The Book Search

This week, I've stepped off the middle grade merry-go-round and I'm reading things my friends are recommending to me.  As you see the list, you'll see I have a pretty eclectic group of friends (lucky, lucky me!). The first one came from one of my best friends.  She and I have been friends for a LONG time, former co-workers, carpoolers, and neighbors.  We have many books in common and this latest one, "The Nightingale"by Kristin Hannah  I COULD NOT IT PUT DOWN.  It's a World War 2 book and just when I think I'm never going to read another book about World War 2, someone nags me into reading one and this one was worth the nag!  It's about two young women who have grown up in France in the 1930s.  They are sisters but they are not close.  Their mother died before the story starts and their father did not feel that he could properly care for them.  The girls are fairly far apart in age, so the older one is basically left to care for the younger...

In case you didn't know, the Caldecott award is given each year to the best picture book of the year.  I dipped into that list this week and found one I missed from last year and two that look good for this year's award. The one from last year is called "The Farmer and the Clown" by Marla Frazee.  It's a wordless picture book and I don't understand how I missed this one.  But ok.  I have it now and it's really great.  It's about a farmer who lives and works out on a barren plain.  The perspective on these pictures is so broad it gives this very visceral sense of loneliness.  The facial expressions on the farmer (at first) lead to you believe he is a crotchety old man but as the story progress, you start thinking differently.  As he's working out in the fields one day, a train goes past in the distance.  Something falls off the train and the farmer goes to investigate.  He finds a small clown and without a lot of options, he brings the ...

This week, my group voted for the titles in middle grade fiction that we wanted to move on to the next round of voting.  Five titles made it into the next round and while I'm pleased with all of the titles that got through, I AM sworn to secrecy.  All will be revealed VERY SOON.  In the meantime, I am staying FAR, FAR away from realistic fiction at the moment.  I think all of us in the group had read ENOUGH about dead parents, dead siblings, dead best friends to last for awhile. So I'm back to Netgalley and there are some really terrific titles there that aren't out yet but will be soon.  The first one is called "The Goblin's Puzzle" by Andrew S. Chilton.  It's about three kids, a boy and two girls named Alice.  The boy doesn't have a name because he is a slave and who would bother to name a slave.  He leads a slavish existence (no pun intended but he is a slave to some not very nice people) until one day, fate intervenes.  The boy is a big...

So after WEEKS of reading middle grade fiction for the CYBILS award (which I totally loved doing), I was REALLY ready for something different.  I looked on Netgalley and picked one that I had downloaded quite some time ago and dove in.  It's a young adult book called "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner and I timed it sort of badly.  I wanted to read a bit before I went to bed so I got into bed and started reading with about 150 pages to go and no ambition to finish it.  And then I couldn't stop reading it.  Once I got done reading it, I couldn't sleep for thinking about the characters.  It was totally worth feeling sleep deprived today! It's about three kids who are seniors in high school in a small town in Tennessee.  They all feel like outcasts for various reasons but only Lydia has a plan to get out.  As she continues to plan and talk about her plans, the boys, Dill and Travis, start to think maybe they should get out too.  There are themes...

I'm getting down the end of the list (and sadly, the end of the time frame!).  We are supposed to come to consensus this week about which books made the short list.  Fortunately, the other people on the committee are WAY more decisive than I am so it sounds like the process shouldn't be too painful, I hope!  I did read a few this week that I really loved. The first one is historical fiction.  It's called "I Don't Know How the Story Ends" by J. B. Cheaney.  It's set in Hollywood during the first World War, which, in my opinion, is an underserved era of historical fiction.  What's great about this book is that the war serves as a backdrop to the story, it really isn't THE story.  THE story is about the beginning of the film industry and telling a story and it is terrific.  Isobel's dad has gone off to serve in the war and rather than stay in their home town of Seattle during the summer vacation, Isobel's mom decides to take her and her sist...

