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The Pinballs. by Betsy Byars. 1977. Harper Collins. 144 pages. ISBN: 9780060209186

On the same day, three kids arrive at the same foster home: Thomas J. who has been raised by elderly twins after being abandoned by his birth mother, Harvey, whose own father ran over his legs with the family car, and Carlie, who has been removed from her home because of an abusive stepdad. Though they are supposedly just pinballs, existing together in one space without any particular regard for one another, these three kids form a bond that helps all three of them look hopefully toward the future.

I have known of this book for years because it was assigned reading in my own sixth grade language arts class, back in 1993, but the only thing that sounded at all familiar about it when I picked it up again was the name Thomas J. Otherwise, this may have been my first reading of the book. It was a much quicker and more engaging read than I remember. As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t tolerate sadness very well as a kid, and knowing that kids were treated badly by their parents would have automatically kept me from investing myself too much in the story. As an adult, though, with lots more books under my belt, I can really appreciate the value of this book, and its continued relevance more than 35 years after its publication.

I think what makes this book stand the test of time more than anything else is its honesty about how the characters feel. As they settle into their new foster home, two of the characters cope by making lists about their lives. Harvey writes “Bad Things That Have Happened To Me” while Carlie starts one entitled “Big Events and How I Got Cheated Out of Them.” Carlie asks pointed questions of her foster mother, revealing her fears and confusion about why this woman wants her to live in her home. Harvey expresses real disappointment when he is promised Kentucky Fried Chicken and his foster father forgets to bring it home. Thomas J. worries about his inability to express love because the elderly twins who cared for him never really demonstrated their feelings. These anecdotes from the lives of the three foster kids are very real, and they help kids relate to the difficulties the characters face, even if they have never had the same experiences. There are some really dated pop culture expressions and references that might put off some contemporary readers, but beyond those are three well-developed characters with three-dimensional personalities and distinct identities.

This is the third book I have reviewed on this blog that depicts children in the foster care system. One for the Murphys describes an almost sugary-sweet situation in which a young girl slowly acclimates to her completely loving and perfect foster family. The Story of Tracy Beaker focuses on a more difficult little girl, who has been left at the children’s home for a long time, with little hope for a foster family to take her in. The Pinballs strikes a balance between these two more extreme scenarios and focuses on the friendships formed among the kids rather than their relationships to the adults who try to improve their lives. Though there are positive things to be said for all three books, I think The Pinballs is the one that is most likely to stick with me. For me, it’s the most real, and in some ways, the most hopeful, because it empowers the kids to take control of their own destiny and to focus on themselves instead of the adults who let them down.

I would recommend the The Pinballs to readers in grades 4 to 8 who prefer realistic fiction and character-driven stories, and who are ready to grapple with heavier issues.

I borrowed The Pinballs from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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Seasons: A Book of Poems. by Charlotte Zolotow. 2002. Harper Collins. 64 pages. ISBN: 9780060266996

In this easy-to-read poetry collection, prolific children's author Charlotte Zolotow shares her impressions of the four seasons. The book is divided into four parts. Winter Bits talks of snow, wind, and warm clothes.  Spring Things focuses on birds, plants, and breezes. In Summer Thoughts, Zolotow describes butterflies, flowers, and bugs. Finally, in The Feel of Fall, the year winds down with Halloween, falling leaves, and golden fields.

I was surprised when I read the jacket of this book and found out that this collection, written just 11 years ago, was Zolotow's first book for beginning readers! She has done so many wonderful picture books that I guess I just figured she must also have written a few titles for kids who are learning how to read. Also amazing is the fact that she is still living, at age 97, and that this book was published in the year that she turned 87.

This book shares much in common with Zolotow's quiet, thoughtful picture book texts. Many of the poems consist of just one sentence, but those single sentences are filled with truth and beauty. Though her poems are very much about real things, mostly in nature, she has a lot of fun with language, making up words like "windrushing," "funnytime" and "beez." Her poems rarely rhyme, but each one has a distinct rhythm that shows how thoughtful she is about the placement of each word. She is also a very economical writer, using the most appropriate word for each sentiment, and no extras.

