Jen Robinson's Book Page

Growing Bookworms Newsletter: June 19

Today I will be sending out the new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on children's and young adult books and raising readers. There are 1685 subscribers. Generally, I send out the newsletter once every two weeks. This time, however, it's been three weeks, because I was on vacation last week (my daughter's first trip to Disney World).

Newsletter Update: In this issue I have nine book reviews (three picture books, three middle grade novels, and three young adult novels). I also have two posts with children's literacy and reading-related links that I shared on Twitter and one with the WordGirl word of the month for June.

Terry Doherty, Carol Rasco, and I are taking a bit of a break from the children's literacy and reading roundups for the summer (though I think Carol will squeeze in one more this week), but we'll continue to share reading links on Twitter. Look for the #litRdUp hashtag for items of particular interest. 

Reading Update: In the past 3 weeks, I finished 2 novels for middle grade readers and 3 novels for young adults. I read: 

• Claire Legrand: The Year of Shadows. Simon & Schuster. Middle Grade. Completed June 5, 2013.
• Phoebe Rivers: Saranormal #6: Giving Up the Ghost. Simon Spotlight. Middle Grade. Completed June 6, 2013.
• Anne Applegate: The Last Academy. Point. Young Adult. Completed May 30, 2013. My review.
• Bethany Griffin: Masque of the Red Death. Greenwillow Books. Young Adult. Completed June 12, 2013, on Kindle from library.
• Sarah Jamila Stevenson: Underneath. Flux Books. Young Adult. Completed June 17, 2013, on Kindle.

Several of these were vacation reads, for my personal enjoyment - reviews may or not be to come, depending on how the week goes. 

I'm currently reading Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart on my Kindle, and Dust Girl (Book 1 of the American Fairy trilogy) by Sarah Zettel in paperback. I'm listening to Clockwork Princess (Book 3 of the Infernal Devices trilogy) by Cassandra Clare on MP3.

I recently introduced Baby Bookworm to The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. I don't think she completely gets it, but she's enjoying it anyway. She's also enjoying 1, 2, 3 ... By the Sea: A Counting Book by Dianne Moritz & Hazel Mitchell. We took lots of Fancy Nancy, Berenstain Bears, and Little Critter books with us on vacation, because these are relatively text-dense paperbacks, and make excellent travel books. The Fancy Nancy books are particularly good for vocabulary-building. 

How about you? What have you and your kids been reading and enjoying? Thanks for reading the newsletter, and for growing bookworms. Wishing you lots of summer reading!

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.  You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Happy Birdday, Tacky!: Helen Lester & Lynn Munsinger

Book: Happy Birdday, Tacky!
Author: Helen Lester
Illustrator: Lynn Munsinger
Pages: 32
Age Range: 3-8 

I love Tacky the Penguin. The board book was one of my favorites to read to Baby Bookworm when she was a little bit younger. I've not read all of Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger's books about Tacky, but I did quite enjoy the latest one, Happy Birdday, Tacky!

Tacky the Penguin is a quirky bird who lives in Nice Icy Land with his companions, Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect. The companions are all calm and orderly, but Tacky always keeps things interesting. In Happy Birdday, Tacky!, Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly and Perfect spend weeks planning the perfect birthday party for Tacky. But when the big day arrives, things don't go exactly as planned (they never do, when Tacky is around). But, of course, it all turns out ok in the end. 

I think it helps, in appreciating Happy Birdday, Tacky!, to have read at least the first Tacky book. For example, the other penguins make birthday cards for Tacky, "but since Tacky was an odd bird with an odd way of counting, it only made sense that he had told them odd things about how old he was." This odd way of counting is straight out of the first book, and a nice nod back to the launch of the series. 

I love the vocabulary in this book. Tacky is "quite busy flippiting about". He then pauses in "mid-flapwaddle." And of course "birdday" instead of "birthday". There's enough of this sort of thing to make Happy Birthday, Tacky! fun to read aloud, but not so much as to be confusing. Here are a couple of bits that made me laugh:

""Everything's perfect!" declared Perfect.
(This confused his companions, for as far they knew, Perfect was Perfect. But never mind.) "

Guest dancer Twinklewebs announces:

""I vant to perform for you a denz peez from Swan Frozen-Body-of-Water."