The books I picked this week seem all have very strong, modern girl main characters.  I worry that these will not be appealing to boys, but their voices are very fresh and very fun. This first one was just adorable.  It's called "Dream On Amber" by Emma Shevah.  It's about 11 year old Amber who lives with her mother and little sister Bella.  Her nonna lives close by but her dad is just gone (and without an explanation, Amber makes up her own stories about why he isn't there).  As they are walking home through the park, Amber and Bella see a dad and his daughter and Bella is reminded how much SHE misses their dad.  So when Bella writes a letter to her dad inviting him to her birthday party, Amber knows how sad it will make her mom, so she writes back to Bella.  But Bella either misinterprets the letter or doesn't read it properly, because she believes their dad is coming to the party.  Additionally, Amber is starting middle school and doesn't rea...

So I think I must stink at this.  Making a short list, that is.  I have the longest short list of all the people in my group.  Sigh.  But I LOVE these books.  I just looked at the list again.  The other people in my group have a nice manageable number like 5.  I have FOURTEEN.  I really just looked at it critically again (right after I added another book).  But it was SOOO good. This one is called "We are all made of molecules" by Susin Nielsen and she has got author's voice NAILED.  This story is told from two different points of view and even though the chapters are headed with the person who is telling the story, you totally don't need it because each character's voice shines through in the best (and often most hilarious) possible way.  The story is told by Stewart and Ashley.  Stewart is a very intelligent but socially awkward 12 year old.  His mom died about a year and half ago and his dad has been dating a woman he...

Wow, are these some good ones and you'll have to keep an eye out for them, because I just tried to order them and they haven't hit the stores yet.  They are totally worth waiting for.  Check these out! The first one is called Build Beaver Build by Sandra Markle.  The art work in this one is amazing.  The pictures are very detailed and so pretty!  It's about a young male beaver living in a dam with his family.  It shows how he grows and changes, how he gets food, how he avoids predators, how he plays with his sisters.  It's really a very thorough story of the life cycle and habits of a beaver.  Here in south Florida, we don't have beavers so I think my kids will be super interested to read about them in such an inviting and lovely book.  It's set to be replaced at the end of January, which should be an awesome time of year to get this one on the shelves, when the beavers are really having their babies and starting to be more active. ...

So I've been completely underwater with the books from CYBILS over the last few weeks.  I've had over 40 books laying on my coffee table, waiting patiently for me to pick them up (or if you are thinking negatively about it, having been sitting there in a surly silence waiting for me to pick them up, but I prefer the positive).  My students are shocked that I can usually get through one chapter book in a day, but they are easily impressed.  I am, however, feeling a little tired of the middle grade genre.  Too much death, too much drama, I needed a break.  So this afternoon, I started reading picture books.  The ones I picked are just terrific.  Just what I needed for a little literary pick me up. The first one is called "A Tower of Giraffes" by Anna Wright.  It's basically a list of unusual collective nouns with some facts about the animals thrown in.  The text is interesting and kids will like it, but what's really awesome about this book i...

I've been thinking a lot this week about how difficult it is to get noticed.  In particular, I was thinking about the database I wrote- The Booksearch - that lets you search for books based on the skill you want to teach (I'm struggling with marketing it).  But it actually must be exactly the same for authors. I've read some really great books this week that I think my kids will like a lot, but I never heard of them and I'm pretty sure unless someone with a very loud voice stands up to say "This is awesome, don't miss it", it's going to be relegated to a dusty corner of a shelf where in 10 years, someone's going to say "Why on EARTH did anyone buy this book?"  (Which I know happens, because I've been doing THAT this week too.)  So here goes... I'm adding my voice to the cacophony of noise already around you! The first one is "The Girl in the Torch" by Robert Sharenow.  It's the story of Sarah, who lives in eastern ...

I'm amazed at the range of topics that are addressed in children's literature.  I think reading about situations is a great way for building empathy and helping kids understand the situations for others.  It kills me to think that for some kids, these experiences are real. The first one I read is called "Paper Things" by Jennifer Richard Jacobson.  It's about 11 year old Ari (short for Arianna), who's parents died.  At the very beginning of the book, she's living with a guardian, Janna, and her older brother, Gage.  Things with Gage and Janna have deteriorated to a point where Gage wants to move out, so he does and takes Ari with him.  It turns out that Gage wants to have an apartment and a nice place to live but he doesn't have the money to do it.  So they've been couch surfing for the past two months.  This gives a really vivid picture of what's like to be homeless and understand what it must be like to feel like you have so few options. ...