Zolotow has a lovely way of getting inside the mindset of a child. She articulates thoughts that children have in a way that makes them easy to understand, even if her child readers could not have put them into words themselves. In a poem called "Grown-ups" she poses questions: "Do mothers ever feel lonely? / Do fathers ever feel sad?" In "Birthdays", which is on the very next page, she takes note that mothers enjoy flowers more than the birthday cake preferred by kids. These wonderings and observations resonate very strongly with children who are just figuring out how the world works.

Though her poetry, Zolotow also compels kids to think differently about their worlds. In a poem called "Me" the speaker points out that if she were someone else, "there would be other things / to hear and see / for I'd be someone else / not me." This short sentence seems obvious to adults, but for children this might be a startling thought, and the beginning of empathy for people in circumstances unlike their own. In "My Cat" the speaker wonders about what her cat might think about. "Some Days"  talks about how things might have been different in a child's day if he or she had not "done something mean."

Though these poems claim to be about the seasons, they are about many things: emotions, family, friendship, solitude, nature, home, and happiness. Zolotow captures each of these things on just the right level for an early reader and provides lots of food for thought, something lacking in many readers for beginners. I recommend this book very highly, especially for teaching poetry in kindergarten and first grade classrooms and library programs.


I borrowed Seasons from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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Something Sleeping in the Hall. by Karla Kuskin. 1985. HarperCollins. 64 pages. ISBN:  9780060236342

Though the title at first suggests something sinister, Something Sleeping in the Hall is a collection of poems about a child's desire to have a pet. Short, easy-to-read poems celebrate birds, cats, pigs, dogs, dragons, elephants, and every other kind of animal imaginable. Some poems are sweet, others funny, but they all relate to that universal wish kids have for a pet to love and care for.

The poems in this collection are untitled, and visual cues are used instead to mark where one poem ends  and the next begins. I missed the cues at first, because  I tend to look more closely at text than images, but kids who are just learning to read are more likely to do the opposite, so they would probably be tuned into those cues much more closely than I was. I'm not sure it wouldn't have been more effective to just name the poems, but the tiny illustrations marking when the poem is about a bird, when it is about a pig, when it is about multiple animals, etc. are a distinctive feature of  this book that I think kids will like.

Kids will  also like some of the dark humor in a few of  the poems. For example, there is a hog in one poem who eats both a dog and a frog. The end of that poem says, "And then he lay down / bang - / and died." Other poems joke about a cat eating mice and a bear who walks down the street greeting and eating every creature he meets.  Early elementary schoolers love to be grossed out, and they love to be surprised, and these poems really deliver those two key components.

This collection is a great introduction to poetry for the youngest readers. It shows that poems can be playful, and that they can talk about everyday things in interesting ways. Some of the poems in this collection are only one or two sentences long, such as "It makes me squirm / to watch a worm." Even older kids who are intimidated by poetry might find relief in the fact that such a short and simple sentiment is actually a complete poem. I also like the way some of  the poems toy with the conventions of early reader books, such as the one on pages 14 and 15 that talks about a "blue bird on a branch," a "wild bird on a wig," and a "third bird in a bunch." The illustrations for that poem are almost like a rebus and they help kids decode the words while also letting them laugh over the silliness of the text.

Though Something Sleeping in the Hall is almost as old as I am, it still holds up for today's beginning  reader audience. The book is out of print, but my library system still has a copy and I suspect many others will as well. I plan to use at least two of the poems at my beginning  reader story time - either as rebuses or flannel boards. Share this book with animal lovers who are learning to read and watch them enjoy their first experiences with poetry.

I borrowed Something Sleeping in the Hall from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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Words of Stone. by Kevin Henkes. 1992. Greenwillow Books. 160 pages. ISBN:  9780688113568

Every summer since his mother died of cancer, Blaze Werla has created an imaginary friend and subsequently buried him in the backyard. This summer, after the yearly burial, someone begins leaving messages made of stones on the hill behind Blaze's house. First, he sees his mother's name. Later, the messages become more personal. He suspects his father's new girlfriend, in whom he has confided, might be the one leaving the words of stone, but while he decides what to do about it, he surprises himself by making friends with Joselle Stark. Joselle herself is troubled by her own absent mother, and as she and Blaze grow closer, she realizes she must tell Blaze an important truth if they are to be true friends.