OK, kids might not get that one, but I thought it was funny. And finally:

"They hovered over Twinklewebs, writing their flippers and becoming covered with perspiration icicles. 
What a dreadful end for their Perfect Party.
They were ready to tear their hair, if only they had any."

As you can see, this is not a book that offers a sophisticated humor. But I think it's perfect for three to five year olds. There is perhaps an implied message about going with the flow, but it's otherwise just pure, silly fun. There should be more picture books like that.

Munsinger's illustrations add to the fun. The last quote above is accompanied by a picture of Tacky with a smushed cake on his head (and feet), surrounded by the other penguins. Twinklewebs, a penguin in a pink tutu and feathers, is priceless. There is, as befitting a book set in a nice, icy land, plenty of white space. And step by step vignettes showing Tacky's latest dance will have four year olds everywhere performing on makeshift stages. 

I'm a long-time Tacky fan, and I found Happy Birdday, Tacky! to be an enjoyable addition to the series. A must-purchase for libraries, and a fine choice for anyone who could benefit from taking a less rigid approach to life. Recommended!

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (@hmhkids)
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

15 Days Without a Head: Dave Cousins

Book: 15 Days Without a Head
Author: Dave Cousins (@DaveCousins9000)
Pages: 312
Age Range: 12 and up 

15 Days Without a Head was published in 2012 in the UK, and was just released in a new paperback edition in the US. It's a gritty novel set in an urban working class neighborhood, but with elements of the ridiculous lightening the tone. It is already (from the UK edition) showing up on some award longlists. 

15-year-old Lawrence Roach lives in a cockroach infested apartment with his six-year-old half-brother, Jay, and their alcoholic mother. When their mother disappears, Lawrence fears that social services will get involved and separate him from Jay (as happened once previously). He goes to great lengths to conceal their situation from well-meaning (and not-so-well-meaning) adults. Meanwhile, he is on the phone every night participating in a quiz show, in an attempt to win a vacation for his family. And somehow, in the middle of all of his troubles, he meets a girl who just might be interested in him. 

Lawrence and Jay's situation is pretty bleak - even when their mother is there she is unstable and borderline abusive, leaving Lawrence with most of the responsibility of caring for Jay. When she vanishes, the boys have scarcely any money for food. And when Jay gets sick, Lawrence is ill-equipped to handle the situation. Still, Cousins keeps the book from feeling bleak overall, by adding humor. The radio host of the quiz show is a bit of a buffoon. And Lawrence's attempts to dress up as his mother, in order to fool people into thinking she is still around, are both sad and comical. 

One aspect of the book that I thought was a particularly brave choice on Cousins' part is that Lawrence himself isn't completely stable. He considers, for a moment, pushing a noxious neighbor down the stairs. He destroys the kitchen in a fit of anger that he doesn't even remember, scaring his brother. It's not clear whether there's an innate (and hereditary) mental problem, or whether the pressure of Lawrence's situation is destroying his ability to cope.

Lawrence is a strong protagonist because of his imperfections. He often doesn't know what to do. He makes mistakes. He feels despair. But he is deeply committed to his brother, and that keeps him on the right track. Jay is less developed as a character, but is pleasingly quirky. He think he's Scooby Doo, and insists that Lawrence's love interest, Mina, be called Velma. Mina is perhaps a tiny bit too good to be true, as she leaps in to help the brothers, but I liked her very much.

Here are a couple of quotes, to give you a sense of Cousins' writing:

"That sound is one of the few things that will penetrate the Cloud. The Cloud is what follows Happy Hour, and it lasts a lot longer. A force-field of cigarette smoke and booze, with our mum inside. It reminds me of that old TV program Stars in Their Eyes--when the contestant goes through the door as one person, then emerges from the smoke looking completely different. Except in Mum's case, she comes out looking exactly the same--it's her personality that's changed. I don't suppose that would make much of a TV show, though." (Page 6)

"...Much better that nobody notices me. I couldn't care less if I'm invisible to most of them. Invisibility is fine; it's the superpower I'd pick every time. Most people want strength, X-ray vision, or the ability to fly. Not me. Just to be able to fade away--how good would that be?" (Chapter 28) 

Although the British details aren't overwhelming, there's definitely a UK feel to the book. The boys eat "chips" a lot (french fries). Their mother is "Mum". Money is in pounds. I don't think that anything will be difficult for US readers to understand, but it's enough to give the book a slightly exotic feel. 