THESE were really fun!  I've been getting bogged down in some of the realistic fiction.  I've been reading some pretty sad books so THESE were a breath of fresh air. The first one is called "The Odds of Getting Even" by Sheila Turnage.  This one is the third one in a series and I'm a big fan.  The main character is Miss Moses LoBeau.  She's named Moses because as a baby, she was found floating a road sign in a river after a hurricane.  She was found by a man she calls the Colonel because he had amnesia and was wearing an Army shirt when he found her.  They live with Miss Lana and run a cafe in a small town in eastern NC.  Mo's best friend is Dale (named after Dale Earnhardt of NASCAR fame) and together they run the Desperado Detective agency.  In this third installment, Dale's dad has been accused of various crimes and is ready to stand trial, when he breaks out of jail.  The rest of the book is trying to figure out where he is and it'...

These books have a survival theme.  They are super hard to put down so I've had a couple of very late nights this week! The first one is called "Wolf Wilder" by Katherine Rundell.  It's about a girl named Feo who lives with her mom Marina in a wilderness part of Russia.  They live a simple life that they find satisfying... they rehabilitate wolves.  The story is set in Russia towards the end of the reign of the czars.  Rich people are adopting wolves as pets and finding that they are too wild to keep.  It is cultural taboo to kill a wolf so Feo and her mom teach the wolves to be wild again.  Unfortunately, the wolves are accused of killing some of the wildlife around the area (Feo is sure it's not them) and they attract the attention of a local military leader (who is completely terrifying).  He comes to take them to jail and Feo and the wolves make a run for it but Matrina ends up in a military prison.  Feo decides to rescue her.  The...

Starting to see a pattern with the CYBILS books... this post is going to be about girls who are trying to stay friends with girls they have been friends with a long time.  Personally, I think this part of genre is too limiting because I don't think boys will want to read this although they have intriguing boy characters.  I think the boys just won't be interested. The first one is called "Moonpenny Island" by Tricia Springstubb.  It's about two girls, Flor and Sylvie, who have been best friends since they were little.  They live on a small island where Flor's dad is the lone police officer and Sylvie's dad is the mayor.  Big changes start when Sylvie is sent to a school on the mainland, then Flor's mom leaves to help take care of her grandmother.  Flor's sister also seems to be changing.  The characters in this one interesting and the story line is compelling.  There are big themes of friendship and honesty and how do you best help people. ...

I'm deep into the CYBILS list.  I don't think I've ever gone this long without reading a grown up book but THERE ARE SO MANY!!! I'm also a little afraid that I'm hitting a wall with these books.  I might have to go and read 50 shades of Gray just to shake things up a bit.  Ok, I'm not that low yet.   I read this one this morning.  COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.  I read this first chapter last night and when I woke up, I thought I should read a bit more.  Until I finished it.  It's called "The Safest Lie" by Angela Cerrito.  I should also mention that I've hit a saturation point with books about World War 2 and so I don't choose to read them any more, but this one had such a compelling voice, that I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.  Noticing a theme?  It's about Anna, who is 9, and lives with her parents in Warsaw in the Jewish ghetto.  Things are bad.  All of their conversations are in code because people live in very tight quart...

This week, I've been trying to whittle down the list of middle grade fiction for the CYBILS award.  Some of these books are terrific and I'm SO GLAD I've had a chance to read them. This first one was terrific.  It's called "Listen, Slowly" by Thanhha Lai.  If you read children's literature at all, you might recognize Thanhha Lai's name... she wrote a book a few years ago called "Inside Out and Back Again" which was a Newbery honoree and the National Book Award winner.  I think this one is even more accessible because it's written in prose and the character's voice is so strong and clear, I think she will resonate with a lot of kids.  It's about a Vietnamese American girl named Mai (or Mia in America) who lives in California with her mom and dad and grandmother.  She has lots of friends and likes surfing and hanging out and has big plans for the summer.  Until her parents come to her and tell her that they want her to go with Vie...