Extras by Scott Westerfeld

So, you already know that I like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, so I was happy to learn that he extended the trilogy and released a fourth book. I thought most people knew about it, but some bookclubbers were surprised when I mentioned it a few months ago, and I've been meaning to mention it here.

Extras takes place a few years after the first three books and is set in a modern version of Japan where citizens are valued by their fame ranking, which means Aya Fuse's rank of 451,369 makes her a complete no-one with no special privileges. The publisher describes it as, "a gigantic game of American Idol where, 'Tech-head' flaunt their latest gadgets, 'kickers' spread gossip and trends, and 'surge monkeys' are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules."

Aya is convinced that if she can kick an amazing story, her rank will rocket and she'll get the life she dreams of. In a desperate effort she joins the Sly Girls (a group of girls that avoid the media as much as possible leading many people to believe they aren't even real) and sneaks footage of their dangerous fun, and she uncovers a much bigger story than she bargained for.

I know a few teenagers out there were disappointed to learn that this wasn't another novel focused on Tally, the main character in the first three books, but I thought it was so interesting and provided some good discussion points about what makes a person famous, is fame necessarily good, and what's the difference between news and gossip. Things teenagers today should be questioning as they watch Paris Hilton parade across the news, spend time surfing myspace, and tune into TV shows like Gossip Girl.

I really enjoyed this book and after discussion with friends, I have to admit that it probably helped that I speak Japanese so I didn't stumble with any of the names or placing where the story was supposed to take place. I would still start with Uglies and work my way through the series, but don't miss Extras at the end!

2007 banned book list

Every year the ALA publishes the banned book list, or in more formal terms, American Library Association’s (ALA) 10 Most Challenged Books of 2007. Some books are on the list for obvious reasons, but every year it seems I'm surprised by one or two. For instance this year, Olive's Ocean made the list. What? Really? I loved that book! Do I have a selective memory? Did any of you find it offensive?

Here's the list:

1. “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3. “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language

4. “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

5. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism

6. “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,

7. “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit

9. “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

May - Member Recommendations

For May's meeting we met at Heather's to discuss some favorite recommended by readers. Here's the reading list along with some discussion questions that Heather put together.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (recommended by Heather)

1. Why do you think Hope changed her name? What does the name "Hope" mean to you? How does it fit her character?
2. Describe Addie's character. What motivates her? Why does she move them across country?
3. What is Hope's relationship like with her mother?
4. How does her mother's brief visit effect Hope?
5. If a rule of waitressing is to never date the cook, why do you think Hope dates Braverman? What kind of a guy is Braverman?
6. Do you think G.T. is the father figure Hope is looking for in her life? How does meeting him change her?
7. How has Eli Millstone corrupted the mayoral election?
8. Why do you think G.T. decides to run for mayor? How can Hope help him win?
9. Over the course of the novel, how does Hope change and grow? 10. In the end, which characters in this book have hope?

Mara , Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (recommended by Tara)

1. How are Mara and Hatshepsut similar? How are they different?
2. At what age would you introduce your children to this book, taking into account the way the main character uses her female wiles to manipulate the men? Did you feel the romance was "too passionate" for sixth graders (used as a staple in most 6th grade homeschool units)
3. How did the author deviate from true Egyptian political history in regards to the rulers of the day? How do you as mothers/teachers get appropriate background info to help young readers differentiate? Like in Da Vinci Code.
4. Who feared the gods the most in the story?
5. Did you like the way McGraw discussed Nuit, the great mother in the final pages of the story?
6. At what point does Mara really decide to stop playing the double agent and really work for Sheftu and Thutmose III?

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (recommended by Steph)
Author's Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
4. In what ways did Tally's trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?

April - Mormon Authors Part 2

There are so many famous Mormons in the media these days including several authors. Many of you have heard of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, but you may be interested in reading some of these other books written by Mormon authors for children and young adults. I'm just listing either their most popular or most recent books.

