How to use this Page

Gone Fishing.  by Tamera Will Wissinger. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 978047820118

Sam is really looking forward to fishing with his dad, just the two of them. When his sister, Lucy, decides she wants to join in, he’s sure the trip will be ruined with all her twirling, jumping, and playing. On the trip itself, though, Lucy and Sam surprise each other with their fishing abilities, and the bond they form as siblings. This book is told entirely in different forms of verse, in the voices of Lucy, Sam, and their dad.


My blogs have merged, and I will soon stop posting at Secrets & Sharing Soda. Please click here to read the rest of this review at Story Time Secrets.

For more information, click here.

To subscribe to Story Time Secrets in a reader, click here.

To subscribe to Story Time Secrets by email, enter your email address below and click Subscribe.

Add a Comment

Kelsey Green, Reading Queen. by Claudia Mills. June 4, 2013. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 128 pages. ISBN: 9780374374884

Kelsey Green is great at reading. Her best friends are good at math and running. In this first of three books exploring each of the girls' special talents, Kelsey's class learns that they will be entering a school-wide reading competition, with prizes for the best readers in each class as well as the best class of readers in the entire school. Kelsey desperately wants to beat her class's other star reader, Simon, but she always seem to be a book or two behind, even when she reads the skinniest books she can find on her reading level. To make matters worse, the fifth grade's star readers are carrying their class ever-closer to first place. The only thing Kelsey can do now is try to motivate the reluctant readers in her class to read more books, even if it means being a little bit bossy in the process.

Claudia Mills consistently writes wonderfully relevant school stories at both the chapter book level and the middle grade level. In this story for the early elementary audience, she demonstrates her keen understanding of how children compete with one another, and how acutely aware kids are of reading levels, both their own and those of their classmates. Most elementary school students I know are at least slightly obsessed with reading levels, so for me, this book has its finger firmly on the pulse of what is happening right now. Since kids like to see themselves in the books they read, especially when they are just learning, this feeling that the story is happening right now is really important. I also think Mills does a nice job of creating a flawed character. Kelsey might be the reading queen, but she has a lot to learn about compassion, patience, and good sportsmanship, including how not to be a sore loser.

Interestingly, it's not completely clear from the story itself whether Kelsey herself learns a lesson, but I think the reader definitely does. Through Kelsey's behavior as she tries to teach her classmate, Cody, to love reading, kids learn how to be understanding of the differences between themselves and their classmates, and how to use their strengths to help others, not to show them up in front of everyone in order to be the best.

This book and its companions have a place in every elementary school classroom, and they might be especially useful in those where heavy competition among students of differing abilities has become a problem. Read-alikes for this series include the Polk Street School Kids books and the Clementine series.

I borrowed Kelsey Green, Reading Queen from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Runt. by Nora Raleigh Baskin. July 23, 2013. Simon & Schuster. 208 pages. ISBN: 9781442458079

Elizabeth, Stewart, Matthew, Maggie, and Freida are all students at the same middle school, and each one has had a different experience with bullying. In this novel, author Nora Raleigh Baskin shifts between each of these characters’ points of view to convey the complicated nature of bullying and victimization, and to compare it to the aggressions displayed in the animal kingdom.

As I was reading, I reacted to this book on two different levels. First, I noticed how much I liked the writing. I like the way Baskin identifies each speaker by a unique style of writing rather than simply labeling each chapter with a character’s name. I like that there is a chapter devoted to a teacher’s own childhood experience with bullying. I also like that much of the book is very subtle, so that the reader has to draw his or her own conclusions about the author’s message. From a literary standpoint, this is a beautifully written, rich novel, with lots of strong images related to the subject of bullying.

My other reaction to this book, though, was from the standpoint of someone who works with kids and regularly recommends books to them. When I look at the book from that perspective, I find it harder to appreciate. While subtlety is artistic and interesting, I think many young readers would find that the story lacks direction. Since the characters are not named at the start of each chapter, they are harder to keep track of, and I could see kids giving up on the book simply because they couldn’t remember who was who, or what each character’s overall story arc was about. I also thought the connections between tween bullying and aggression among dogs felt forced and contrived. Particularly cheesy is the last bit of the book, which shares a dog’s thoughts on how we all treat each other. There is definitely a lot of value in this book, especially for kids who have been victimized by bullies, but for most readers, I think the almost experimental writing style would be off-putting, or at the very least would somewhat obscure the message Baskin tries to get across.

Runt is well-written, but strange, and I think I would be more likely to suggest a more accessbile title, such as The Misfits by James Howe or The Bully Book by Eric Gale to kids looking for bullying books. Fetching by Kiera Stewart and Boys Are Dogs by Leslie Margolis are two more great titles that address the parallels between dogs and middle schoolers in a more straightforward and humorous way.

I received a review copy of Runt from Simon & Schuster.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Display Comments Add a Comment

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt. September 10, 2013. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 400 pages. ISBN: 9780307976819

Max’s parents are actors with a flair for the dramatic, and his father has often insisted that a twelve-year-old boy is more than capable of taking care of himself. Still when both his parents go missing under mysterious circumstances, Max isn’t quite prepared to be left on his own with just his grandmother as an ally. It doesn’t take long for Max to realize how difficult it is to keep enough money in his pockets and enough food on his table. While looking for work, he accidentally gains a reputation as a young man who is able to find lost things. Realizing that people will pay him to locate lost items and solve difficult problems, Max begins to advertise himself as a “solutioner” under the name of Mister Max. While solving problems for others, he also tries to figure out the best way to bring his parents back home.

This historical fiction mystery novel is a huge departure from Voigt’s beloved Tillerman cycle, but it works very well and proves the author’s immense talent. The entire concept of the story is something I haven’t really seen before, and I really enjoyed immersing myself in this new world and getting to know Max, both as himself, and in character as Mister Max. Each of the supporting characters, from the schoolgirl who wants to be Max’s assistant, to the university student Max hires to tutor him, to Max’s librarian grandmother, are interesting people with deep backstories and well-realized roles in the story. I found myself becoming as invested in their problems as in Max’s, and I eagerly read through each chapter, wanting to know how everything would turn out.

Since this is the first book in a trilogy, I was wary from the beginning, because I was sure the book would end on an unresolved note. I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, with the way Voigt wraps up this first installment in a way that keeps the reader interested in the overall story, but that doesn’t make it completely painful to wait for the next book. This book will not ultimately stand on its own, but it does have its own conclusion, where all mysteries except the major one about Max’s parents, are resolved.

Voigt has always been a talented writer, and I have enjoyed the relationships among her characters in her realistic fiction novels. There are some similarities between Max and Dicey Tillerman, considering both kids are left to fend for themselves by missing parents, but Max’s story is more colorful and in some ways more fanciful than anything else Voigt has written. The Book of Lost Things is one of the best middle grade novels I have read this year, and I can’t wait to see where Max’s story will take us in the remaining volumes. Recommend this book to readers in grades 5 to 8 who like adventure, mystery, and history.