Like Henkes's more recent novels such as Olive's Ocean and Junonia, Words of Stone is a quiet, introspective story. Blaze and Joselle are both sensitive kids who have endured their share of pain and confusion, and because of this, much of the story takes place inside their heads. (Though the narration is all in the third person, the chapters alternate between the two characters so we know both of their thoughts.) Outside events do influence their internal struggles and triumphs, but there is very little physical action. This is definitely a literary novel, where the language and word choice are the most prominent features. It reads like a lot of the serious fiction (The Cay, The Lottery Rose) I was assigned in late elementary school. The writing is lyrical and at times, almost eerie, as Blaze reflects on his mother's death and on the accident he had on a ferris wheel.  His toy Noah's Ark and the graves of his imaginary friends are powerful images that represent his pain and his loss, and it is Henkes's use of these symbolic objects that makes the book stand out.

I would be surprised if this book had ever become super popular, because it dwells so much on the emotions of its main characters. There are readers, though, who are not satisfied by fast-paced action novels, like the Percy Jackson series, or by cruelty thinly veiled in humor, like the Wimpy Kid books, and I think it is those more serious readers who appreciate Henkes's style. Kids who mourned the loss of a parent, or who have trouble making and trusting new friends will empathize strongly with Blaze's loneliness. Those who have grown up reading Henkes's picture books will be pleased to see that his writing for older children continues to provide validation and support for the myriad challenges of growing up.

Words of Stone was published in 1992, and it is still in print. The cover of the most recent edition is much better suited to the story than the cover of the edition I read (shown at the top of this post), and I think kids would be interested in picking it up. It is a great read-alike for As Simple As It Seems by Sarah Weeks, Remembering Mrs. Rossi by Amy Hest, and The Last Best Days of Summer by Valerie Hobbs.

I borrowed Words of Stone from my local public library.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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The Fourth Stall Part III. by Chris Rylander. February 5, 2013. Walden Pond Press. 320 pages. ISBN: 9780062120052

Mac and Vince have had a successful business since kindergarten, but after getting busted by the school principal last year, they are finished with organized crime. Retired. Out of the game. In fact, they have handed over their business to newcomer Jimmy Two-Tone, who takes care of all the business operations and gives the founders a mere cut of his profits. The only problem is, Staples is back and he needs help getting custody of his little sister, and there is a criminal mastermind at nearby Thief Valley Elementary School threatening to destroy Mac and Vince’s school. Mac knows they can’t get caught by the Suits again, or they’ll be expelled for sure, but he also knows if he doesn’t solve these last two problems, the destruction of his school will be his fault, and he won’t be the only one going down.

This conclusion to the Fourth Stall series is a strongly plot-driven story with lots of suspense and surprises. Though Mac and Vince remain the same lovable characters who root for the Cubs and crack up over the crazy things Vince’s senile grandmother says, it is what happens to them rather than the characters themselves that keep the pages turning this time around. Rylander builds suspense by raising more and more questions. Can Staples really be trusted? Who is this crime boss at the other elementary school? Is Jimmy Two-Tone treating Mac’s former clients fairly? At every moment, I was questioning the motives of one character or another and looking for the connections that would lead me to the truth. There isn’t a lot of flowery, descriptive prose in this book, but it’s well written in a different way. The story is so well plotted, I was caught by surprise every time a new twist unsurfaced.

I also loved the allusions to the movie Rookie of the Year and to Mr. Belding from Saved the Bell.
Mr. Belding is basically the prototype my imagination uses for any fictitious principal, so Mac’s suspicion that all principals get together to cast spells and sacrifice goats to him made me laugh out loud. I’m not sure the target audience is old enough to get these references, but I am roughly the same age as the author (it looks like he was born in 1983?) and these little bits of 90s nostalgia made me smile.