Teens who enjoy realistic fiction of the dysfunctional parent variety will not want to miss 15 Days Without a Head. The suspense over what happened to their mother, and what's going to happen to Lawrence and Jay, will keep readers of all stripes turning the pages. There is a relatively hopeful ending, which the kids bring about in large part through their own efforts, making this a book that librarians serving high schoolers will want to take a look at, too. 

Publisher: Flux (@FluxBooks)
Publication Date: May 8, 2013 (US edition)
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Nighty-Night, Sleep Tight: Jennifer Berne & David Walker

Book: Nighty-Night, Sleep Tight
Author: Jennifer Berne
Illustrator: David Walker
Pages: 24
Age Range: 2-5 

Nighty-Night, Sleep Tight, written by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by David Walker, is, as you might expect from the title, a bedtime picture book. Written in the vein of Somewhere So Sleepy (and doubtless many others), Nighty-Night, Sleep Tight follows a child as she visits, in her imagination, a variety of animals from around the world sleeping. Like this:

"As a whispering wind
stirs a misty Maine fog,
a moose family sleeps
by the edge of a bog.

Dreaming dreams under blankets of stars.
Sweet dreams under blankets of stars."

That last couplet, about blankets of stars, is repeated after every second or third type of animal. This bothered me a bit. It seems like it would have been more soothing to have it included every time. Or at least to have used the regular spacing of every other time. Including it at irregular intervals seemed odd to me, particularly in a bedtime book. 

Still, I did like the variety of animal examples that Berne included, and the seamless way she incorporates tidbits of information. Like this:

"Beneath deserts of Utah,
in underground towns,
little prairie dogs snooze
in beds fourteen feet down."

Walker's pencil and acrylic illustrations lend a cozy feel to the book. The little girl, in pink footie pajamas, is shown interacting with the animals on each page. A page depicting Galapagos turtles, for example, has the girl drawling along, with a beach bucket on her back like a shell. She curls up with the tigers, and joins a Bahama iguana by perching on a palm frond. Both girl and animals are depicted without excessive detail, and with a mix of cheerful and sleepy expressions. 

For those looking for a soothing bedtime book, one that includes a bit of information about animals from around the world, Nighty-Night, Sleep Tight is well worth a look. While not groundbreaking, it's a comforting read, with gentle illustrations that will make young listeners smile. 

Publisher: Sterling Children's Books (@SterlingKids)
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Hands Off My Honey! Jane Chapman & Tim Warnes

Book: Hands Off My Honey!
Author: Jane Chapman
Illustrator: Tim Warnes
Pages: 32
Age Range: 3-6

I'm not sure why it is that preschoolers have an insatiable appetite for picture books about bears, but it does seem to be true. Hands Off My Honey!, by Jane Chapman and her husband Tim Warnes, is a fun addition to the genre. 

The book begins as Bear stomps, stamps, and bellows his way to a hollow, honey jar in hand, shouting out things like:

"Don't even try to take a pawful! I am the scariest bear in the forest and I won't share a single drop."

As Bear settles in to enjoy his honey, Mouse, the Rabbit Brothers, and Mole decide that they love honey, too, and are going to try to sneak some out of Bear's jar. A mostly stealthy adventure follows (Mole has a bit of difficulty keeping quiet), with a surprise at the end. 

Hands Off My Honey! is read-aloud friendly, with lots of exclamations and sound effects ("Ooops!", "Flump!", etc.). It uses bold text and varied font sizes to encourage dramatic reading. I especially like Chapman's use of strong verbs ("rumbled", "trembled", "bellowed", "whizzed", etc.). Not fancy verbs necessarily, but strong, descriptive verbs. Like this:

"Mouse zipped to the left and right,
keeping to the shadows. The rabbits
raced behind, shivering excitedly.

Mouse waved to Mole, but as
he dodged a stinging nettle,
he tripped over a root,
"Oooops!"
he squeaked."

OK, there's a vague antecedent in that last example (the picture makes it clear that Mole tripped). But still, it's a book that I look forward to reading aloud to my daughter, for sheer enjoyment of the language. 

Warnes' illustrations are kid-friendly. Bear is shown larger than life, scowling as he yells, but smiling as he licks his honey. The smaller animals are cute, with expressive faces (usually smiling). The later illustrations, with honey everywhere are particularly funny. The fonts are sometimes large enough to factor in as part of the illustrations, too. In general, like the text, the pictures are full of action.  