I was invited by Random House to read Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things on NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

Princess Posey and the Tiny Treasure. by Stephanie Greene. February 21, 2013. Putnam Juvenile. 96 pages. ISBN: 9780399257117

There is a rule in Miss Lee’s classroom that students are not allowed to play with their treasures from home during class time. Toys are only permitted at recess, and the rest of the time, they need to stay in desks and backpacks. Posey knows this rule, and she wants to follow it, but when Grandpa buys her a tiny pink pig named Poinky, she just can’t keep him to herself. When Miss Lee sees Posey with Poinky, she takes him away and locks him up inside her desk, without even given Posey a warning like she is supposed to! It’s a good thing Posey’s tutu can help her turn into Princess Posey, so she will have the strength to ask for Poinky back.

Amazingly, this is already the fifth book about Princess Posey. Though the series has been around for a while now, the stories continue to feel fresh and true to life in the first grade. Stephanie Greene continually does a wonderful job of tackling those issues that, to first graders, feel like life and death situations. I can definitely remember having teachers in elementary school who would take things away from students when they became distractions, and reading Posey’s reaction when it happens to her took me right back to the feeling of powerlessness I had when a fellow classmate lost a prized possession to the teacher’s desk. I also remembered how scary it was to approach the teacher with a question, or with my side of the story when I hadn’t been treated fairly, and I was impressed that Posey handled the situation so well!

Learning to navigate the world on one’s own is part of life for every child who attends school outside of the home, and Stephanie Greene gives kids a great road map and a great role model to help them figure things out. This book reminds kids that there are consquences when rules are broken, but also that adults can be fair when mistakes are made and kids calmly explain their positions. I really loved this book, and I continue to believe that this is one of the best and most realistic early chapter book series out there.

Keep an eye out for yet another Princess Posey book, Princess Posey and the New First Grader, which came out on June 27th.

I borrowed from Princess Posey and the Tiny Treasure my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

Star Wars: Jedi Academy. by Jeffrey Brown. August 27, 2013. Scholastic. 160 pages. ISBN: 9780545505178

Roan, a native of Tatooine has always expected to be accepted to the Pilot Academy, where he will learn to fly just like his grandfather, father, and older brother before him. When he is accepted to the Jedi Academy instead, he doesn’t understand why - and neither do his classmates, many of whom have been training as Jedi from birth. Nonetheless, Roan shows up at school for the most difficult year of his life, which will involve gym class taught by a Wookiee, cryptic advice from a short green guy called Yoda, and learning to use something called the force, without trying to learn how to use it.

While Tom Angleberger brings Star Wars characters and references into the middle school environment in his wildly popular Origami Yoda books, Jeffrey Brown does just the opposite - he brings middle school to the Star Wars universe. What a great idea! This book combines the two things male readers in grades 3 to 8 love more than anything else: the Star Wars franchise and stories told in drawings and diary entries. If I were a nine-year-old boy, I doubt I could imagine a more perfect book.

Roan’s story is pretty typical of most school stories, in that it follows him through an academic year as he becomes accustomed to new friends and a new environment. To be honest, not very much about that aspect of the story is all that memorable. What keeps the story moving is the reader’s curiosity about how Roan’s story fits into the Star Wars canon. Though I am by no means a die-hard fan, I think Brown does a great job of telling a new story set in this universe without deviating too much from George Lucas’s vision. Readers who know a lot about Star Wars will be pleased to find that the references Brown makes to places and characters created by Lucas make sense in this new context, and that the Jedi Academy does not exist in a vacuum. Readers who don’t know much about Star Wars won’t be lost, though, because Roan is as new to the way of the Jedi as any Star Wars novice. He can’t even understand Yoda when he first meets him!

Finding this book an audience won’t be difficult. Recommend it to fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Smile, Drama, Dear Dumb Diary, and Clueless McGee. Libraries should plan to purchase multiple copies - I expect this book to be popular and for kids to “forget” to bring it back.

I received a digital ARC of Star Wars: Jedi Academy from Scholastic via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

Like Bug Juice on a Burger. by Julie Sternberg. April 2, 2013. Amulet Books. 176 pages. ISBN: 9781419701900

This short novel in verse is the sequel to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. Eleanor, now fully adjusted to life with a new babysitter, has been given an unexpected treat by her grandmother - the opportunity to go to sleep-away camp at Camp Wallamwahpuck, where her mother went as a little girl. Eleanor has heard from her friend Katie that camp is all about eating candy, riding horses, and jumping on a floating trampoline, so it comes as a bit of a shock when her camp experience is somewhat different. The food is gross, and candy is forbidden. There is a floating trampoline, but Eleanor has to wear a life jacket if she wants to go anywhere near it. Even nighttime sounds upset Eleanor. All she wants is to go home! But through her friendship with a girl named Joplin, and her connection to a goat she has secretly named Cornelius, Eleanor learns that though she might not love camp, maybe she can still make the best of it.


Like the first book about Eleanor, this story focuses on the complicated emotions kids sometimes experience in new situations. Though it might sound like Eleanor is a pessimist, the story is not a depressing meditation on the woes of going to camp. Rather, it is an exploration of healthy ways to handle unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations. Especially noteworthy is the way the adults in Eleanor's life take her feelings seriously, but also give her little boosts of encouragement to help her get through the difficulties she faces at camp. Kids are comforted when they know they have supportive adults to turn to, and this book is a great reminder that kids are never alone with their feelings of frustration or confusion, and that there is usually something to be gained from every new experience, no matter how unpleasant it seems.


Julie Sternberg does a nice job of getting inside the nine-year-old mind. The passages describing Eleanor's humiliation about being in the lowest swimming category of anyone in her cabin reminded me of similar experiences from my own summer as a nine-year-old camper who could not swim. Sternberg understands how little things can seem big to a child, and her story manages to validate the feelings of kids in those situations, and to provide advice on how best to survive them.


Though it is a sequel, Like Bug Juice on a Burger will stands on its own. Nervous new campers who sympathize with Eleanor might also enjoy Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom by Rachel Vail and Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look. Eleanor is also sure to become a new friend to readers who love Clementine. Like Bug Juice on a Burger is a great follow-up to Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, and I hope we'll see Eleanor conquer more of her fears in future stories!

I received a digital ARC of Like Bug Juice on a Burger from Amulet Books via NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen. by Lucy Knisley. April 2, 2013. Macmillan. 192 pages. ISBN: 9781596436237

Lucy Knisley's mother is a chef, so naturally, Lucy grew up around food - first in New York City, then in the more rural Hudson Valley. The result of Lucy's childhood is not just a great recipe collection, but also a collection of wonderful food-related memories that shape Lucy into her adult self. In this memoir, Lucy recalls the times she and her mother stood in the kitchen and ate cherry tomatoes right from the bowl. She reflects on the disagreements she and her parents have had over junk food,  and waxes poetic about a croissant she has never been able to replicate. Each chapter is topped off with a detailed recipe, explained in words and pictures with a touch of humorous commentary.