Shannon Hale, Goose Girl, Princess Academy, Book of a Thousand Days
James Dashner, The 13th reality: The Journal of Curious Letters
Brandon Mull, The Candy Shop War, Fablehaven
Janette Rallison, How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend
Obert Skye, Levin Thumps
Jessica Day George, Dragon Slippers; Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
Louise Plummer, Finding Daddy
AE Cannon, Loser's Guide to Life and Love, Charlotte's Rose
Mette Ivie Harrison, The Princess and the Hound
Randall Wright, The Silver Penny
Michael Tunnell, Wishing Moon, Moon Without Magic

We decided on the bold titles for April's book club because we've already read Stephenie Meyer's and Shannon Hale's book along with Wishing Moon by Michael Tunnell, The Shakeress by Kimberly Heuston, and Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe.

I'm not sure why there seem to be so many new Mormon YA/chldren's authors out there, but we're glad to see their success.

Book Plates

Of course my favorite gifts to give are children's books and we have quite a library of our own so I'm always keeping an eye out for cool book plates, especially book plates designed with kids in mind. Lately I've seen a lot of free book plate downloads so I thought that I would share a few.

Jan Brett has a few on her site.

And this site has several to choose from by famous illustrators (although it's a British site so don't be suprised if you don't recognize a few of the illustrators). Here's one by Mike Inkpen. Another from Anita Jeram.

And one from Jez Alborough

These are from the nested blog and you can download them here.Book plates from the famous Etsy seller The Black Apple. Download them here. And last, but not least, one from Mo Willems' blog.

Jon Scieszka

Oh we love us some Jon Scieszka around here (author of many fabulous books like the True Story of the Three Little Pigs as told by A. Wolf, and the Stinky Cheese Man)! We jumped at the chance to meet him at a book signing when we were in CA last fall. Every once in a while, it's a little disappointing to meet an author in person because they don't live up to the expectations of them that you've dreamed up in your head. That was not the case with Scieszka; he was EXTREMELY personable and funny in real life.

First off, how to pronounce his name; Scieszka rhymes with Fresca. At the time he was touring for his book Cowboy & Octopus so he read it aloud to the crowd. In reading this book on my own, I thought it very funny, but a little over most kids' heads, but it had all the tiny members of his audience rolling. He explained that he created this book because some of his favorite books were books about two friends like George and Martha, Frog and Toad so why not Cowboy and Octopus. An interesting fact I didn't observe the first time that I read the book is that Cowboy and Octopus are supposed to be clipped from something else so in each illustration they always look the same. It's really fun to page through the illustrations and see how Lane Smith Managed to pull that one off.

And speaking of Lane Smith, Jon pointed out that Lane Smith turns his illustrations over to his wife, Molly Leach, who is in charge of book design (end papers, where the text goes, the title page, etc.). Talented family, eh?

Other interesting tidbits? Jon grew up with five brothers who all blamed each other for everything that went wrong. he thinks if the wolf had a brother of a dog to blame, the True Story of the Three Little Pigs never would have taken place. Jon's favorite book beginning is The Frog Prince Continued.

Now Jon is working on an autobiography, but it's about his youth, not his grown-up years. He says he'll be including things like the time his big brother Ted was left to babysit and Jon and his brothers used his dad's ties to tie Ted to the bed.

A new author introduced Jon, so new in fact that his first book hasn't been released yet. Jon says to watch for Billy Twitter's Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett because Mac is one of the funniest people he knows.

Two big things involving Jon have happened since this book talk. First was the release of Smash! Crash! the first book in Jon Scieszka's Trucktown Series. Jon has been a big part of the movement to get more boys to enjoy reading because the statistics of how many boys give up reading for fun and flounder in their reading comprehension are dismal. He even started the site http://www.guysread.com/ and he wrote the Time Warp Trio series just to appeal to boys at that key age. Now Jon is starting younger with his new Trucktown picture book series. Studies show that both most boys prefer reading non-fiction, but most teachers want them to read literary fiction so both of Jon's series strive to meld non-fiction with literary fiction and provide kids with fun storylines chock full of interesting information. The publishing work is all abuzz about the Trucktown series, because it really is the first of it's kind. Jon has a deal for over 50 books in many different formats over the next three years so keep an eye out for picture books, board books, easy readers, and pretty much anything else that you can think of. But how will one illustrator possibly illustrate over 50 books in 3 years? Well, they won't. Three illustrators (David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon) collaborated to created the car characters and their world and came up with the illustrations for the first book. Word is from here on out they will be working with a team of digital artists to create illustrations for the other books while maintaining their hand-painted appearance. Should be interesting to see how it all works out.

