Hi! It's Louisa again. Today I'm going to review the book Cold Hard Cash, part of the Sammy Keys series by Wendelin Van Draanen. :-)
Not very many people take the expression "scared to death" literally, so Sammy Keys must have been pretty surprised to find out that she had literally scared someone- to death! And when this guy, an old guy too, pulled out bundles of cash from his pockets and begged Sammy to "get rid of them", she pretty much had to oblige, so she threw it out the windows of the fire escape. Nothing could stop Sammy from going back later to see if anyone had found the cash. And taking it. And spending it. And while she naturally felt guilty spending a dead guy's cash, she was so excited about finally having pocket money, she didn't wonder much about where it came from, and why someone was carrying thousands of dollars around in their pockets. This book has the perfect balance of old lady disguises, pool parties, bratty little brothers, dramatic mothers, excitement, police cars, charmingly sneaky old men, colorful cowboy boots and scruffy hotels.This is one of the many wonderful books in the Sammy Keys series, by the lovely Wendelin Van Draanen.
I recommend this for sixth grade and up, after a particularly scarring incident in third grade (let's just say I wasn't used to murder). If this story sounds interesting, be sure to check out the rest of the books in this series, starting with Sammy Keys and the Hotel Thief.
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By: Tatjana Mai-Wyss,
on 7/10/2014
Blog: paperwork (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: author, book, awesome, story, book review, money, wendelin van draanen, book reviewer, scared to death, Add a tag
By: Betsy Bird,
on 5/14/2012
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uncategorized, Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped, Top 100 Children's Novels Poll, Add a tag
#92 Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen (2001)
20 points
If I’d discovered this book at eleven I would have read it five hundred times. Juli Baker is the embodiment of the passion with which I longed to live life. Today I can hand it to any girl at my school, only to be greeted at our next meeting with the words, “It’s my new favorite book.” – Danae Leu
The ultimate home-run book – never had it returned because “I didn’t like it.” – Emily Willis
Shall I confess to you now that before I started releasing these results I had to remove two books that I considered too “teen”? It was very sad. One was The Hunger Games, a book that I know is loved and read by 5th & 6th graders and the other Totally Joe by James Howe. It broke my heart to take them off but both were marketed to a primarily teen audience and a person has to draw the line somewhere. Flipped proved to be on the cusp as well, but I noticed that what set it apart was its willingness to appeal to both kids AND teens. You’ll find it in children’s sections of the library. You’ll find it in teen sections as well. So it with some interest that I welcome Wendelin Van Draanen to this Top 100 list for the very first time.
Publishers Weekly described the book in this way: “Two distinct, thoroughly likable voices emerge in Van Draanen’s (the Sammy Keyes series) enticing story, relayed alternately by eighth graders Bryce and Juli. When Juli moved in across the street from Bryce, just before second grade, he found the feisty, friendly girl overwhelming and off-putting, and tried to distance himself from her but then eighth grade rolls around. Within the framework of their complex, intermittently antagonistic and affectionate rapport, the author shapes insightful portraits of their dissimilar families. Among the most affecting supporting characters are Bryce’s grandfather, who helps Juli spruce up her family’s eyesore of a yard after Bryce makes an unkind remark about the property, and Juli’s father, a deep-feeling artist who tries to explain to his daughter how a painting becomes more than the sum of its parts. Juli finally understands this notion after she discovers the exhilaration of sitting high in a beloved tree in her neighborhood (‘The view from my sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined’).”
As for the professional reviews, I have to say they were pretty universally positive. Though the book never got a Newbery (or a Printz for that matter) somehow in spite of all that it continues to garner fans today.
Said Publishers Weekly, “With a charismatic leading lady kids will flip over, a compelling dynamic between the two narrators and a resonant ending (including a clever double entendre on the title), this novel is a great deal larger than the sum of its parts.”
SLJ chimed in with, “Well-rounded secondary characters keep subplots rolling in this funny, fast-paced, egg-cellent winner.”
Said Booklist, “The author of the popular Sammy Keyes mysteries proves herself just as good at writing a charming romance.”