Hands Off My Honey! is a fun read-aloud with a surprise twist at the end. And it features a bear. I expect this one to become a family favorite. It's probably optimal for three to five year olds. Recommended!

Publisher: Tiger Tales Books (@TigerTalesBooks)
Publication Date: March 1, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Links I Shared on Twitter this Week: June 7

Here are highlights from the links that I shared on Twitter this week @JensBookPage. 

BEA (Bookseller's Expo America)

So many books to covet! BEA 2013: Strong Season Ahead for Children's Publishers http://ow.ly/lMZwE  via @PWKidsBookshelf

BEA 2013: The Boy Readers Are All Right, panel with Gantos, Scieszka + Emerson http://ow.ly/lMZH7  via @PWKidsBookshelf

BEA 2013: Why Kids Should Read About War from Suzanne Collins and Walter Dean Myers http://ow.ly/lImhZ 

I sure appreciated this detailed writeup about BEA Blogger Con from @catagator http://ow.ly/lFFD8  #kidlit

Also helpful: Dispatch from BEA #1: the Bloggers Conference from @bkshelvesofdoom http://ow.ly/lFFLv 

Book Lists and Awards

Continuing @StorySnoops summer reading lists with books for teen girls http://ow.ly/lKBz0  #yalit #kidlit

Some nice lists - Bankstreet College of Education Best Children's Books of 2013 by age level http://ow.ly/lIn6n  #kidlit

Stacked: Get Genrefied: Contemporary Realistic Fiction http://ow.ly/lFNpw #yalit

Link Du Jour: The 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Announced — @100scopenotes http://ow.ly/lFM97  #kidlit

RT @tashrow: New Great Chapter Books for Kids and Summer Reading @PragmaticMom http://buff.ly/13KZDeL  #kidlit

For those in need, a nice list of Non-Traditional Princess Stories from the SSHE Library http://ow.ly/lFGl5 

MG and YA mysteries and thrillers for great summer reading from Sleuths, Spies, and Alibis: http://ow.ly/lKBNV #kidlit #yalit

Growing Bookworms

BBC News - New UK Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman targets digital youth http://ow.ly/lJUIH #literacy #kidlit

Great @NerdyBookClub post by Donna Gephart on not making reading something that kids dread like dodge ball http://ow.ly/lFNhG #literacy

Check out the latest #literacy Lalapalooza at Family Bookshelf: Children's Books that Celebrate Dads http://ow.ly/lKzND @readingtub

Great suggestions for sneaking in reading time when your kids are a captive audience from @LiteracyLaunch http://ow.ly/lFMjm #literacy

Kidlitosphere (48 Hour Book Challenge)

Want to spend this coming weekend reading books? Don't miss the # 48HBC Instructions from @MsYingling http://ow.ly/lMMii

An excellent #48HBC Tip for this weekend's book challenge from @abbylibrarian: Take Advantage of Audiobooks http://ow.ly/lFJuU

Another #48HBC Tip: Start Thinking About Your Books early fromm @abbylibrarian http://ow.ly/lKCoN #kidlit

Literacy Programs and Research

Jessup 5th grader to present cupcakes for #literacy idea to Warren Buffetthttp://ow.ly/lFzoX #litrdup via @bookchook @marylandfamily

BBC News - UK authors back 'malnutrition hits #literacy' study http://ow.ly/lFHVu  #litrdup via @tashrow

Publishing. Libraries, Booksellers and Authors

Delightful! Library in a Telephone Box: British Ingenuity! http://ow.ly/lFHty via @TrevorHCairney #litrdup #literacy

This is neat: Jeff Kinney to Open a Bookstore? http://ow.ly/lImc9 via @PWKidsBookshelf

Why doesn't the UK media take children's books seriously? asks Julia Donaldson in @TelegraphNews http://ow.ly/lImnJ via @PWKidsBookshelf

Sharing the Love: Librarians, Authors Talk #KidLit | SLJ Day of Dialog 2013 @sljournal http://ow.ly/lImK4

RT @tashrow: 1st Welsh publisher dedicated to children’s books to help tackle literacy and tell great stories http://buff.ly/1730o64