Oh, I said two big things, didn't I? Well, a few months ago, Jon was selected by the library on congress to be the first ever Ambassador of Young People's Literature. Fancy title, huh? Well this teacher turned author really cares about kids and works hard to help each of them harbour a love of literature so the title is well deserved.

March - Ohio Authors

Local talent abounds so for the month of March, we decided to focus on some of our local Ohio Authors. Here's what we read along with some questions to inspire your own conversations:

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
1. How does this book differ from other Cinderella re-tellings?

2. Why is Prince Charming not so charming?

3. Who is the real villain in this book?

4. In this book, Ella changes her own circumstances without the use of magic. How do you think this can encourage young readers in making their own decisions?

5. At the end, Ella does not immediately get married to live happily ever after, but rather chooses her own happily ever after. How can this empower females today?

Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis (book of poetry)
1. How does this book of poetry compare with other children's books of poetry?

2. How does Lewis play on words in his poems? Do you enjoy this type of poetry?

3. Is it easier or harder to read poetry when poem after poem is written with a few illustrations, instead of one poem and many illustrations making an entire children's book?

4. How can we get children to enjoy poetry more?

The Dragon's Eye by Kaza Kingsley
1. With Harry Potter being so popular, many books with magic and a young boy as the main character are inevitably compared to Harry Potter. How is this book both similar and different?2. Who do you think Erek Rex really is?

3. What does this book teach about self-reliance, courage, and trust?

4. Erek Rex comes to realize he can do much more than he thought he could as others rely on him. How can young readers identify with him, even though the events occurring in this book are fantastical? Do you think it is difficult or easy to identify with the main characters from fantasy books?

Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou (picture book) (If you haven't read East by Edith Pattou, we highly recommend it!)
1. This book is beautifully illustrated, and demonstrates the power teachers have to influence children. What do you think of that power? Does it inspire or frighten you?

2. Did you understand immediately what the plants symbolized in this book, or did you have to read the summary to understand it?

3. Does this book encourage you to be more active in finding good teachers for your children?

4. Is this book aimed at young children, or adults?

Little Miss Spider by David Kirk (picture book)
1. This book addresses the issue of adoption; however, it implies that Little Miss Spider was abandoned and unwanted by her birth mother, even though her adoptive mother loves her. Is this a good book to share with adopted children, or not?

2. How can this book be used to teach children about adoption?

3. Did you feel that the story was complete, even though Little Miss Spider never learns anything about her mother, or did you want more information? If so, what information could Kirk have added without changing the outcome of the story?

Thanks to Tara for hosting and putting these questions together!

February - Cybils Award Finalists

I wish we had to time read all of the wonderful Cybils Awards Finalists, but since we didn't we decided first to read all of the fictional picture book finalists:

Pssst! by Adam Rex

Go to Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington

Leaves By David Ezra Stein

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn William and Khadra Mohammad

Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Then we also selected a few of the middle grade fiction finalists. Heather did a great job hosting, and for those of you who weren't able to attend, here are a few of her discussion questions:

Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of A Tree by Lauren Tarshis
How did the author use the two voices to her advantage in the telling of this story? What do we gain as readers from hearing both points of view?Did the ending seem to be missing a final chapter? Was there enough climax? Do the seemingly random subplots get tied up a little too neatly at the end?Did the short length of the book appeal to you or leave you wanting?

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Why did this win 2007's most appropriate title award? Who or what is a crooked kind of perfect in the book?How does Zoe's father cross over from home-bound to holding an actual job?Describe Zoe's relationship with her mother. How does it change over the course of the book?How did the author demonstrate Zoe's social awkwardness? Was it mirrored by the instrument she had to play?Which relationship is the most believable?What is an example of a funny part you remember from the book? Why is it so hard to write good humor?Was anyone bothered by her swapping her organ for a piano at the end?