Kirkus pointed out that “The text stretches credibility in a couple of ways, especially with the premise that a seven-year-old is capable of a long-lasting romantic infatuation. It is, nevertheless, a highly agreeable romantic comedy tempered with the pointed lesson (demonstrated by the straining of Bryce’s parents’ marriage) that the ‘choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life&
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Chapter Books, Author Interviews, Disabilities, Wendelin Van Draanen, Teens: Books for young adults, Featured Videos, Add a tag
Add this book to your collection: The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Have you read this book? Rate it:
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Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Love, Valentine's Day, Wendelin Van Draanen, Nancy Tillman, Salina Yoon, Mariah Balaban, Marianne Richmond, Phoebe Stone, Ruthie May, Tamsin Ainsley, Add a tag
By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: February 2, 2011
Love is in the air!
From snuggle time with the youngest set to the trials and tribulations of adolescence, all you need is love. Romantic poet William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) said, “The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best parts of a person’s life.” Could reading a book with your child (no-matter-what their age) be considered one of these acts of kindness? You better believe it. In fact, it may turn out to be one of the best things you ever did for your child. Not only does it allow for a beautiful moment of bonding between parent and child, it nourishes your child’s brain and can create life-long readers.
Enjoy the books below. The theme is love, but of course. “The giving of love is an education in itself.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Board Books ♥ Picture Books ♥ Early Readers ♥ Middle Grade Novels ♥ Young Adult
Board Books
Count My Kisses, Little One
by Ruthie May (Author), Tamsin Ainsley (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 1-3
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Little Hare (February 1, 2010)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Following the bedtime routine from playful giggles with teddy to gentle sleep, baby is showered with kisses and love all through the day. This book is the perfect gift for newborns, first birthdays and toddlers. Ages 1+.
Add this book to your collection: Count My Kisses, Little One
All Kinds Of Kisses
by Linda Cress Dowdy (Author), Priscilla Lamont (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 0-4
Board book: 24 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books (December 1, 2010)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: A heartwarming padded board book, all about different types of kisses!
“Butterfly kisses
Are soft gentle things.
Flutter your lashes
Like butterfly wings.”
As a little boy makes his way to bed, he kisses each animal with a different kiss. Little does he realize the sweet tucking-in that awaits him! These touching rhymes, paired with cozy illustrations, are perfect to share with that special little someone you love.
Add this book to your collection: All Kinds Of Kisses
You Are My Sunshine
By: Betsy Bird,
on 1/16/2011
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uncategorized, book trailers, Wendelin Van Draanen, Barney Saltzberg, Video Sunday, goofy French students, Adam Gidwitz, Coppernickel, Wouter Van Reek, Add a tag
Book trailers get based on all sorts of things, but I have never encountered one that took its cue from the book’s own cover. And not in a cheap way either. This rather breathtaking trailer for Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm somehow manages to be precisely the right length with precisely the right tone (difficult in and of itself) and on top of all that feels . . . professional. That voiceover is fantastic. Can’t wait to find out who does the audiobook. Or did one already come out?
I’m a hands on kind of children’s librarian. I know that I have Pages to shelve books for me, but I really like getting in there and keeping the middle grade fiction in line. It gives me a sense of peace. It also gives me a good sense of what’s out there (and is probably why I had at least heard of Moon Over Manifest before it won the big gold). When you shelve fiction you begin to wonder about the folks you’re putting together. Has Cornelia Funke ever met Neil Gaiman? I mean their books sit right next to one another. Does Tom Birdeye know Jeanne Birdsall? And then there are the authors that take up large swaths of space on my shelves but that I’ve never met in person or even seen a picture of. Wendelin Van Draanen is an excellent example of this. I dutifully tend to her Sammy Keyes books, but who the heck is that woman? Well, fortunately for me Mr. Schu was on hand to snap some video of the author herself as she discusses the last Sammy Keyes book and what makes her cry.
Thanks to @MrSchuReads for the link.
Dutch author Truus Matti recently won a Batchelder Honor for her remarkable book Departure Time. Recently I learned that she happens to be married to one Wouter Van Reek, the creator of another Dutch title Keepvogel (translated in the states by Enchanted Lion Press as “Coppernickel”). Here you can see one such story brought to life. Pretty lovely, I must say.
Thanks to Claudia Zoe Bedrick for the link.