Reading

I could relate to this: Why Leaving a Book Half-Read Is So Hard - @WSJhttp://ow.ly/lJTkV #reading

I'm a Lister. What Type Of A Reader Are You? asks @StaceyLoscalzo after linking to article by @ThePioneerWoman http://ow.ly/lKCVR

Summer Reading (and Preventing Summer Slide)

Fun! The Great Summer Library Challenge for Kids from @momandkiddo + @bethanyntt http://ow.ly/lFGZK #literacy

Suggestions from @RIFWEB for fighting Summer Slide | RIF Blog http://ow.ly/lFJN3 #literacy

What’s On Your Summer Reading List? | #kidlit Authors Tell All | @sljournal http://ow.ly/lImQr

Summer Reading and the Rich/Poor Achievement Gap | An Educator Responds to Questions | @sljournal http://ow.ly/lImTs #litrdup

Don't miss your chance to download free #yalit audiobooks this summer from Sync YA http://ow.ly/lKBIw via @MaryLeeHahn

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.

The Last Academy: Anne Applegate

Book: The Last Academy
Author: Anne Applegate (@AnneApplegate)
Pages: 320
Age Range: 12 and up 

Those who enjoy a creepy, Gothic read will not want to miss Anne Applegate's The Last Academy. The book begins with a confrontation between Camden and her best friend Lia at a summer party, but quickly shifts gears as Camden heads off to boarding school. On the plane, Camden encounters a strange man who seems to threaten her. At her new school, Lethe, she learns that this man owns the land on which the school is located. She also learns that another girl who was on her flight decided not to enroll after all. Weirder events follow, including odd visions by Camden, and the complete hushing up of middle-of-the-night the disappearance of another girl. Only gradually does Camden, and the reader, figure out what's really going on at Lethe. 

Without giving anything away, this is one of those books where I didn't figure out exactly what was going on until about 2/3 of the way through, and yet I felt on looking back as though it should have been obvious from the start. And I mean this in a good way. Applegate doles out information at just the right pace, and draws all of the clues neatly together at the end. The Last Academy is a book that I thought about between reading sessions, and have continued to think about since. 

The book does have one YA trope that I'm a bit tired of - the instant connection between teen boy and girl (Camden and love interest Mark). Immediate attraction on both parts, even though they barely know each other. That sort of thing. But at least Applegate keeps their relationship appropriate for middle school readers. And really, that's my only complaint. 

I enjoyed Applegate's descriptive writing. Like this:

"The guy stared at me and I stared at him. I know sometimes people say, "skin that looks like leather," and they mean somebody's skin is wrinkled and thick and ugly like the hide of a dead cow. But the guy's skin looked like an expensive briefcase -- supple and soft and not what you see on most men in real life. Anywhere beyond the realism of Hollywood or the European yacht set, anyway." (Page 14)

She also hits certain aspects of boarding school right on the head. Like this:

"When Tamara (Camden's roommate) came back to our room right before ten o'clock check-in, I was already in bed. We both pretended I was asleep." (Page 82)

There's also a great description of how to cry in the shower so that no one can hear you. 

The characters is The Last Academy are complex and damaged. The sunny California boarding school setting sets off the creepy, inexplicable events perfectly. And the plotting is complex enough to keep readers guessing down to the wire. All of which makes The Last Academy a wonderful summer read for those who enjoy mysteries, Gothic romance, or boarding school books (and who doesn't like one of those three categories?). Recommended for readers age 12 and up. 

Publisher: Point (@Scholastic) 
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

WordGirl's Word of the Month: Devoted

WordGirl's Word of the Month for June is DEVOTED. Certainly the word-loving girl in my house is devoted to her father, just as WordGirl is. 

Happy Summer Reading!

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library: Chris Grabenstein

Book: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Author: Chris Grabenstein (@CGrabenstein) 
Pages: 304
Age Range: 9-12 

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a humorous, puzzle-filled novel aimed at middle grade readers. More madcap than Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society books, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library reads like a cross between the Pseudonymous Bosch books Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (original movie version). It's a fun ride. 