The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy
Assign partners. Ask your partners interesting questions and be prepared to introduce something "true" about her.Which girl do you feel worse for, Newt (parents fighting and Dad leaving), or Fox (abandoning mother returning)?What did you learn about masks in this book? When and why did the characters use them?Truth was an important theme in this book. What experiences stood out as "true" to life for you in Wild Girls?Why is it often so hard for girls to get along with their own mothers, but easily relate to the mothers of their friends?

If you read these three and are looking for more to read, check out the other middle grade fiction finalists:

Cracker: The Best Dog In Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Leepike Ridge by Nathan D. Wilson

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

Miss Spitfireby Sarah Miller

Of course discussion lead to which books we wanted to see win the Cybil awards. We wanted A Crooked Kind of Perfect to win for middle grade fiction (that's probably not a surprise to you since I've been pushing it into the hands of anyone who will read it. Good humor in middle grade fiction is so hard to come by and this book is brilliant!) but we didn't agree on a second choice. We were all in agreement that we wanted Pssst! to win in the fiction picture book category. It's so clever and I love the artful illustrations.

In case you missed it, the award winners have been announced. The Middle Grade Fiction committee saw things the way we did and selected A Crooked Kind of Perfect as the winner! The Picture book committee Chose The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County, which wasn't a favorite among our group. You were robbed, Adam Rex!!!!! Robbed I tell you! (Although he did win the Cybil Award for elementary/middle grade fantasy/science fiction for his book The True Meaning of Smekday so the Cybils did recognize his genius so everything is still good, eh?)

2008 Newbery and Caldecott Awards

The 2008 ALA awards have been announced!

John Newbery Medal
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)

Newbery Honor Books
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic/Scholastic Press)
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion)
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam/GP Putnam's Sons)

Randolph Caldecott Medal
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

Caldecott Honor Books
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine (Scholastic/Scholastic Press)
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtin by Peter Sís (Farrar/Frances Foster)
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

To see the full list, check here.

Kaza Kingsley is here today!

I’d like to thank Stephanie Ford and the Children’s Literature Book Club for hosting me today! The blog tour has been a fun adventure. I hope you enjoy this installment, and new questions, as well as the picture of me as a kid! As you may know, there are pictures of me on each post growing slowly older…!

What books or authors have inspired you or influenced you the most?

I have to say, the Wizard of Oz series, by L Frank Baum. I loved these books (fourteen in the series) so much when I was a young kid. I was a really slow reader then, too. I used to picture every sentence, vividly, and it took me a month of constant reading to finish a book!

Beyond the Oz books, I think I’ve been inspired at some level by most books I’ve read. I just finished “Blink,” by Malcolm Gladwell (read it in a day!) and I know it inspired me in some way, too.

How well do the illustrations in your books capture the imagery you visualized as you wrote?

The illustrations have been fantastic. Some of them, like the trolls guarding a cave in Otherness in Book Two, floor me.

People have pointed out that the illustrations remind them of Mary Grandpre’s (The Harry Potter series.) This I find to be a double-edged sword. If you hold the books together, you can see the artists have entirely different styles. But there is a feel there, and I’m not sure if it is a good thing or not. If it helps people know what kind of book it is, what general genre, I guess that’s good. If it makes people think “Harry Potter,” that’s not so good. I’d be curious to know what you and your readers think!

Is there anything you would change about either of your books now that they are out?

Yes … and no! In one sense, having edited them so many times before I sent them to the “real” editors, it’s hard to turn the editor in me off. When I pick up my work I’m always scanning it for word choice, sentence structure. I’ll always find wording I’d change.

As far as big changes – not specifically. I plotted enough of the series out that I was able to drop the hints I needed into Book One. That was one advantage of advance planning – I knew enough going into Book One that I could do that. But I suppose as I go, and more details get worked out, it would be cool to “step back in time” and drop in even more tidbits. But, at the same time, I’m happy with what is there. The story is on track, where it’s supposed to be. Now I just have to worry about editing Book Three like crazy before I hand it over!

In Book One, where did you come up with the Lia Fail idea – a stone that screams?

Actually the Lia Fail is a real peace of ancient Celtic mythology. They believed there was a stone that screamed to confirm that the king being crowned was a rightful ruler. I loved the concept, and the Lia Fail is going to be an important concept later in the series!

Is Erec going to be tempted by the scepters or influenced by them in future books?