I initially chose to read this book because I wanted to get back into reading graphic novels, and the cover art caught my eye on NetGalley. I had no idea that the author had actually lived in Rhinebeck, NY, not far from Poughkeepsie, where I attended college and only an hour or so from where I actually grew up. Though I did not recognize the specific places Lucy had visited, I still enjoyed feeling that personal connection to the book, which is part of what motivated me to read it.

While I enjoyed the concept of this book, I didn't connect with the episodes from Lucy's life as well as I would have liked to. I am not a cook, nor am I a particularly adventurous eater, so the details of all the food didn't necessarily excite me, and I was disappointed that I couldn't connect with Lucy and the other "characters" of her stories through another avenue. I got some glimpses into Lucy's family life - such as the fact that her father misses her mother's cooking and still occasionally eats meals with her - and into her longest friendship, with the friend who moved to Japan and helped her explore Japanese food - but I wanted to feel more invested in her life, and that never quite happened.

On the other hand, the artwork is everything the cover promises. I enjoyed the detailed lines in each panel, and though I skimmed much of the text of the recipes, I loved the way she included a visual component for each ingredient and each step in the cooking process. I'm not sure these would be the most practical recipes to follow in the kitchen, but I thought including them as part of the story was a unique and effective approach.

Relish is most likely to appeal to readers who love food as Lucy does. Teens who aspire to be chefs or bakers will find a kindred spirit in Lucy, and all readers will be inspired to reflect on the ways food has shaped their identities. Most of the content in the book is appropriate for middle grade readers, but I think the tone is more YA, and at least one chapter includes content mature enough that parents might not want their nine-year-olds to read it just yet. Recommend this book to teens who loved Raina Telgemier's Smile, and also consider it as a read-alike for Ayun Halliday's Peanut and The Crepe Makers' Bond by Julie Crabtree.

I received a digital ARC of Relish: My Life in the Kitchen from Macmillan via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Hide and Seek. by Kate Messner. April 1, 2013. Scholastic. 256 pages. ISBN:  9780545419758

At a ceremony honoring them for their role in saving the original American flag from thieves, junior Silver Jaguar Society members Anna, Henry, and Jose learn that another valuable artifact is missing. The Jaguar Cup, an important piece of Jaguar Society history, has been replaced with a counterfeit. The senior members of the Society must head immediately to Costa Rica to investigate. Their parents want to keep them safe, so the three kids are left with a society member named Michael and his daughter, Sofia,  but that doesn't stop them from gathering evidence. When the senior members of the society are stranded due to an earthquake, and suspicious people start appearing at Michael's lodge, the kids find themselves in serious danger, as the thieves do their best to get away with what they've done.

Though this book seems like a mystery at first, I think it's better to think of it as an adventure novel. The kids do spend some time gathering clues and analyzing evidence, but the truly exciting parts of the story have them running around the rainforest in the dark, accidentally petting giant spiders and wielding machetes at poisonous snakes. There is some character development, particularly involving Jose's role as the "smart kid" of the group, but the plot is the main focus. The story is action-packed, filled with moments of triumph and exhilaration, as well as frustration and defeat. Readers have the chance to learn about the culture and climate of Costa Rica while also watching with their hearts in their mouths as the cup slips out of the kids' reach again and again.

When I was a kid, I used to imagine all the heroic things I would attempt to do if I were ever kidnapped or chased by an evil criminal mastermind. I suspect these kind of ridiculous scenarios are common in the imaginations of a lot of kids, and this book taps into those thoughts. Jose, Anna, and Henry have unlikely experiences, but I can't imagine a child who wouldn't enjoy living vicariously through them. Everything that happens to them - even the scary things - seems like it would be very exciting!

The story has a fast pace and straightforward writing, making it a quick, enjoyable read for even the most reluctant of readers. Reading the first book is not required to follow the story, so Hide and Seek would even work as a classroom aloud for fourth or fifth graders. Hide and Seek is a perfect choice for kids who like The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, and for readers who enjoyed Madhattan Mystery and Chasing Vermeer.
 
I received a digital ARC of Hide and Seek from Scholastic via NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Mallory and Mary Ann Take New York. by Laurie Friedman. March 1, 2013. Darby Creek Publishing. 159 pages. ISBN:  9780761360742 

In Honestly, Mallory, book eight of her series, Mallory got into big trouble when she lied to her classmates about winning Fashion Fran's design contest. In this latest book, the nineteenth of Mallory's adventures, she wins that same contest - for real this time. Her prize includes a trip for four to New York City, and the opportunity to model the outfit she created for the audience at Fashion Fran's show. There is just one problem. Before winning the contest, Mallory made a pinky-swear with Mary Ann that if one of them won the contest, the other would come up with a way for both girls to be on the show. Though Mallory manages to convince her mother to bring Mary Ann and her mom on the trip to New York, she has more trouble than she imagined keeping the rest of her promise. And Mary Ann is very upset. Will they still be friends if Mallory can't live up to her pinky swear?

The storyline in this book is a refreshing departure from the trends of the last few books of the series, where Mallory is boy-crazy and obsessed with her brother's private life. It also represents a turning of the tables in Mallory's friendship with Mary Ann. In most of the books, Mallory is pouty and petulant, but this time Mary Ann takes on that role, and Mallory must cope with it. I also think a lot of elementary school girls can relate to the problems that are created by making promises that are too big to keep. I do wish the story taught a clearer lesson about the consquences of making those promises (the girls basically get their way in the end), but kids who read the story will probably like the happy ending better than any life lesson that could have been offered.

According to a 2010 interview with Laurie Friedman at From the Mixed Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors, there will be 20 books in all in the Mallory series. That means there's only one more to go! I will be sad to see it end, since I've been reading them for so long, but I am curious to see how everything will be wrapped up. I also look forward to learning what Friedman might work on next!

Suggest Mallory McDonald to readers who are outgrowing chapter books and ready to start moving onto middle grade titles. Read all my reviews of books in this series by clicking here.

I received a digital ARC of Mallory and Mary Ann Take New York from NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

The Perfect Guy. by Ann Herrick. 2013. Books We Love, Ltd. ASIN: B00BB2E0U2

The Perfect Guy is a new edition of a young adult romance novel previously published in 1989 and again in 2005. Like Twisted Window by Lois Duncan and Fog by Caroline Cooney, this book has apparently been modernized from its original form in the hopes of reaching a new, 21st century teen audience. The main character of the story is Rebecca, whose mother has just remarried to the father of Rebecca's crush, Pres. Rebecca is naively convinced that this new family dynamic is sure to cause Pres to finally in love with her. She keeps trying to make up reasons to spend more time with her stepbrother, but despite her best efforts, he always seems to respond in a brotherly way. What Rebecca doesn't realize, though, is that another guy in her life is ready to give her everything Pres won't.