This third book is not quite as strong as the first two, but fans of the series will definitely want to know how it all turns out. Sticklers for realism will be pleased that not all bad behavior goes unpunished, and I think most readers will be satisfied with the ending, even if they will probably wish, as I do, that there were going to be more Fourth Stall stories.

If you’re not familiar with this series, check out my reviews of The Fourth Stall and The Fourth Stall Part II. The Fourth Stall Part III will be on shelves tomorrow, February 5, 2013.

I received an ARC of The Fourth Stall Part III from the publisher.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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Amelia Bedelia Means Business. by Herman Parish. January 29, 2013. Greenwillow Books. 112 pages. ISBN: 9780062094988

Following the example of popular picture book and easy reader character Fancy Nancy, young Amelia Bedelia is now also the star of her own chapter book series. In the first installment of the series, Amelia Bedelia Means Business, the literal minded little girl finds herself in need of a new bike. Her parents, two very upbeat personalities who apparently don't know their kid very well, decide this will be a fun opportunity for their daughter to learn a little bit of business sense. They inform her that she can have the bike she wants when she earns half the cost. Undaunted, Amelia Bedelia heads out into her neighborhood hoping to find a job. Each time she is hired, though, she quickly loses her job because of her strange interpretations of the instructions she is given.

Up until now, I have generally held the opinion that the newer Amelia Bedelia stories, where she is a mixed-up child instead of a blundering adult, make more sense and are easier for kids to relate to. This chapter book adds a caveat to this statement; the new Amelia Bedelia should stick to the original easy reader format that made her parent series a success. What works so well in a brief story for beginning readers - plays on words and outright silliness - loses its magic in a longer deeper tale. Amelia Bedelia has always been the butt of the joke in her stories, but in a way kids really enjoy. In this book, the reader is asked to take her seriously and to believe that her parents, classmates and neighbors also take her seriously. This is too much to ask of readers who remember the original Amelia Bedelia's “date cake” from Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia and the way she “called the roll” in Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. Even kids who don't know the classic stories will pick up on a sense of flatness in this book. The schtick that defines the essence of Amelia Bedelia only works if we don't try getting inside her head. This earnest treatment of her character ruins the joke and makes the reader feel oddly guilty for laughing at a character who views the world in a different way.

I think the audience most likely to enjoy this book are girls who are new to chapter books who haven’t necessarily developed an attachment to the old school Amelia Bedelia. When girls find Amelia Bedelia Means Business shelved beside the Nancy Clancy, Rainbow Magic, and Magic Tree House series, they will be drawn to the cartoonish cover as well as the universally understood desire for a brand-new bike. Six and seven year olds who don't mind heavily suspending their disbelief will laugh when Amelia makes cringe-worthy mistake after cringe-worthy mistake. For everyone else, though, it might be a better idea to look back fondly on those early days of reading Amelia Bedelia easy readers and look for some better written and more engaging chapter books. After all, we don't have Frog and Toad or Elephant and Piggie chapter books - and I hope we never do. Some characters just don’t translate well to a longer format, and based on this book, I believe Amelia Bedelia is one of those.

I received a digital ARC of Amelia Bedelia Means Business from HarperCollins via Edelweiss.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. by Barbara Robinson. 1972. Harper Collins. 90 pages. ISBN: 9780060250430

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a book I always intended to read as a kid, but then never did. Like some of the characters in the story, I was intimidated by the bad behavior of the Herdmans. Me, read a book about kids who smoke cigars? I didn’t think I could do it. What I missed as a middle grade reader is that this book is the perfect embodiment of the true meaning of Christmas.

When the pageant director falls ill, the narrator’s mother steps in to take over. The Herdmans, who have typically been left out of Sunday school activities in the past, decide they want in on the pageant this year, and they sign up for all the major parts in the production, without even really knowing the story of Jesus’s birth. Though most people are horrified by the involvement of these badly behaved kids in an important religious event, the Herdmans surprise everyone by being so willing to engage with the Christmas story and its various significant figures.