Yes! He’s been infected with the feeling of power the scepters gave him, and that’s really hard to shake. Erec has quests to do, and evil to conquer, but will the scepters help him or get in the way? Something to think about!

Let me know what mythological references you’ve spotted in the Erec Rex books. I look forward to hearing from you!

Love,

Kaza

Newbery Buzz

Did you know that this year the American Library Association is announcing its awards like the Newbery and Caldecott early? It's happening on January 14th! I can't wait. What are your predictions?

I know Hugo Cabret its quite a mix of illustrations and text so I hope that it won't be left out because it doesn't quite fit in any category. Wednesday Wars and Elijah of Buxton seem like shoe in to me to they do like to reward newcomers and I would love to see A Crooked Kind of Perfect Win (and who knows about Elijah of buxton because there are some historical inaccuracies there causing some controversy and then there's also the Coretta Scott King Award to condsider). I also wouldn't be surprised to see Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian or Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree make the list, but I haven't read those two so I can't add my two cents there.

So what do you think?

The Aurora County All-Stars - by Deborah Wiles

Just as House Jackson has recovered from a broken elbow and begins to ready his team for their one and only game of the year, all the mamas in town sign their kids up to be in Finesse Shotz pageant to celebrate the town’s 200th anniversary, which just so happens to be the same time as the big game. Frances and House were already enemies after Frances caused the accident that broke House’s elbow, causing him to miss last year’s game. During his year without baseball, House has spent time reading to the recluse elderly man who lives next-door, and carefully keeping it a secret from the rest of the baseball team. His secret is almost spilled when House discovers the man has died and left him a copy of Walt Whitman poetry. As the publisher says, in the end, “Mysteries are revealed, friendships are healed, and everyone, from youngest to oldest, learns something about love, community . . . and baseball.”

Like Wiles other books, Love, Ruby Lavender and Each Bird Sings; this books is also set in fictional Aurora County and even has an appearance by Ruby, but this book is the first to take a boy’s point-of-view. It’s chock-full of small town stereo types like mamas who spend all of their time together at the Laundromat watch soap operas and a nosey town reporter who publishes articles on rumors she over-hears while buying produce at the Piggly Wiggly.

Kirkus reviews states that sections of this book originally appeared in serialized form in the Boston Globe, which may explain why there are some great scenes, but most of the book drags on and feels a bit pieced together. There were some parts of the plot that I really enjoyed like Ruby worming her way onto the all-boy baseball team because she’s such a good player, and a subplot involving the discrimination in early professional baseball, but the majority of the book I found humdrum as the major problem of the book (whether there will be a baseball game or a pageant) was easily solvable.

The part of the book that I found most odd was all of the literary references. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed picking them out, but this book is written for a child audience people!!!! The references are everywhere; there’s a dog name Eudora Welty and large part of the plot is based on the poetry of Walt Whitman so many chapter begin with a Whitman quote. Many comments like, “Don Quixote directed her Sancho Panza to take the vote.” and, “He’s as dead as beautiful, young Emily Webb in Our Town by Thornton Wilder!” will be lost on the intended audience. It makes me question why these references are there. Does Wiles think the average fifth grader who picks up this book is also reading “Death of a Traveling Salesman” in their free time or more likely is she trying to appeal to English teachers?

Kaza Kingsley blog tour

Kaza Kingsley is doing a blog tour to promote her new book, The Monsters of Otherness, book two of the Eric Rex series.

Here's the schedule:
1/7 – A Fort Made of Books
1/8 – Books4Ever
1/9 – Baseballs and Bows
1/10 – Fanatic Space Blog
1/11 – Bibliophile's Retreat
1/12 – Children's Literature Book Club
1/13 – Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-A-Holic
1/14 – A Year of Books
1/15 – Author Chris Rettstatt's blog
1/16 – Deliciously Clean Reads
1/17 – Into the Wardrobe
1/18 – Real Gurlz Magazine
1/19 – Chauceriangirl

That's right folks, Kaza will be here on Saturday, January 12th! She's a fellow Ohioan and has decided to stop by our blog for a visit! She's closely following all of the blogs on her tour so if you have any questions you can post comments here for her. Click here for an excerpt of Book Two! I can't wait to see what Kaza has to say!