I have to confess that I could tell right away that this was a not a brand-new contemporary novel. Even before I learned that it was originally published in the 1980s, I noticed that all the modern-day technology in the story felt out of place. I also thought the characters' names - Pres, Celeste, and Rebecca - sounded nothing like names that teens commonly have in 2013. This isn't necessarily a flaw, but for me, these things were slight distractions. I also questioned whether it was necessary for Rebecca to be in love with her stepbrother, as I don't know how common a problem that truly is for real teens.

That said, the story itself is easy to read, with straightforward writing, lots of dialogue, and short, fast-paced chapters. Herrick captures that sense of obsession some girls develop when they have crushes, and very realistically portrays how  blind they can become to the reality of the boys' lack of interest in them. Middle school girls - and even some high schoolers - who are reluctant to read will enjoy the interpersonal drama that emerges as the story progresses, and they will be just as pleased with the happy ending, even if they will see it coming a long way off. The story also offers a lot of sympathy and comfort for girls adapting to new stepfamilies, which is always a relevant topic for this age group.

Learn more about  Ann Herrick and her books at her website.

I received a copy of The Perfect Guy from the author.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Latasha and the Kidd on Keys. by Michael Scotto. March 19, 2013. Midlandia Press. 254 pages. ISBN: 9780983724391

Latasha Gandy is a happy and optimistic fourth grader. She loves her Momma, and her best friend Ricky, and even her neighbor, Mrs. Okocho. She has a great dog named Ella Fitzgerald Gandy, who can be wild, but is also full of love. Though her mom works odd hours and they don't have much money, they still get along pretty well, and Latasha wants for almost nothing. The only thing she doesn't have is a dad. After she attends Ricky's birthday party and sees him interacting with his dad, she becomes a little bit sad, not to mention curious, about the father she has never known. When Momma agrees to get in touch with him, Latasha is excited. Her dad, Patrick (aka "The Kidd") turns out to be a musician with a charming personality and a great sense of humor. Trouble starts, though, when Latasha begins to count on Patrick, and he doesn't live up to his promises.

Like the first book about Latasha, Latasha and the Little Red Tornado, this book starts off slow, but once it picks up, it's hard to put it down. Many kids come from families where one parent is absent, and this book does a nice job of portraying a realistic version of that scenario. What impresses me the most is how the author manages to tell a story about a very difficult relationship without either vilifying Latasha's dad or turning Latasha herself into a victim. Even at her saddest moments in this story, Latasha doesn't blame herself for the way her dad behaves. She is angry, but also resilient, and she learns to express her anger in a healthy and constructive way and directs it at her father instead of internalizing it. It's refreshing to read a story about family problems where the characters are more than just a bunch of dysfunctional stereotypes. I especially appreciate the way Scotto fleshes out the personalities of both of Latasha's parents and even delves into the story of how they met and fell in love. This helps readers understand Patrick's good qualities and also builds up the overall world of the story.

Michael Scotto's writing has a real sincerity. His characters are authentic people who make good role models, and his stories are hopeful, but realistic. Latasha and the Kidd on Keys celebrates the strength and love of families, and gives kids a positive way to deal with sometimes tricky family dynamics. I think this sequel is even better than the first book, and I hope this won't be the last we see of Latasha!

I received a digital ARC of Latasha and the Kidd on Keys from Midlandia Press via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Escape from Silver Street Farm. by Nicola Davies. March 26, 2013. Candlewick. 80 pages. ISBN:  9780763661335

Karl, Gemma, and Meera are excited for the opening of the farm that has been their dream since kindergarten. There is just one problem - their sheep and turkeys have escaped!  While Karl and the farm's new caretaker, Scottish farmer Flora McDonald, track the sheep to the nearby grocery store, Gemma and Meera must gather the clues that will piece together the unlikely events that happen to the missing turkeys.

This book has so many things in it that kids just naturally love: kids taking charge, animals in silly situations, a sense of suspense and mystery, and a happy ending. Though the characters are definitely older than the average age of the target audience, the tone and humor are spot-on for the early elementary reader. Animal lovers will be pleased by the occasional passages written from the point of view of the various animals, but even kids who are less thrilled with animal-centric stories will engage with the characters and their detective work instead.

The design of  the book is also very appealing. The illustrations at the start of each chapter hint at events to follow, and they show the racial diversity of the characters that is not explicitly discussed in the text. Katherine McEwan's tiny lines and cartoonish faces remind me of drawings by illustrators like Matthew Cordell and Marla Frazee. I especially like the way McEwan shows the animals' personalities in their faces. Another appealing aspect of the design are the little footprints along the bottom of each page. In the chapters focusing on the search for the sheep, they are hoofprints, and in the turkey chapters, they are little turkey prints. This is a nice visual cue to help kids keep track of the switch from one part of  the story to another. I also think those are nice touches to have on pages that are otherwise nothing but text.

There are so many books for kids about animals, but this series stands out for me because the author is an actual zoologist with firsthand knowledge of caring for animals. There are no talking animals in this book, but the animals have realistic personalities and minds of their own that give them a more active role in the story than in many books about kids and  their animal obsessions. The Silver Street Farm series is a perfect read-alike for the Lulu series by Hilary McKay, also imported from the UK by Candlewick Press. For more suggestions for readers who like animals, check out my lists about kids and their dogs  and farm animals.

I received a digital ARC of Escape from Silver Street Farm from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality. by Elizabeth Eulberg. March 1, 2013. Scholastic. 272 pages. ISBN: 9780545476997

Lexi has never had very much luck with guys. She is known for having a great personality - a code phrase Lexi feels is applied only to girls who aren't beautiful. In her family, Lexi's seven-year-old sister Mackenzie is considered the beautiful one. The girls' mother enters Mackenzie into pageant after pageant, throwing away money they don't have on an activity Mackenzie doesn't even enjoy. Lexi sees through the superficiality of the pageant game, but her mother never listens to her. In fact, Lexi is expected to sacrifice time with friends, her work schedule, and even her own hard-earned money to make Mackenzie's pageants successful. This book is the story of how Lexi finally gets fed up with her life. She doesn't want to be known as just a great personality anymore, and it's time to exact her revenge.