I think kids and adults alike are equally guilty when it comes to passing judgment on others. My disapproval for the Herdmans kept me from even reading the book as a goody two shoes kid, and the main character and her friends worry about what will happen to their pageant if kids like the Herdmans get involved. What this story does for us is slowly peel away the layers of our disgust and concern and show us the good at the heart of the Herdman kids, and the way their sincere and honest way of interacting with the world actually makes them better suited to playing out the Christmas story than almost anyone else.

Like the Horrible Harry books, this story shows us the “bad” kids through the eyes of a “good” kid, but though the story focuses on the actions of the Herdmans, it’s the “good” narrator who is changed and enlightened by the story itself. Barbara Robinson’s writing style makes this type of storytelling look easy, and I was amazed by how easily and willingly I was carried along by the events of the story. The ending, where they finally perform the pageant all the way through from beginning to end, has some of the funniest and most poignant moments of any children’s novel. The Herdmans don’t know much about Christmas, but we all learn something from their learning process.

Though The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is now 40 years old, it still holds up really well, and it’s the perfect book to make a part of your family’s Christmas traditions.

I borrowed The Best Christmas Pageant Ever from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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Mittens at School. by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Susan Kathleen Hartung. June 26, 2012. HarperCollins. 32 pages. ISBN: 9780061702242

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Jake and Lily. by Jerry Spinelli. May 8, 2012. Balzer + Bray. 352 pages. ISBN: 9780060281359

 Jake and Lily are twins with a special, almost psychic connection they call “goombla.” This connection allows them to hear each other’s thoughts and even share the same dream every year on their birthday. As they approach adolescence, however, Lily feels Jake pulling away from her. While Lily pines for their close twin relationship and wishes to cling to it, Jake falls in with a gang of rowdy boys who pick on marginalized people they call “goobers.” Lily wants everything to go back the way it was, but with the help of the twins’ hippie grandfather she learns to let go and have a life of her own, which complements but does not destroy her bond with her brother.

I loved Jerry Spinelli when I was in eighth and ninth grade, but I sort of lost interest when Stargirl was published. To me, it felt like Spinelli had lost the unique point of view that created characters like Maniac Magee, and I couldn’t stand the overly sentimental tone of Stargirl. But the concept of this book appealed to me, and I have to say that Jake and Lily sounds more like the Spinelli whose writing I loved at thirteen. The book has lots and lots of heart, as do all Spinelli titles, but these kids feel authentic. They feel like real people, and their feelings mattered to me.

I really like the way the story is divided into two parts - one, which the twins tell together, trading short chapters to get the whole concept of “goombla” down on paper; and one which they tell separately in their journals as their painful period of separation begins. I like this unique approach because it gives the reader a sense of the twins as a unit and as individuals. It also really brought their two voices to life in such a way that I could practically hear them speaking to me.

Another wonderful aspect of this book is the concept of “goobers”. In a way, all of Spinelli’s books focus on “goobers” in one way or another, but the one I really couldn’t stop thinking about while I was reading was Loser. Ernie, who Jake and his new friends call a “supergoober” reminded me so much of Donald Zinkoff in Loser that I think there almost has to be a real person on whom these characters are based. The entire concept of “goobers” really gets at the heart of middle school bullying, but never in a preachy way. The adult voice never steps in to tell the reader picking on Ernie is wrong; Jake himself must decide the morality of his actions. The entire story is well written, but the way things unfold between Jake and Ernie is my favorite plot thread.

This wonderful book will affirm the growing up process for any tween struggling with change, and it’s a great read for both boys and girls. I think the best read-alikes I can recommend for it, aside from Loser and Maniac Magee, are Wendy Mass’s birthday books, 11 Birthdays, Finally, and 13 Gifts. Though I’m not completely sure that “goombla” is a magic power, the twins’ birthday dream and details surrounding it have a definite flavor of magical realism, as do these Mass titles. I think some of Andrew Clements’s books - especially titles like No Talking and Extra Credit, which are about relationships between two main characters - also compare well to Jake and Lily.