January - Early/Middle Grade Fiction Series

This may look like a lot, but this month we are focusing on early/middle grade series, especially fairly new ones that are popular now, so they are all very very fast reads and it won't take you long to read your way through the list.





We'll be meeting at Amy's house on the SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH so everyone will have a chance to get back from vacation and spend some time reading. For the most part, we picked the first book in each series to give you a feel for it, but if you can't get your hands on the first book, pick any book in the series, in fact that might add to discussion.

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus - by Barbara Park

Frindle - by Andrew Clements (this is not quite a series, I'll explain later)

Judy Moody - by Megan McDonald

Knights of the Kitchen Table- Time Warp Trio Series – by Jon Scieszka

Dinosaurs Before Dark, Magic Treehouse Series - by Mary Pope Osborne

Ivy and Bean - By Annie Barrows

Elephant and Piggie - by Mo Willems (choose any, there is no specific order)

Clementine - By Sara Pennypacker

Hot Hand, Come Back Kids - by Mike Lupica

Mercy Watson To The Rescue, Mercy Watson Series- By Kate Dicamillo

Welcome to Camden Falls, Main Street Series - by Ann M. Martin

December Picture Books

In December we held a book exchange and we discussed some of our favorite Christmas picture books including:

Olivia Helps With Christmas - by Ian Falconer

Wombat Divine - by Mem Fox

Welcome Comfort - by Patricia Polocco

Auntie Claus - by Elise Primavera

The Trees of the Dancing Goats - by Patricia Polocco

Olive the Other Reindeer - by Vivian Walsh

The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza -by David Shannon
Too Many Tamales - by Gary Soto

Yoon and the Christmas Mitten - by Helen Recorvits

There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve - by Pam Munoz Ryan

Santa Claus, The World's Number One Toy Expert - by Marla Frazee

Harry Potter Halloween Party

I just realized that I only posted about my Halloween party on my personal blog, but some of you might be interested in reading about it because this year's party theme was Harry Potter. You can read all about it here, and here are a few pictures to get you interested.

Our party invitations:

Our family costumes (I was Dolores Umbridge, Larry was both of the Weasley twins and every time he left the room and came back he alternated introducing himself as Fred or George and getting annoyed that people kept getting him mixed up with his twin, then our baby was a Mandrake)

Lookybook

Have you seen LookyBook? It's a web site that lets you view whole children's books from cover to cover. The point of the site is to help you make informed purchases. The site is only in beta form, but it's pretty cool (not sure how it's legal or feasible, but it's very cool).

Check it out.

The Castle Corona - by Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech is one of my favorite authors so I was prepared to fall in love with her latest book, The Castle Corona, but I just couldn’t. Creech takes a far departure from the realistic fiction in present day settings of her other novels. The Castle Corona is tale set in Midieval times, full of peasants and royalty.

The book itself has torn edges and the illustrations are made to create the feel of an illuminated manuscript, in fact, the cover even says, “Illuminated by David Diaz”. Diaz, known for his multi-cultural illustrations in books like Smokey Night and The House that Juan Built, is also trying something new with the flourishes framing his bright illustrations. Each chapter begins with a half-page illumination, but many readers have expressed their disappointment that the illustrations repeat throughout the novel so they are not getting all of the artwork that they bargained for when they purchased the book.

My disappointment was not in the illustrations, but in the storyline. The chapters alternate between the lives of the spoiled royalty, and two orphaned peasants, Enzio and Pia. Enzio & Pia spend their days working and dreaming of how wonderful it would be to be royalty, while the royal family spends their time thinking about how tough it is to have royal responsibilities. One day Enzio and Pia discover a pouch stolen from the castle, which leads to a series of events that intertwine their lives with the royal family. In the end, the puzzling mystery falls flat and the ending wasn’t satisfactory. I totally agree with one review that I read that said, “the BIG REVELATION was neither big nor a revelation nor even remotely interesting.”

The book feels a bit more like an allegory than a fairytale so of course everyone grows and learns in the end. The book is more about growing up than exciting adventures, and I suspect it will be a hard sell to many young readers.