The big event in Kyle Keeley's town is the grand opening of the new town public library. Alexandriaville, a small Ohio city, has been without a public library for 12 years (since the decision was made to level the old one to put in a parking garage). Eccentric millionaire Mr. Luigi L. Lemoncello has decided to put things right by building the town a fabulous, quirky, state-of-the-art library. Kyle and his classmates enter an essay contest for 12 year olds (who have grown up never having a town library). The 12 winners will have a sleepover in the library the night before it opens. And, in fact, that sleepover becomes extended when the 12 students are offered a chance to engage in a 24-hour contest to escape from the library. 

Despite not being much of a student, Kyle is a determined game player (obsessed with beating his two talented older brothers in something). He and his best friend Akimi (just how common are male-female best friends among real 12-year-olds, I wonder, though I understand why they make sense in books) are protagonists who are easy to root for. The bad guy, the spoiled, hypercompetitive Charles Chiltington, is easy to root against. In truth, the characterization in Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a bit thin. But this is not a book to read for introspective character analysis. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a book to read for:

• Puzzles, riddles, and word games (including rebuses);
• Cool technology (animatronics, interactive holograms, and sophisticated computer screens);
• Fast-paced adventure; and
• The love of children's books.

The last point is probably my personal favorite aspect of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. Mr. Lemoncello spouts children's literature references and book titles the way that Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka spouts quotations (casually, insightfully, and incessantly). Like this:

"Sorry. The correct answer is--and not just because of Winn-Dixie--D) all of the above." (Chapter 8)

"As Dr. Zinchenko informed you, I'd like to say a few brief words. Here they are: short, memorandum, and underpants. And, let us pause to remember the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: 'The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the places you'll go.'" (Chapter 10)

(After being asked if he had something available) "Did Joey Pigza lose control? Was Ella enchanted." (Chapter 25)

You get the idea. I like that Grabenstein's children's literature references range from the classic (Seuss, L.M. Montgomery) to the modern (Rebecca Stead and Jack Gantos). Without being at all pedantic, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a cover to cover celebration of books. The fact that Kyle himself isn't "big on books" keeps this pro-book sentiment from being off-putting to more dormant readers. 

But I think that the combination of quirky puzzles, cutting-edge technology, and adventure sequences (racing around the library building, climbing things, getting stuck, etc.) is what will make Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library a must-purchase title for libraries serving middle grade readers. As Mr. Lemoncello tells the kids' parents, "It'll be like The Hunger Games but with lots of food and no bows or arrows." What 10-year-old could resist that? Recommended. 

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (@RandomHouseKids)
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from Raab Associates (@sraab18)

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

 

Otis Dooda: Strange but True: Ellen Potter

Book: Otis Dooda: Strange but True
Author: Ellen Potter (@EllenPotter)
Illustrator: David Heatley (@heatley)
Pages: 240
Age Range: 6-10

Otis Dooda: Strange but True is, as the author told me herself, a bit of a departure from Ellen Potter's usual middle grade fare (see my reviews of Olivia Kidney and The Kneebone Boy, and also, though I have not read it, Slob). Otis Dooda is a aimed squarely at six to ten year old boys (and even more specifically at Potter's eight-year-old son and his friends). It's a heavily, cartoonishly (in a good way) illustrated chapter book, with plenty of dialog, and (if the ARC is any indication) nice big print. 

Otis Dooda is chock full of things that boys are likely to find humorous and/or cool. There is a horse disguised as a dog, with a propensity for really awful farts. There is a boy who lives in a potted plant, and casts curses on his neighbors. There is a catapult into a vat of marshmallow fluff. How does anyone think of such things? 

But let me back up a bit. Otis Dooda is an elementary school-age boy who moves with his parents and older brother (and his brother's pet rat, Smoochie) from "a dinky little town called Hog's Head" to New York City. There, Otis finds himself living on the 35th (top) floor of an apartment building populated with unusual characters. He makes friends with some kids approximately his own age, learns to ride to subway, and worries about the curse that Potted Plant Guy has called down on his head. 

There's a hint of a Diary of a Wimpy Kid feel to Otis Dooda, but Otis is aimed more directly at younger kids (younger kids read the Wimpy Kid books, but Greg Heffley is a middle schooler). Otis Dooda also has a much tighter narrative arc than the Wimpy Kid books, too, told in linear fashion over a five day period. 

Let me give you a feel for Potter's writing in Otis Dooda.

""That's it, little man," Julius said to me. "Just put it out of your mind."

He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. 