Reality TV watchers who have seen the trainwrecks that are Toddlers and Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo know all too well the questionable parenting and erratic behavior of some of these pageant moms. What we don't get to see on those shows, though, is how the pageant obsession might affect members of the family who don't approve of the expensive hobby, and how such a disagreement can put a strain on a family. This book, through the eyes of its teenage protagonist, shows this situation in a realistic and emotional way. Lexi is truly torn between her desire to be appealing to boys and her wish to avoid the appearance-obsessed attitudes of her mom and sister. When she suddenly starts dressing differently and wearing make-up, it does give her the results she wants with boys, but she still has trouble shaking the nagging feeling that is compromising her principles. So many times, in movies and books marketed to teens, all it takes is a little bit of lip gloss and a pair of contact lenses to turn an awkward, shy girl into every teen boy's dream. This book does a decent job of challenging that ridiculous idea and it goes deeper into issues of self image and beauty and reminds us of the value of having a great persoanlity, no matter what a girl looks like on the outside.

Lexi is a memorable character with whom I would have loved to be friends during high school. She is loyal, funny, and smart, and I rooted for her from page one. At a significant turning point in the book, Lexi's parents both do and say things they probably don't mean, and I nearly started crying, so closely did I sympathize with Lexi's feelings and her desire to break away from all that made her so unhappy. At that moment in the story, when the adults in her life let her down so terribly, I found myself making comparisons between this book and Tales of the Madman Underground, where something similar happens between Karl Shoemaker and his mom. (Both situations also involve money, which caught my attention as well.) Teens - especially those who will soon leave home - often clash with their parents, and I think this book handles that idea well, without making Lexi act like a total victim, and also without completely vilifying her mom. The psychology of this book alone is enough to make it enjoyable, and I think readers will enjoy seeing the transformation Lexi undergoes, and how this change in turn alters her family dynamics.

Fans of Elizabeth Eulberg's previous work (The Lonely Hearts Club, Take a Bow, etc.)  will not be disappointed by her latest novel.  Read-alikes for Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality include King of the Screw-Ups by K.L. Going and Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught.


I received a digital ARC of Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality from Scholastic via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

My Summer of Pink and Green. by Lisa Greenwald. March 2013. Amulet Books. 272 pages. ISBN: 9781419704130

In My Summer of Pink and Green, the sequel to 2009’s My Life in Pink and Green, Lucy Desberg’s family finally begins work on the eco-spa that will attract new business to their aging pharmacy. Lucy is excited, mostly because the eco-spa was her idea, and she is anxious to expand her business as a makeup artist. Unfortunately, what no one has told Lucy is that the family is bringing in a consultant to oversee the spa’s grand opening, and that Lucy’s main role in the entire process will be to hang out with Bevin, the annoying daughter of the business’s chief investor. Lucy also has other things to deal with - her sister came home from college with a new boyfriend, her best friend, Sunny, is all wrapped up in her new boyfriend to the point that she can’t talk about anything else, and Sunny’s brother, Yamir, on whom Lucy has a crush, seems to like Lucy one minute and forget she exists the next. It’s going to be a long summer!

My feelings about Lisa Greenwald’s books have run the gamut over the past few years. I loved Sweet Treats and Secret Crushes, but felt lukewarm about Reel Life Starring Us. My Life in Pink and Green fell squarely in the middle of the spectrum, and now My Summer of Pink and Green is leaning more closely to the love I felt for Sweet Treats and Secret Crushes. I read the first book about Lucy not long ago, right after I received the digital ARC of this book from NetGalley, so Lucy has been fresh in my mind, and I like where this second book takes her character.

Lucy is a go-getter and an optimist, and it is undoubtedly her determination that saves the family from financial ruin in the first book. I completely understood her indignation, therefore, when most of her responsibilities are taken away in this sequel. I think the entire story explores something interesting that we don’t get to see very often in children’s literature. What happens to kids like Lucy who take on a lot of adult responsibilities when the adults in their lives get it together and don’t need their help anymore? Of course, Lucy should be a child and hang out with Bevin and have fun. Any adult reading this book will easily see that the responsibilities placed on Lucy’s shoulders were perhaps not fair to her, but how does that same situation feel to a child who felt so needed and now feels left out? Lucy’s family is very much in a time of transition, and this book deals so realistically and authentically with the emotions a child might feel.

This book also deals with a lot of other common tween problems - boys, best friends, and cruelty. What I like about Greenwald’s handling of these subjects is that Lucy plays the role of both good guy and bad guy. She’s not blameless in the rift between herself and Sunny or herself and Yamir, nor is she completely kind and friendly to Bevin all the time. She’s a normal kid learning to navigate not just new family dynamics, but new developments in her friendships as well.

My Summer of Pink and Green will appeal first and foremost to readers who have read the first book and want to know how things turn out for Lucy and the eco-spa. It’s also a good read for fans of Leslie Margolis’s series of earnest middle school tales beginning with Boys Are Dogs, and readers who have enjoyed Every Soul a Star and other books by Wendy Mass.

I received a digital ARC of My Summer of Pink and Green from Amulet Books via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Display Comments Add a Comment

The Center of Everything. by Linda Urban. March 5, 2013. Harcourt Children's Books. 208 pages. ISBN: 9780547763484

Ruby Pepperdine lives in the small town of Bunning, New Hampshire, where everyone is obsessed with donuts. On Bunning Day, at the town parade, Ruby will be reading her essay about the history of Bunning, which was selected as the winner from among many submissions. This is a great honor, of course, but Ruby has bigger things on her mind - mainly, the fact that her grandmother, Gigi, died, and Ruby didn’t listen when she tried to give her a final important message. Ruby has used her birthday wish to ask for a way to make things right, and she has been looking for signs ever since, but if nothing happens before Bunning Day ends, Ruby can’t imagine how she will move on.

Like Linda Urban’s last book, Hound Dog True, this is a sensitive and introspective middle grade novel, this time about one girl’s struggle to find her place after losing someone close to her. The novel has an interesting structure, in that the entire story takes place on Bunning Day, but events taking place in the present are interspersed with flashbacks to the recent past that give context to Ruby’s actions on Bunning Day. It is in the flashback sequences that the reader gets to know Gigi, as well as Ruby’s best friend, Lucy and her new friend Nero Deniro. These flashbacks also reveal Ruby as a nervous girl who worries about appearances and the way things are “supposed to be.” She wants to mourn correctly, to do the right thing in all situations for all people, and when she doesn’t feel that she has lived up to these external expectations, she takes it very hard. She is a girl who believes that her world is infused with meaning, and that it’s up to her to decode the signs she is given and make sense of what her grandmother, or the universe might be trying to tell her.

I didn’t care very much for Hound Dog True, but The Center of Everything spoke to me much more clearly. I could relate to Ruby’s silent suffering at the loss of her grandmother, and to the burden of perfectionism that she places on her own shoulders. I became deeply engrossed in the small-town atmosphere, and the Bunning Day parade reminded me of so many parades I attended as a kid in my own small town. Ruby’s younger cousins’ interest in the candy being thrown from the parade floats brought back so many memories.