Librarians and teachers have one thing in common: When authors and illustrators come to visit with our kids we sometimes have no idea if they’re going to be stellar or if they’re going to make us ashamed to be members of our respective professions. So to see Barney Saltzberg having so much fun with the kids in conjunction with his book Beautiful Oops . . . well, it does the heart good.
eBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Author Interviews, Wendelin Van Draanen, Sammy Keyes, Ages Nine to Twelve: Books for third through sixth grade, Who-done-it: Books with a mystery to solve, Quest for Literacy, Add a tag
The Children’s Book Review presents a guest post by Wendelin Van Draanen, author of the Sammy Keyes series.
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By: Jenny Miller,
on 5/31/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Blog Tour, Wendelin Van Draanen, 2010, Children's mysteries, Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash, Add a tag
Welcome to author Wendelin Van Draanen's first-ever blog tour! Along the way, Wendelin will answer questions about her writing life, including some never posed to her before.
To start off the 9-blog tour, Where the Best Books Are! is giving away three copies of Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash, the 12th book in her award-winning mystery series.
To enter, send me a comment with your name and address, or email me directly by midnight Tuesday, June 8. Enter as often as you wish and look for more giveaways along the tour.
Following Wendelin's post, you'll find my review of Cold Hard Cash (a fantastic summer read), then scroll down for a tour schedule, as well as links to participating blogs. Be sure to visit Wendelin's blog on the last day of the tour!
Q & A with Wendelin Van Draanen
Q. Wendelin, what inspired you to create the feisty super sleuth Sammy Keyes and how do you keep the character fresh? Also what's in store as the series heads toward its conclusion?
A. First, I'd like to thank you for launching this blog tour. I've been on book tours many times, but this is the first time I haven't had to deal with airport security. So thank you! Now onto your questions about Sammy Keyes.
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By: [email protected] (Mark Blevis and Andrea ,
on 6/3/2009
Blog: Just One More Book Children's Book Podcast (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Review, Podcast, Ages 4-8, Courage, Picture book, Chapter book, Girl, Friendship, Fun, Boy, Animal, Adventure, Ages 9-12, Humour, Mischief, Spanish, childrens-book, Review of the Week, Stephen Gilpin, The Greatest Power (The Gecko & Sticky), Wendelin Van Draanen, Add a tag
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Stephen Gilpin (on JOMB)
Published: 2009 Knopf (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0375843779
One wisecracking lizard, one over-caffeinated monkey and 200 pages of action, attitude and assombroso alliteration transform run-of-the-mill read-aloud adults into comedy superstars. Talk about the greatest power!
You can check out Lucy & Bayla’s Sticky-inspired artwork here.
Other books mentioned:
HOTLINE VOICES: Owen (9) and Riley (9) share their enthusiasm for Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487, so we can include your audio in our show
Blog: Deliciously Clean Reads (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: humor, tween, teen, realistic fiction, Wendelin Van Draanen, review by Melanie, Flipped, Add a tag
By: Erin,
on 10/28/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: wendelin van draanen, Add a tag
by Wendelin Van Draanen
He just grinned and said, "Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss...." He turned to me. "But every once in a while you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare."
Thanks to Jordyn, without whose recommendation of Flipped I might never have picked the book up. Basically, it's about a boy and a girl who are in middle school and they're neighbors. But it's really about how two people can touch one another’s lives and neither one of them are left unchanged. I really liked it, it was surprisingly touching (in a non-sentimental way) and beautiful.
By: Avery Trelaine,
on 5/11/2008
Blog: 3 Evil Cousins (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Wendelin Van Draanen, crimson kisses, ice-cream therapy, Sammy Keyes, Add a tag
Evangeline Bianca Logan decides to clean the house. She washes the kitchen. She cleans the bathrooms. She tidies the bedrooms. And she finds--under her mother’s bed--the romance novel that will turn her into a serial kisser. Entitled The Crimson Kiss, the book inspires Evangeline to give herself a makeover, change her outlook, and go on a mission to find her own perfect, crimson, Grayson-and-Delilah kiss.
As Evangeline sets off on her mighty quest, she encounters a series of obstacles. Namely, bad kissers. Robbie Marshall attacks. That guy at the coffee shop was a bulldozer. Stu Dillard wants a rating of all things (hoping to out-man Robbie at something). And let's not even talk about Blake Jennings.