I've seen that shoulder squeeze in movies. It's the shoulder squeeze people give to the guy who is about to walk into the Cave of Doom to fight the giant spider with the T. rex head and the mucus-dripping fangs. I'm sure you know which shoulder squeeze I mean." (The Curse of the Potted Plant Guy)

What I like about the previous quote is that you have the boy-friendly trappings, dinosaurs and mucus-dripping fangs and so on. But you also have something universally insightful. Can't you picture that shoulder-squeeze?This is what you get when you take an author who has written more traditional novels, but also has an actual 8 year old son, and a sense of humor. 

Or take this:

"The subway zombies really freaked me out. Plus, I started thinking about how there were only four more days until the next full moon, and then I got even more freaked out. So when I came home I started working on my Lego inventions. That always calms me down. I think it's the way everything fits together so perfectly. I wish my life was more like that." (Psycho Weiner Blaster).

Ah, Otis, who doesn't wish that? Then he builds a Psycho Weiner Blaster and shoots soy weiners at a new (fortunately nimble) friend. I think you get the idea. While not all of the humor in Otis Dooda quite resonates with me as an adult female reader, I suspect that the target audience is going to love it. 

Otis is a protagonist (I really can't call him a hero, exactly) who kids will be able to relate to. He declares himself "sort of average." He doesn't get along with his older brother. He gets made fun of, but not mercilessly. He learns from his mistakes (and they are over-the-top, hilarious mistakes, not at all "sort of average"). 

I have some slight concern that, as drawn by David Heatley, Otis might be a little too cute. Can you see him on the cover? Blond hair and big eyes and a little smirk on his face? I think he's adorable. Which may or may not resonate with your average 8 year old boy. Not to worry, though. His mom and brother are unattractive enough to create balance.

In all seriousness, though, the illustrations are perfect for the book, and perfect for an audience that might not be quite ready for non-illustrated novels. My favorite picture is a scene in which Otis has trouble sleeping (spooked by the Potted Plant Guy's curse). Four panels show Otis lying in bed, then dumping out a cardboard box, cutting eye holes in it, and then sitting in it on his bed, worried eyes visible. He's saying: "I hope there are no illustrations of this." Snort!

Setting out to make 8 year old boys laugh, as Ellen Potter has done here, is a great goal, I think. And I think that Otis Dooda: Strange but True succeeds in that goal (though I have no young boys on which to test that theory directly). I would say that Otis Dooda is a must-purchase for elementary school libraries. It's also well worth a look for parents trying to find the right book to hook their young boys on reading. I hope that it will be the first of a series. Highly recommended for the target audience (though perhaps not so appealing, for, say, 10 year old girls who like realistic fiction). I'll be keeping it on my list of gift books for boys.

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (@MacKidsBooks)
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Source of Book: Advance review copy from the author

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

A Matter of Days: Amber Kizer

Book: A Matter of Days
Author: Amber Kizer
Pages: 288
Age Range: 12 and up 

I am a long-time fan of post-apocalyptic survival stories. I particularly enjoy those that are straight-up survival stories, with no zombies, magic, etc. And I'm happy to say that Amber Kizer's upcoming A Matter of Days delivers. It has the attributes that I love most about Stephen King's The Stand (which I re-read every few years), without all the weird stuff. I was not surprised to learn, in an end note, that The Stand was a formative book for Kizer. The homage is there, in a way that's not derivative. 

A Matter of Days is narrated by 16-year-old Nadia. Nadia's mother dies on day 56 of a virulent global pandemic. Nadia then sets out from Seattle with her 11-year-old brother, Rabbit, to find their uncle and grandfather in West Virginia. (I couldn't help but be reminded by Rabbit's name of one of the very first post-apocalypse stories that I read, H.M. Hoover's The Children of Morrow, though that's a very different book.) A Matter of Days recounts Nadia and Rabbit's journey, as they struggle to find necessary supplies, and encounter dangerous people along the way. 

I read A Matter of Days in less than a day. I couldn't put it down. I felt constant tension, wondering what would happen to Nadia and Rabbit. A Matter of Days has some wish fulfillment details of what it would be like to be kids more or less alone in the world (cooking food in an abandoned hotel, visiting an empty mall, another teen who takes over a small town for himself). But there are also lots of details regarding survival. These are set against the near-constant worry about whether people the kids encounter will be good or evil.