Though The Center of Everything won’t appeal to every reader, it is a special book that will undoubtedly speak volumes of truth to certain readers. Kids who have connected with Linda Urban’s books in the past will find more of the same humor and sensitivity in The Center of Everything. It is also a great read-alike for Criss-Cross by Lynn Rae Perkins, The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone and One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joann Rocklin. Though it’s very early in the year to be considering next year’s potential Newbery contenders, this book looks like Newbery material to me - and several others on Goodreads have said the same. I highly recommend this slim, but powerful novel, to middle grade readers and their parents, librarians, and teachers.

I received a digital ARC of The Center of Everything from Harcourt Children's Books via NetGalley. The book will be published tomorrow, March 5, 2013.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads. 

Display Comments Add a Comment

Also Known As by Robin Benway. February 26, 2013. Bloomsbury. 320 pages. ISBN: 9780802733900

Also Known As is the story of sixteen-year-old safecracking spy, Maggie Silver. She and her family receive assignments from a secret organization called The Collective. This time around, the assignment is for Maggie to go to high school (a place she has never been before) in order to befriend and infiltrate the home of Jesse Oliver, whose journalist dad is about to publish an article blowing the cover of the Silver family and everyone they work with. Maggie is sure she is ready to take on this challenge, but what she doesn’t count on is that she will make a best friend, that she will fall in love, and that she might uncover corruption in the very organization responsible for her safety.

Though this book is similar in some ways to the Gallagher Girls books by Ally Carter, the story is less plot-driven and more character-driven. There is some action, but the true story occurs within Maggie as she struggles to prove herself while also remaining true to her new friends. Maggie has a strong, precocious voice that really drives the plot and keeps things interesting. The supporting characters, too, are memorable and well-described. For example, Angelo, Maggie’s family’s personal contact in The Collective, is “like if Tim Gunn and James Bond had a baby and that baby was Yoda.” I can’t remember the last time I read such a wonderfully funny description in a YA novel. Maggie’s new friend, Roux, who is lonely in the absence of her busy parents, is another great character whose over-the-top comic relationship with her bewildered doorman, Harold, also made me laugh out loud.

This story is less of a spy novel and more of a high school romance starring a heroine who happens to be a spy. Fans of Ally Carter might like it, but it’s more likely to appeal to fans of authors like Abby McDonald, Robin Mellom, and Melissa Kantor. Some Goodreads reviews have commented that the ending ties up too neatly, and I guess maybe that is true, but it didn’t bother me. All along, I assumed that things could end only one way - unhappily, with lots of trouble and tears. It was enough for me to be taken in an unexpected direction. The happy ending also solidifies my opinion that this is more of a romance novel than an action-adventure novel.

Also Known As is the kind of story that would make a great Disney channel original movie. Though there are a handful of references to sexting and drunkenness, it is mostly a pretty tame story that will work for younger teens as well as high school students. If nothing else, readers can enjoy laughing along with Maggie’s spunky and sarcastic outlook on life, and enjoying the ways she makes the best out of a seemingly impossible situation.

I received a digital ARC of Also Known As from Bloomsbury via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

The Candy Smash. by Jacqueline Davies. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 240 pages. ISBN: 9780544022089
The Candy Smash is the fourth book in the Lemonade War series about Jessie and Evan Treski, siblings who are in the same fourth grade class. It is February and Valentine’s Day approaches. Inspired by his teacher’s presentation of a poem of the day, Evan starts writing love poems, first about his grandmother and later about Megan Moriarty, on whom he has a crush. In the meantime, Jessie works on her extra credit project, a class newspaper. She hopes to find out not only who is delivering secret forbidden candy to the whole class, but also who in her class has a crush on someone else and how her classmates think crushes should be revealed. As in the other books of the series, Jessie fails to understand basic social cues, while Evan loses patience with his sister when she violates his privacy.

So far, in this series, Jacqueline Davies has taught readers about economics, law, and maps. In The Candy Smash, she focuses on journalism and poetry. Each chapter opens with the definition of a term associated with either newspapers or creative writing, and through Jessie and Evan’s experiences, the reader learns the proper use of these terms. The educational aspect of the story is certainly subtle and does not overpower the plot, but there are lots of great opportunities for classroom teachers to connect this book to their curricula.

This is a largely character driven story, which provides a lot of insight into the personalities of both Jessie and Evan. Only Evan’s character truly seems to develop, though; I keep wondering with each new book when Jessie is going to begin to mature a little bit as well. True, she is a year younger than her classmates, but even so, there should be some changes happening in her worldview and relationships that I haven’t really seen yet. Davies does a great job of depicting Jessie’s innocence and lack of experience, but it’s becoming less believable as she gets older. I was also surprised by how little their grandmother appears in this story. After the events of The Bell Bandit, she has moved in with the Treskis, but we don’t see much of her, even though her presence looms large in Evan’s poetic mind. Also notable is Jessie and Evan’s teacher, who is invested in her students and dedicated to helping them improve as students and as possible. I love the way she uses her cat, Langston, as her class mascot and displays pictures of him around her classroom. I’d put her in the same category as Clementine’s wonderful teacher, Mr. D’Matz.

My favorite thing about this book, overall, is how well it handles the romance theme. Many books for younger middle grade readers introduce dating into their fourth grade characters’ lives as though it is a perfectly natural thing for nine-year-olds to pair off into couples. In my experiences with kids, they are not into dating at that young an age, and this book reflects reality much more closely than a lot of others of this same reading level and genre. Sure, the characters have crushes, but they are still figuring out what that means and how it will impact their friendships. I especially like the way Evan’s crush on Megan is resolved - sweetly, but without tons of adult commitments and middle school-esque drama.

The Candy Smash doesn’t really stand on its own, so I’d recommend starting with The Lemonade War and reading the books in order. Parents should feel comfortable giving this series to their second- and third-graders who are strong readers, and I think even fifth graders can still enjoy the stories. Budding journalists and poets will love the back matter showing the class newspaper and some of the poems the students have written. Though Valentine’s Day has passed for this year, there is lots in this book that’s worth reading any time!

I borrowed The Candy Smash from my local public library. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Lulu and the Dog from the Sea. by Hilary McKay. March 1, 2013. Albert Whitman & Company. 112 pages. ISBN: 9780807548202

Lulu and the Dog from the Sea is Hilary McKay’s second adventure about a young animal lover whose compassion for animals in need often leads her into trouble. Set during the summer, this story takes place at the beach, where Lulu and her family take a vacation with Lulu’s best friend Mellie. On their first day in their vacation home, Lulu is warned not to befriend a stray dog who wreaks havoc on the neighborhood by digging through everyone’s garbage cans, but she just can’t help herself. The dog from the sea is obviously lonely - and hungry. Lulu is overwhelmed by the desire to save him, but to do so, she’ll have to protect him from the local dog catcher as well as from angry neighbors who would do him harm. A subplot involves Mellie’s difficulties with building a kite, the end result of which figures heavily into the fate of Lulu’s new canine friend.