I borrowed Jake and Lily

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The Whipping Boy. by Sid Fleischman. 1986. HarperCollins. 96 pages. ISBN: 9780060521226

The Whipping Boy is a slim historical fiction novel that won the Newbery Medal back in 1987. It’s the story of Prince Horace, also called Prince Brat, who often misbehaves on purpose in order to see his whipping boy, Jemmy, get punished. When the prince runs away and Jemmy follows, they fall in with some criminals and must switch places in order to outsmart them and make their escape.

Of all the relationships presented in children’s books, this one, between a prince and the boy who is punished daily on his behalf, is one of the most unusual and the most interesting. Though the story is mainly an adventure, following the two boys as they try to outsmart a pair of ne’er-do-wells, it also raises a lot of important questions about wealth, status, education, and justice. The prince is rich and powerful, but he has never learned to read or write because he is always busy misbehaving. The whipping boy, however, who can afford to take nothing for granted, has learned the lessons intended for the prince and is fully literate. Inside the castle, the prince’s crown gives him authority; outside the castle walls, Jemmy becomes the powerful one because he can read and write. When the boys trade places, it’s not just a cute Parent Trap-esque plot device. Instead, the swap is used to illustrate the mostly arbitrary societal constructs that separate the haves from the have-nots. The reader learns, without explicitly being taught, that there are different types of riches, and that the last can suddenly be first when circumstances shift and change.

There are many other elements to this book that make it great. I’m sure kids are pleased to see Prince Brat get his comeuppance after Jemmy has endured so many beatings in his stead, but I bet they enjoy his journey toward redemption just as much. Each character the boys meet on their journey back to the castle is colorful and memorable, and the boys’ clever plan for finally escaping their captors makes for a very satisfying ending.

This book reminds me a lot of The Tale of Despereaux, and I think fans of one will equally enjoy the other. It’s also a nice, quick read with lots of action that a reluctant reader might be willing to try over something longer and more intimidating. I like Sid Fleischman’s straightforward writing style, and though I saw the happy ending coming from the beginning, the road he took to get there was thoroughly enjoyable.

I borrowed The Whipping Boy from my local public library.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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Amelia Bedelia and the Baby. by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Lynn Sweat. 1981. Greenwillow Books. 64 pages. ISBN: 9780688003166

Muddled, child-like Amelia Bedelia doesn't know a thing about babies (not even the fact that they're children!), so it's no surprise she doesn't make a very good babysitter. Still, despite her odd ways - allowing the baby to mash her own banana, powdering herself instead of the baby, and feeding the baby solid food before she's ready - she proves to be the exact kind of babysitter parents love to hire.

I was looking for a book to read to a first grade class on Read Across America Day when I came across Amelia Bedelia and the Baby. I remembered it instantly from my own childhood, when I read and re-read this series many times over. But as I told one of my coworkers when I finished reading this book, Amelia Bedelia's really not as funny as I thought she was as a kid. In fact, reading this book as an adult made me want to throttle Amelia Bedelia, and possibly Mrs. Rogers, too, for acting like her screw-ups are no big deal. I also felt a little bit guilty, as though the story was poking fun at a woman with a clear disability. Certainly, after many experiences with Amelia Bedelia, Mrs. Rogers would be on to the fact that this woman needs explicit instructions that can only be taken literally. But time and again, she fails to realize that Amelia Bedelia is wired differently and leaves her to fend for herself - and in this case, to care for an innocent child. I can usually turn off my adult brain when I read children's books, but this one made it nearly impossible.

I also decided not to read the book to first grade, not just because I didn't think it was funny and therefore didn't think I could sell it very well, but because of the somewhat dated language in it. Amelia Bedelia uses the word "plumb" a lot, which I have never actually heard a person use out loud (other than my sister, who as a child, pronounced it as plump, as in "I plump forgot.") I wasn't sure I'd be able to explain what that meant if the kids asked. And this did not figure into my decision, but I have also always wondered about that get-up she always wears. Where and when is she meant to be from?

Amelia Bedelia has had a makeover in recent years. Herman Parish now writes stories of an endearing literal-minded child where the character's behavior is much less disturbing, and even developmentally appropriate. I think these classics will always be popular because they do appeal to that six-year-old sense of humor, but it's tough being the adult who has to take them at least seriously enough to make the story sound exciting to the reader. I actually think the fact that this book no longer appeals to me says a lot for the author's ability to understand a child's mindset, but that doesn't mean I'll be seeking anymore of the original Amelia Bedelia stories any time soon.