But bad kissers aren't her only problem. For one thing, her jerk of a two-timing father won't stop calling. For another, people have started magic-marker-ing her phone number onto urinals. Her grades have started slipping. And, to top it all off, a mistaken kiss leads Evangeline's best friend Adrienne to call their friendship quits.
I must admit, I was worried.
You see, I grew up reading (and adoring) Van Draanen’s Sammy Keyes series (about a snaky and intelligent girl-detective with an affinity for high-tops [a breath of fresh, hilarious, and thankfully Nancy Drew-free air]), which seemed a far, far cry from this pink-covered, lipstick-print-ed, so-very-scarily-titled book. But I just couldn’t resist. And guess what?…I loved it. It made me laugh out loud. It made me cry. It referenced The Princess Bride. And Evangeline was nice and real, just the way I like my characters.
All in all, Confessions of a Serial Kisser is a great book. Perhaps not the deepest piece of literature I've ever read, but it certainly wasn't mindless drivel, either. I still like the Sammy Keyes books better, though (Even though they are middle-grade).
Four out of Five daggers
Relieved...
By: Jennie,
on 3/13/2008
Blog: Biblio File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: YA, Fiction, historical fiction, Patrick Jennings, Jessice Abel, Warren Pleece, Graham Salisbury, Gabe Soria, Wendelin Van Draanen, Add a tag
I have a stack of books that needs reviewing. Not the metaphorical stack that I always have, but a real stack, right next to me. We'll see how many I get through before I get to class!
As with most Bloor, the plot is pretty dense and complicated, which makes it a little hard to explain.
Martin is a poor kid at a snooty rich school. He doesn't want to be there. After getting in a fight with the son of one of the school's heros (and financial benefactors) he decides to do an independent study from home for a semester.
When his grandmother dies, he is given an old radio that his grandfather had when he worked at the embassy in London during the Blitz.
Through that radio, Marin ends up traveling through time to the days of the blitz. What he sees there sparks research and discoveries that seemed impossible and is about the blow the lid off several family secrets, for several different families.
The time travel bit sounds a bit hokey, I know, but Bloor is a master. I like the hard look he gave the Blitz on many different levels. It's a fascinating book that I couldn't put down.
Evangeline is sick and tired of moping after her parent's divorce. Inspired by a romance novel found under her mother's bed, she is on a quest to find the perfect Crimson Kiss.
So, she gives herself a make-over and starts kissing every guy in sight. Drama ensues.
Overall, it was a nice book about finding yourself and how you won't be crimson without some attraction. There was friend drama that I didn't fully understand, because there were some serious flaws in that relationship even before Evangeline starts going kiss-crazy.
It's also interesting how it's only about kissing. Kissing is taken very seriously in this book and where I can see why randomly grabbing guys and making out with them will damage your rep (because people think if you're willing to do that in the cafeteria, you're willing to do a whole lot more elsewhere) but at the same time, it's high school. Also, a guy who smokes pot is A TOTAL DRUGGIE AND THAT'S BAD BAD BAD BAD. The whole thing is a little... innocent. (I can understand not wanting to date a pothead, but... he's not an ax-murderer.)
Out in May 2008.
You know I love First Second.
Anyway, being a vampire today in LA totally sucks. All Dave wanted was a night job at the convenience store, but who knew his boss was a vampire? And he made Dave a vampire, and now Dave is bound to his Master, spending all night every night at the convenience store. It doesn't help with the day shift guy is late and Dave has to rush to make it home before the sun comes up.
There's surfer god Wes, who was such a bad employee, Dave's master rides him even harder, which Wes just loves to rub in Dave's face.
Then there's Rosa, the goth girl who hangs out at the juice bar by the sore. Beautiful Rosa who seems to maybe like Dave. And Wes. She also thinks being a vampire would be awesome. How can Dave tell her how much it totally sucks?
Well thought out and funny, the graphics have a pretty dark, muted palate that fit the all-night all-the-time setting.
Look for it at the end of April
One afternoon in 1975, Barb calls Jeff and dumps him on behalf of her friend, Viv. As it turns out, Jeff likes girls. He's not that picky, or that observant, he just likes girls.
