it the way I imagined. My friend, Alethea (@frootjoos), spent hours trying to figure out how to do what I wanted to do. But alas…it wasn’t happening. So before the start of the new school year, I decided to make a leap over to Blogger.
LOL! Good luck!
<3
This sounds awesome! Hmm, only a month away…
It’s going on the shopping list for September.
I wish I could write like her. I was extremely jealous and coveted her skill as I read this one. Make sure Borders has this one. Plz.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alyson Beecher, New Book Reviews. New Book Reviews said: Book Review – The Kneebone Boy: Author: Ellen Potter Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (September 14, 20… http://bit.ly/9421lE #books #writing [...]
Oh man, I’ve been dying to read that, and after this review, I’m even more excited!!
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