I borrowed Amelia Bedelia and the Baby from my local public library. 
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Poet and young adult novelist Naomi Shihab Nye has written a collection of literary short stories for teens, all of which are 1000 words or less. Each story focuses on a pivotal or significant moment in the life of its main character, which serves to somehow uplift that character. Death, war, love, loss, and history are just some of the themes touched upon by these beautiful poetic stories. Some of the stories are interconnected, either because they focus on the same characters, or because the characters in one story are somehow related to the characters in another. Other stories stand all on their own. Different races, cultures, family structures and belief systems are represented, and as in Nye's other works, political and environmental issues turn up again and again.

This is a book for older teens who are used to reading more complicated prose. The stories remind me a lot of the things my fellow creative writing students used to write in college - thoughtful, deep, and filled with idealism and hope for a better future. High school kids interested in activism will eat up this collection, as will those kids who aspire to write fiction. Many of the pieces in this collection are open-ended and difficult to understand at first glance, or even after just one reading, so there is lots to think about, and lots to discuss.

My only criticism of this book is that after a while, the tone became monotonous. Every story has the same strong intellectual outlook, which can be somewhat draining to read all at once. I read this book in one sitting, but I wish I'd given myself more time to let each story settle before moving onto the next one.

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I remember reading the original Amelia Bedelia series as a kid, and thinking they were pretty great. I loved seeing her misinterpretations of the instructions she received from Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, which led her to do things like throw dust on the furniture and cut up a calendar to make a date cake. But when I look at those books now, they actually make me somewhat uncomfortable. Though I realize that Amelia Bedelia is meant to stand in for a child, and that her actions are meant to be silly, I can't help but want to roll my eyes at how utterly ridiculous her behavior is, and how she can't function properly in any situation.

But now Herman Parish, the nephew of Amelia Bedelia creator Peggy Parish, has brought Amelia into the 21st century with stories from her childhood. Usually, I object to the attempts on the part of authors or publishers to repackage "classic" characters for new generations. But I have to admit, that compared with the original Amelia Bedelia books, the newer series sits a lot better with me, and I think the writing is every bit as good, if not better in the new books.

In Amelia Bedelia Makes a Friend, Amelia's best friend, Jen, her opposite in every way, moves out of Amelia's neighborhood.  When the new neighbors move in, Amelia isn't very interested, but she does listen as her mother lists the items the movers have brought into the house. These include a footstool, which Amelia imagines as a small table held up by three feet with painted toenails, armchairs, which she draws with her crayons as goofy objects  with long, bendable arms, and a twin bed, which Amelia assumes is home to a pair of twins.

As it turns out, the new neighbor is a grandmother named Mrs. Adams. Though she and Amelia are quite different, they enjoy one another's company. Soon, Amelia and Mrs. Adams do many of the same things together that Amelia and Jen used to do, and they become best friends too.

I enjoyed this book on a number of levels.

First of all, I really liked the way the text and illustrations work together to incorporate the original Amelia Bedelia concept of literal interpretation into this story. Amelia's interpretation of each piece of furniture her mother names as she watches Mrs. Adams move in isn't explicitly stated in the text, but instead comes to life in Amelia's own imaginings and drawings.Her only actual statement revealing her confusion occurs when she asks Mrs. Adams about the twins who use the bed.

Secondly, I liked the theme of unlikely friendships, and the idea of friendships between kids and their older neighbors. Amelia's relationship with Mrs. Adams paints a very positive picture of older folks and encourages the reader to focus on what we have in common as human beings, rather than differences that might pull us apart.

Finally, I like the way Herman Parish has changed Amelia from a bumbling, incompetent, and borderline obnoxious adult to a sweet, outgoing, and confident little girl whose confusion is a product of being young and uninformed, rather than just a gimmick to create silliness. This younger version of Amelia is really appealing, and I think I'd actually like to read some more books about her.