Throughout a series of phone calls, we see Jeff as the ultimate clueless guy, but Barb is willing to help him. Maybe.
Funny and true to all of those random phone calls made and received in junior high and high school, the quick read of phone call transcripts makes is a good pick for reluctant readers.
By: Mary Hershey,
on 12/3/2007
Blog: Shrinking Violet Promotions (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: coolest introverts in children's literature, Ursula LeGuin, coolest introverts in children's literature, Ursula LeGuin, Add a tag
Hardly anybody ever writes anything nice about introverts. Extroverts rule. This is rather odd when you realise that about nineteen writers out of twenty are introverts. We are being taught to be ashamed of not being 'outgoing'. But a writer's job is ingoing.
For months now we've been running a marvelous quotation from Ursula Le Guin in our sidebar, and we thought it was high time we give this amazing woman her due.
Ursula Le Guin was born in Berkely, California in 1929, and is the daughter of anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber and the writer Theodora Kroeber. Ms. Le Guin recieved her B.A. from Radcliffe and her M.A. from Columbia University. She later studied in France where she met her husband, historian Charles Le Guin.
She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, short stories, most often in fantasy and science fiction. Her works explore Taoist, anarchist, feminist, psychological and sociological themes. She has recieved several Hugo and Nebula awards and was awarded the Gandalf Grand Master Award in 1979 and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Award in 2003.
Ms. Le Guin has an impressive body of work for children and young adults:
The Catwings Collection 1988-1999
The Western Shore 2004-2007
Very Far Away from Anywhere Else 1976
Leese Webster 1979
The Beginning Place, 1980
Solomon Leviathan's Nine Hundred and Thirty-First Trip Around the World, 1984
Fire and Stone, 1989
Fish Soup, 1992
A Ride on the Red Mare's Back, 1992
Tom Mouse, 2002
On writing process:
Ms. Le Guin's attitude toward creation is of discovering, not controlling, of listening, not forcing. She likens writing to archeology-- "the material, the story is there: it exists. You find it; you mine it out; you carry it up in buckets or in teaspoons, lay it out upon the table, push around the potsherds, ponder where they fit; fragments of gold leaf, bone, corroded flesh, the rim of a cup in buff grey or brilliant green, a knot of hair and faded threads, or on exquisite glass vessel entire . . . There is a story here, but it is up to the writer to make it whole."
"The mindset for writing, for me, is silence of the mind. An unbusyness. A listening. A bit like sitting on a California hillside in the evening hoping the deer will walk by."
On at what point she will share a work in progress:
"When it is done, as far as I can tell. With my husband first. Then my editor."
On whether is is hard for her to get useful, honest critiques:
"No. I am just afraid of them."
In an 2003 interview with Erika Milo, of West by Northwest magazine, she was asked:
"You once said, 'artists are performers-- they want a response.' What is is like to balance the desire for response against being an introvert?"
"Well, sort of fun, actually. The Hermit Crab creeps out of her shell and becomes a Ham for an hour. Then returns to her shell, happily, and slightly enlarged by human contact."
* * * *
An excellent book with a Rashomon-like feel (same incidents, reported very differently by different characters who experienced it). I thought the movie did a very good job of keeping the feel of the story and the characters.
This is the biggest surprise of the day as far as I’m concerned. Very interesting. This has been on my TBR forever and will now be moved up to the top and finally read.
Totally Joe a YA book, what? Kirkus and PW reviewed it as ages 10-14, SLJ as grades 6-8. We’re well within children’s lit as defined by Newbery age requirements there!
I love it to pieces, Lisa, but it’s post-adolescent. If this were the Newbery it would be in the clear but I’m going up to 12 and 12 isn’t Joe’s audience. Throw thy rotten tomatoes at me head at will.
Thrilled to see my number ten pick make the cut. This wasn’t on my list the first time around. It nudged off THE OUTSIDERS, which I know is YA, although I read it a bazillion times when I was eleven.
FLIPPED is middle-grade perfection.
I’m crazy over the movie. As of now I would like to send out the decree: if any of my other favorite books really need to be made into movies only Rob Reiner shall lay hands on them.
Never heard of Totally Joe, so I just put it on hold – looks good.