For more than two thirds of the story, I liked this book better than last year's Lulu and the Duck in the Park. Whereas the first story focuses mostly on Lulu and her class at school, this second one delves deeper into her family dynamics, and into the personalities of Lulu’s parents. Occasionally, it shifts points of view so we get to understand the thoughts of Lulu’s own dog as well as the so-called dog from the sea. Lulu’s empathy for animals gets transferred to the reader so that, dog lover or not, the reader becomes invested in the well being of this particular stray dog. The writing is strong and evocative, and at times, even funny. In particular, I enjoyed the moment in chapter three when Lulu’s dog Sam reflects on the ill behavior of other dogs, and the narrator tells us that Sam would be surprised to learn that he himself is a dog. I also loved McKay’s descriptions of the beach atmosphere. I felt as though I could practically breathe the sea air.

There is just one problem with this book, and for me, it was sort of a deal breaker. In the final moments of the story, when the tension mounts between the dog from the sea and his neighbors, the dog suddenly becomes Lassie. In episode after episode of Lassie, the famous collie has a sixth sense about his master, Timmy, and she is always running off to wells and mines and various dangerous places to rescue him. Essentially the same thing happens near the end of this book. I saw it coming, hoped desperately that it wouldn’t happen, and then found myself rolling my eyes as the book jumped the shark in a way I could not really forgive. Will kids who love dogs find the ending believable? Perhaps. This series is very sweet and gentle, and readers who don’t mind a mushy ending might buy into the easy way things wrap up for Lulu and the dog from the sea. For me, though, having read many chapter books, I thought this was too simple an ending to an otherwise beautifully written book. I felt that the author owed the reader a more realistic and less cliched finale, and it dropped my Goodreads rating from five stars down to three.

Lulu and the Dog from the Sea is likely to appeal to fans of the first Lulu book, as well as to readers who like the Puppy Place, Vet Volunteers, and Critter Club series. It’s also a nice family-oriented alternative to some of the other girl-centric chapter book series where crushes and girl drama have taken center stage.

I received a digital ARC of Lulu and the Dog from the Sea from Albert Whitman & Company via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

The Reece Malcolm List. by Amy Spalding. February 5, 2013. Entangled Publishing. 352 pages. ISBN: 9781620612408

For sixteen years, Devan has been raised by her distant dad and disinterested stepmother. When her father dies, she is sent to Los Angeles to live with her mom, best-selling author Reece Malcolm. Though Devan is nervous because she knows so little about her mother, she is also intrigued by the woman who gave birth to her and then slipped off the radar. Living with her mom is scary for Devan, and complicated, but it’s also the source of lots of excitement. In L.A., Devan attends a performing arts school, makes a group of instant friends and catches the eye of two cute California boys. She also bonds with her mom’s best friend, who is a Broadway star, and her mom’s boyfriend, who keeps both Reece and Devan from losing their minds.

This contemporary young adult novel by debut author Amy Spalding portrays one of the most interesting and well-developed mother-daughter relationships I have ever read. Though the story is obviously about Devan, Reece is also a fully realized main character, and despite Devan’s reservations, the reader can’t help but love her. Spalding does a lovely job of peeling back Reece’s layers one at a time, revealing her personality, history, and feelings for Devan at a very realistic pace that helps the reader stay invested without becoming too overwhelmed with exposition. Spalding also strikes the perfect balance between Devan’s social life at school and her complicated home life. Neither storyline is ever neglected, and often, what happens at school will inform Devan’s actions at home, or vice versa. Also wonderful are all the musical theater references. Anyone who has ever wished to sing and dance on stage can live vicariously through Devan’s experiences at her performing arts high school.

The Reece Malcolm List reads like an updated and more realistic version of The Gilmore Girls. Fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Melissa Kantor will love Spalding’s fresh, contemporary writing style, and the memorable cast of characters. Reece’s experiences especially reminded me of Kantor’s Darlings series, where one of the girls is into drama, Take a Bow, Elizabeth Eulberg’s novel about seniors at a performing arts high school, and of course, Raina Telgemier’s Drama. The family dynamics also remind me of Courtney Sheinmel's All the Things You Are, and Sonya Sones's novel in verse, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. This is a fantastic first novel. I look forward to seeing what else Amy Spalding will publish in the future! 

I received a digital ARC of The Reece Malcolm List from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

Add a Comment

The Odd Squad: Bully Bait by Michael Fry. February 12, 2013. Disney-Hyperion. 224 pages. ISBN: 9781423169246

Cartoonist Michael Fry, who is best known for his comic strips, Committed and Over the Hedge, enters the world of middle grade fiction with the first book in his new Odd Squad series, entitled Bully Bait. Nick, the shortest kid in his seventh grade class, has gotten pretty used to being thrown into lockers, but he doesn’t like it, and he is definitely not interested in making himself a bigger target by joining a school club. Unfortunately, Nick’s guidance counselor thinks he needs a place to belong, so she signs him up to work with two other misfits, Molly and Karl, on safety patrol. Though they all agree that membership in this club is lame, they do become friends in spite of themselves. Suddenly, when it’s not one, but three against the world, it becomes much easier to face the bullies and attempt to bring them down.

Bully Bait is a fast-paced, funny novel with short chapters and lots of illustrations. Though the subject matter isn’t especially cheerful, the sarcasm and deadpan humor provide a lot of laughs. The characters are quirky in interesting ways. The janitor, Mr. Dupree, who looks out for Nick and provides him with cryptic advice about taking on bullies, is among my favorite adults in the book. Even the villain of the story, a boy named Roy, is a well-rounded character with his own softer side. The illustrations break up the text and also provide diagrams and other visual information that connect with what is happening in the story. Nick provides doodles showing such important skills as how to shrug, and various lists, including the 5 reasons he doesn’t like other kids. The cartoons are just as much a part of the story as the text, and they provide further insight into Nick’s character in a very accessible way.

Bully Bait is a much-needed funnier alternative to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Unlike Greg Heffley, Nick is a true “wimpy kid” - a middle school underdog who can’t seem to find his place - and though he makes mistakes in the story and sometimes underestimates his new friends, he always has good intentions at heart. Nick and the rest of the Odd Squad also remind me a lot of the girls in the Nerd Girls and Snob Squad books. While girls are probably the most likely readers of those series, Odd Squad looks like it will appeal to either gender. It’s also worth noting that this series is similar in style and substance to the middle grade novels of another well-known cartoonist, Jim Benton. If only Fry’s Nick went to school with Benton’s Jamie - that would be a match made in middle school heaven!

The plot of Bully Bait isn’t a new story, but it’s still a good one. Promote it to Wimpy Kid fans and I have no doubt that copies will fly off the shelves of your library or bookstore! 