No Talking - by Andrew Clement

Andrew Clements has done it again. Those who like Frindle or the Landry News will also enjoy No Talking; in fact, they may even like it more. War of the sexes is going on among the fifth-graders at Laketon Elementary School and Dave and Lynsey suddenly become the generals when they make a bet as to whether the boys or girls can manage to say the fewest words for two days.

It all started when Dave was working in his report on India and read about Gandhi and came across the statement, “For many years, one day each week Gandhi did not speak at all. Gandhi believed this was a way to bring order to his mind.” Dave decided his mind could use a little order so he tried to go a whole day without talking, which went really well, until he had a run-in with Lynsey. Their run-in sparks the bet, and suddenly all the fifth-graders are thinking of language in a whole new way. They decide if an adult in school asks them a question they can answer, but they can only use three words and contractions will only count as one word.

I really enjoyed the unbiased, all-knowing narration that said things like, “It’s also a shame to have to report this, but Lynsey was just as proud and stubborn as Dave.”

If this book is used in a classroom, I’m sure it would inspire a lot of thought debate about language and gender.

I think it’s also going to cause some debate among teachers because it doesn’t exactly portray them favorably. The principal HATES the competition because she likes complete control so she does not appreciate that the kids she’s been trying to shush for years are quiet because she was not the one to quiet them. Another teacher, Mr. Burton fights for the kids’ right, but merely as a matter of self-interest because he thinks it will be a good topic for his thesis. Meanwhile, Mrs. Marlow fights to stop the contest from disrupting her lesson plans, but then gives up because, “demanding that they all go back to being noisy, self-absorbed chatterbrains—it simply wasn’t logical.” OUCH! While the principal comes around and learns her lesson, the other teachers don’t and I was a little disappointed by how selfish they were. On the other hand, kids will probably appreciate the portrayal of teachers who are out to get them and love the book all the more for it.

Elijah of Buxton - by Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah is the first child born into the town of Buxton, Canada, a community of free blacks and escaped slaves. He’s been sheltered from the realities of slavery because of his “fragile” nature, which he is often teased about. As we follow Elijah through his adventures escaping from snakes and chunking stones, he tries to prove to his parents that he’s growing up. Hi new strength prods him to face his fears in order to help others gain their freedom.

It’s nice to see Christopher Paul Curtis return to historical fiction, don’t get me wrong, his other novels are fun, but teachers across the country applaud The Watsons go to Burmingham and Bud, Not Buddy because they manage to teach about history through really funny, endearing, male main characters between the ages of nine and eleven. So yes, Curtis published ANOTHER historical fiction novel narrated by a young, black male; but this novel still manages to be fresh and original. How does he do that?

This book does contain some violence, but it would hard to portray slavery without it. The other matter some teachers are having a hard time with is Elijah’s dialect. I recently attended a book talk where the speaker brought the debate about dialect up and said that some teachers are worried that it will be too difficult for some young readers who might otherwise enjoy this book. She questioned whether or not it’s too much and I can see where she’s coming from.

I think Curtis really deserves some praise for the gentle ways he explains how slaves must have felt when they escaped. It provided some really beautiful interesting moments in the book. Elijah explains that escaped slaves who reach Buxton alone and are spotted hiding in the forest have to be approached very carefully. Elijah says:
“Even if they ain’t seeing no white people they still caint bring theirselves to show who they are. We learnt a long time ago to make no big commotion when we first seen ‘em. We learnt that all the running they’d been doing, all the looking their shoulders and not knowing when they were gonna eat again or where they were gonna sleep or who they could trust made ‘em skittish and even dangerous and not likely to take to no one running at ‘em. Not even if you were smiling and waving and showing how happy you were that they got through. Afore you’d reach ‘em they’d just melt back into the woods and you’d be standing there wondering if you’d really seen anything atall. If a bunch of us went charging at ‘em whooping and raising Cain they might disappear back into the forest for another two, three days. And that was two, three days that they were free but didn’t know it, which Pa says is tragical ‘cause you ain’t never gonna know how much time you got here on earth and each day you’re free is precious.”
Wow! They end up sending a young girl wandering the way of newcomers so they don’t feel threatened and run away. I think that’s really eye-opening.