My only complaint is that the cover is misleading. Yes, a girl Amelia's age does appear in the story, but it's a brief encounter, and she is not the new friend referenced by t

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What Happened on Fox Street is a realistic fiction middle grade novel about Mo Wren, a young girl whose single dad has sort of given up in the aftermath of his wife's death, leaving Mo to do the thinking and worrying for the entire family, as well as look out for her "Wild Child" younger sister, Dottie. When developers begin sending letters to the Wrens and their neighbors, Mo realizes she might lose her home on Fox Street that contains memories of her mother, and strives to prevent this from happening. She also must deal with changes in her newly-rich best friend, Mercedes, who is slowly coming to important realizations about her own family.

This book explores similar themes to a 2011 title I really love, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street. Because I loved Orange Street so much, at times, this book didn't feel like it measured up. Fox Street is a really strong novel in its own right, however, and I found myself becoming more interested and more invested in the characters as the book went on. The strongest character in the book, in my opinion, is actually Dottie, the eccentric, neglected, wandering younger sister. Her behavior and her need for attention from each of the neighbors was really heartbreaking, and drove home the dysnfunction of the Wren family, even when Mo wasn't sophisticated enough to put the family's problems into words. I was also really pleased with the way the author handled the death of Mo's mother. Though this event was clearly a traumatic one in Mo's life, the narrative didn't dwell completely on the mourning process - rather, this is a book about finding ways to move on after a major loss.

What I enjoyed most about this book, I think, was the way the neighborhood came to life. The different buildings and people on Fox Street were so vivid in my mind, and though the street map at the start of the book wasn't labeled, the author's descriptions made it easy to pick out each family's home without hesitation. Additionally, though I won't spoil the ending, I think this book has one of the strongest ending lines in any children's book I've ever read. Not only does it wrap up the threads of  the story, it also hints at the changes brought about between Mo and her sister, and what their relationship might be like in the future.

I think this story will work best for readers who are already hooked on realistic fiction. I'm looking forward to reading Mo Wren, Lost and Found, which was published this past September, to find out what happens next for the Wrens.


I borrowed What Happened on Fox Street from my local public library.

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Today I conclude my series on Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library with my review of Pierre. Though I was always disturbed as a kid by the idea that a lion could come along and eat a disagreeable child, I still have fond memories of this book from first grade. The book - and Carole King's sung version, of course - made such an impression on me, that I actually ordered my own copy from the school book order way back when, and somewhere, I still have it.

The premise of the story is that a boy named Pierre doesn't care about anything. When his parents get ready to go out, he refuses to get ready and go with them, so they leave him behind and go to town on their own. while they're gone, a lion comes along, and when Pierre expresses his indifference to being eaten, the lion gobbles him up. It is only after a harrowing rescue by his parents and a doctor that Pierre finally learns to say, "I care."

As a kid, what spoke to me the most, I think, was the fact that Pierre finally learned his lesson. I always prided myself on being a "good kid" and bad behavior of any kind intrigued and troubled me. I liked it when other kids - even fictional ones - discovered the error of their ways and started to behave. I think it gave me a sense of moral superiority, but also made me feel safe. I liked knowing that other kids weren't going to get in trouble, and that nothing bad would befall them.

As an adult, though, I find myself looking at Pierre on a somewhat deeper level. I'm no longer focused on trying to reform Pierre's behavior. Instead, the storyline makes me think about apathy, and what that can do to someone's life. Pierre's indifference to everything isn't just obnoxious rudeness - it's also the reason he misses out on opportunities. His lack of interest in anything happening around him - from what he eats for breakfast, to whether or not a lion swallows him whole - causes him to become the victim of others' choices. When he learns to care in the end, it's not necessarily a lesson in being good, like I thought when I was six, but a lesson in being the master of one's own destiny.

The fact that two readings of this book by the same person taking place 23 years apart can be so different is exactly the reason I think Maurice Sendak is so brilliant. There is always something more to uncover beneath the surface of his writing, and always something adults can appreciate along with their children.

Carole King's rendition of Pierre is below:

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