I received a digital ARC of Bully Bait from Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Display Comments Add a Comment

In the tradition of Cinderella Smith, Dessert Schneider, Allie Finkle, and Stella Batts comes Jules Bloom, a spirited new chapter book heroine with a big personality. Most of the time, she is the big sister of four-year-old Big Henry, the sometimes best friend of Charlotte, a writer of lists (during freewriting) and a digger of worms (during recess.) One day, while she is out at a restaurant with her family Jules is discovered by a talent scout who wants her to audition for a commercial. She is very excited, until she learns the commercial is for an orange mouthwash. Jules can't eat or drink anything orange without gagging! It's a good thing Jules can always call on Grandma Gilda, who teaches her that sometimes the only thing you can do in a difficult situation is improvise.

This is an extremely well-written chapter book with a fresh style that sets it apart from others of its genre. Author Beth Ain has a wonderful ear for dialogue, and her characters come alive from the moment they begin to speak. From the first chapter where Jules sings her own made-up jingle for fizzy ice cream, she sounds just like a real seven-year-old girl, with all the energy and imagination kids have at that age. Her interactions with her classmates are perfectly child-like, as are her difficulties with Charlotte, who has recently started acting bossy and mean toward Jules and anyone Jules spends time with. I think it is easy to write a chapter book about what you think a second grader is like, but it is much more difficult to write one that so completely represents the second grade experience. Beth Ain has nailed it in her very first book.

Jules Bloom is the perfect combination of the sweetness of Stella Batts and Cinderella Smith, the stubbornness of Dessert and Clementine, and the high literary quality of The Stories Julian Tells and  the Ramona series. The lively writing absolutely sparkles and Jules all but dances off the page.   I read a review on another site that called the story "generically unmemorable" and I truly think nothing could be further from the truth. This book kept me entertained from beginning to end, and I think it would be even more likely to do so for a child in the target age group.

Starring Jules As Herself will hit shelves on March 1. The second book of the Starring Jules series, Starring Jules in Drama-Rama comes out in September. Learn more about Beth Ain (whose reading interests strongly mirror my own) on her website.

Add a Comment

Bijou Doucet, a survivor of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, has just moved in with her aunt and uncle in Brooklyn, where she attends an all-girls school. Though Bijou is not permitted to date or even to socialize out of school, she manages to attract the attention of Alex Schrader, one of the students at the nearby all-boys school. Alex is pretty clueless about girls, but he is sweet, and before long, Bijou, too, wants to spend time with him, even if it is forbidden. Through their sweet and innocent first romance, Alex and Bijou overcome the pain of Bijou's past, the restrictive rules of her aunt and uncle, and the intolerance of their classmates. 

I was drawn to this book on NetGalley for two superficial reasons: the poetic sounding title, and the cover illustration by Erin McGuire. I guessed instantly based on those two things that this would be a cute middle grade romance. What I didn't guess - and what truly makes this book special - is how many other story lines figure into that romance.  This isn't just a love story, but a story about cultural differences, empathy, acceptance, and forgiveness. Because the narrative alternates between Bijou's voice and Alex's voice, the story is well-balanced and presents the challenges of both characters. Even when the characters misunderstand each other and fail to communicate, the reader remains sympathetic to both sides of the story and continues to root for the success of  their relationship.

In addition to the well-realized main characters, this book is also populated by many wonderful supporting characters. Alex has two best friends, the actions of whom figure heavily into some of the mistakes he makes in trying to get to know Bijou. Bijou has an older brother who has moved out of his aunt and uncle's house and who teaches Alex to play Haitian rada music and conspires with Bijou to find ways for her to spend time with Alex. Alex and Bijou each also have a set of class bullies who tease them about their relationship and use cyber-bullying to intimidate them. The entire world of this story feels very contemporary, and I could imagine these same situations playing out in the schools in my neighborhood.

This is a great book for readers who enjoyed Same Sun Here. Both books alternate between a boy's point of view and a girl's, and both deal with characters who expand their horizons by learning about each other's cultures. It is also a very boy-friendly romance. Though Bijou is a significant part of the story, most of the romance comes through in Alex's narration. I'm not 100% sure the cover will attract male readers, but Alex's voice is so authentic, middle school boys - especially those who are already fond of reading -  would easily get hooked once they started reading.

A Song for Bijou is a beautifully written story of first love, and so much more. Issues of racism, bullying, and cultural differences make it a great read-aloud or book club choice for middle school students who love to discuss and debate serious issues. I look forward to reading more from Josh Farrar, and I plan to read his other middle grade novel, Rules to Rock By, which was published in 2010.  A Song for Bijou will be on shelves tomorrow, February 12, 2013.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Sidney and Sydney: Third Grade Mix-Up. by Michele Jakubowski. February 1, 2013. Capstone. 128 pages. ISBN: 9781404881044

When you’re a kid, there is nothing stranger than the first time you meet another kid with your same name. For third-grader Sidney Fletcher, it’s really weird because Sydney Greene, his classmate, is a girl who shares his name. After a mix-up with the seating arrangement on the first day of school, though, the two become friends, bonding over their mutual love of a game called Galaxy Conquest and working together to solve a problem preventing their friends from enjoying Halloween.

The premise for this book is perfect. Many kids - especially those with common and popular names - go to school with other kids with their same name, and they have to find unique ways to identify themselves on paper and in discussion to keep their classmates and teacher from getting confused. This is something kids can relate to, whether they share their name with someone they know or not. For third graders, the notion that someone could share her name with a boy would be mind-blowing, and this book uses that sense of surprise as a good starting point for the story.

Unfortunately, for a story entitled Third Grade Mix-Up, it doesn’t deal very much with the mix-up at all. Yes, there is a brief moment early in the book on the first day of school, when there is some confusion about their names, but it’s all cleared up rather quickly, and the focus shifts instead to Halloween. The problem with Halloween is that Sydney’s best friend Harley can’t have candy because her family isn’t eating junk food and Sidney’s new friend Gomez can’t have candy because he’s diabetic. Sydney and Sidney don’t want their friends to be sad on Halloween, so they look for ways to celebrate that don’t involve sweets.

This storyline is interesting and probably should have been the central focus of the entire book, but instead, it doesn’t even start to unfold until the story is half over. I don’t feel like I ever had a true sense of what this book is about. Is it to show that a boy and a girl can be friends? There is no real, lasting conflict between Sidney and Sydney to begin with, so it’s not a big shock that they can get along as friends. The story just seems like a bunch of random events strung together to show how cute it is when two friends with the same name come together. And while the writing is good, and the reading level appropriate for new chapter book readers, there just isn’t enough substance to the story to keep a reader engaged.

For a story about similar subject matter with a more discernible plot, try the Just Grace series by Charise Mericle Harper.

I received a digital ARC of Sidney and Sydney: Third Grade Mix-Up from Capstone via NetGalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

Add a Comment

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. 

Display Comments Add a Comment