There’s just so much in this book that I never thought about and I learned from. Like instead of playing cops and robbers or Indians and cowboys, the kids in Buxton played abolitionists and slavers. Another instance is when Elijah mentions his friend’s grandmother is about 50 so she’s so old and frail they are afraid to leave her alone even a moment. And any kid who ever even thinks about using the N word should read what happens when Elijah almost says it; Mr. Leroy explodes and explains what it means and why it should NEVER be used. He says, “Ya’ll young folks gotta understand that’s a name what ain’t never called with nothing but hate . . . You saying that word aitn’t showing no respect for no one what’s had that word spit on ‘em whilst they’s getting beat on like a animal.” Elijah’s father later goes on to tell him that he needs to be especially careful around people who used to be slaves because, “They’ve seen people acting in ways that caint help but leave scars and pecularities.”

And without spoiling anything, this book didn’t end the way that I wanted it to, but it ended the way that it had to. Anyone who picks it up will really learn a lot from it.

A Crooked Kind Of Perfect - by Linda Urban

Bloggers all over the kidslitosphere have been shouting praises of A Crooked Kind of Perfect, and I should have known that they would be right. It wasn’t love at first sight (although I do love the title and the cover is beautifully simple). During the first few pages, I wasn’t sure what I was in for, but boy am I glad that I picked this book up. It’s definitely one of my favorites of the year.

Zoe Elias had big dreams of recitals on grand pianos in front of audiences that proclaim her a child prodigy, instead she got a Perfectone D-60 organ with a vinyl seat and music to the hits of the sixties. Her dad doesn’t leave the house and spends all his time on correspondence courses like “Make Friends and Profit While Scrapbooking” and “Golden Gloves: Make a Mint Coaching Boxing”. Her mom is absorbed in her work. Her friend just informed her that Zoe has been replaced with a new best friend. And Wheeler, the class bully, has started following her home to hang out with her dad every day. Sounds a little depressing, doesn’t it? But oddly enough it's not; it’s brilliantly funny!

You don’t see a lot of books aimed at this age group that include parents dealing with a mental illness. It was so nice to read about a father with anxiety issues who still manages to be a loving and supportive dad, and while their relationship is important to the book it’s not the main focus. The characters all have their quirks, but they are believable and I quickly bonded with them and hoped for the best.

The chapters are short, Zoe’s narrative is witty, and the book goes so quickly, you’ll be left wanting more. This book earned the title, it truly is A Crooked Kind of Perfect.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin

I really fell for Gabrielle Zevin’s first book Elsewhere so even though her second novel, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, had a plot seemingly plucked straight from a soap opera, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up.

This book is a far departure from Elsewhere’s science fiction premise. 16-year-old Naomi falls on the front steps of her school one evening and when she wakes up, she can’t remember the last four years of her life. Another teenager, James, discovered her on the steps and accompanies her in the ambulance to the hospital. Naomi is disappointed to discover that athletic Ace is her boyfriend, not James. In fact, there are a lot of things that surprise her about how her life has changed since sixth grade, like her parents’ divorce and the birth control pills in her nightstand drawer.

While the premise of amnesia may seem a little too cheesy, and the crush on a dangerous boy was also a little too soap opera for me (I could have done without James in the novel at all because I don't really get the bad boy appeal), the reader really connects to Naomi’s experience and can’t help but ask themselves if they would be happy with who they’ve become if they were in Naomi’s situation. Would you be happy with your friends or would you wonder why you chose them? Would you love the things you’d committed yourself too, like the yearbook and playing tennis, or would you take the opportunity to go in a different direction? When your memory of the last four years comes back, would you be happy with most of it or would you want to try to permanently forget it?

Zevin created a believable teenager’s voice in Naomi and I hypothesize that most teens who pick up the book will be able to predict most of the plot, but they will still enjoy the novel. It’s not as fresh and Elsewhere, but it’s still thought provoking.

Book of a Thousand Days - by Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors so I was thrilled to see the glowing reviews rolling in for her latest book, The Book of a Thousand Days. I picked it up at the library, and I’m sorry, but it must be said, this is my least favorite of Shannon Hale’s novels! Of course her other books meant for the young and young-at-heart were so wonderful, that to say this is my least favorite doesn’t mean that it was horrible or even bad;