Kizer does a fine job of refraining from moralizing about what led to the end of the world (something that I find a common flaw in post-apocalyptic novels, particularly those of the environmental collapse variety). She just focuses on telling the story. Flashbacks throughout the book fill in the details of how Nadia and Rabbit survived the pandemic, and why their mother didn't. I found these details plausible, which added to my appreciation for this book. There is a reason that these particular kids survived - nothing magical about it.

A Matter of Days reminds me a bit of Mike Mullin's Ashfall, but it's a bit less grim, particularly in the treatment of women. It's about a global pandemic that kills nearly everyone, so there are the obligatory bad smells and bodies encountered everywhere you go. But Kizer doesn't wallow in those details - she gives the kids a mother who was a nurse, and explained basic processes to them, and she allows enough time to have elapsed for the worst to be over. I think that A Matter of Days strikes the right balance in this regard. Like this:

"When I was little, I used to leave my Strawberry Shortcake dolls in the car in the sun with the windows rolled up. I didn't do it on purpose, but I took those dolls everywhere. Mom threw up once because the sweet chemical perfume of fake fruit in the hot car was overpowering. I'll take fake fruit, Mattel style, over decomposing human any day.

The blast of putrid air doubled me over and I puked into the wilted potted pansies. No one was alive in there. No way.

I shut the front door and jogged back to the vehicle. Sweat dripped down my forehead as my stomach continued to spasm. Rabbit handed me an open bottle of water to swish out my mouth.

We didn't speak. There weren't words."

Kizer's writing is tight, suspenseful without being overly melodramatic. Nadia's relationship with her brother is realistically distant at first - the reader gets to know these siblings as they are getting to know each other. There's no sappiness between them. 

For me, A Matter of Days is as good as it gets for post-apocalypse survival stories. Realistic and suspenseful, with characters that the reader wants to see succeed. And although I loved it, I'm still happy to report that A Matter of Days appears to be a standalone novel, a rare thing these days. A Matter of Days has my highest recommendation. Fans of the genre will not want to miss it. 

Publisher: Delacorte Press (@RandomHouseKids) 
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Source of Book: Advanced review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Links I Shared on Twitter this Week: May 31

Here are highlights from the links that I shared on Twitter this week @JensBookPage.

Book Lists and Awards

Summer Reading–It’s a (Tween) Girl Thing! Fun list @StorySnoops #kidlit http://ow.ly/lyTu6

Summer reading lists for teen and tween boys @StorySnoops http://ow.ly/ltNux  #kidlit

Guardian children's fiction prize 2013 longlist - in pictures @Guardian http://ow.ly/lwCBw via @PWKidsBookshelf #kidlit

6 Beach Books + #Literacy Skill-Building Activities! from @LiteracyLaunch http://ow.ly/ltPkA

Stacked identifies a fun mini-trend: Amnesia in #YAlit http://ow.ly/lnNyo

Growing Bookworms

Love this! Check out this news video about a kindergartner who read 875 books during school year http://ow.ly/lyRA7 via @100scopenotes

Very nice! SAVED BY SUMMER READING by @alansilberberg @NerdyBookClub http://ow.ly/ltOjB #kidlit

Kidlitosphere

On the #Cybils blog: 48-Hour Book Challenge http://ow.ly/ltNTk  #kidlit #yalit

The 48 Hour Book Challenge Prize Packages via @MsYingling http://ow.ly/ltP0N #kidlit

Oh, I love Dahl's Matilda! @abbylibrarian is celebrating her 25th Anniversary http://ow.ly/lw6m2 #kidlit

Don't miss the May 2013 Carnival of Children's Literature at Yellow Brick Reads http://ow.ly/ltcNW #kidlit

Libraries

BBC News - Paperless public libraries switch to digital http://ow.ly/lwCw5 via @PWKidsBookshelf

Librarian Bloggers Launch “Show Me the Awesome” Campaign @sljournal http://ow.ly/lyCGX @lizb @catagator

Miscellaneous

This list sure brought me back: Old School Summer Bucket List from @coffeeandcrayon http://ow.ly/lnNfO

Thoughts on Evaluating and reviewing book apps from @MaryAnnScheuer http://ow.ly/ltNNb

Publishing and Book Selection

Why Are Teens Reading Dystopian Novels? | @ReadKiddoRead http://ow.ly/lyKw4 #kidlit #yalit

Better Investment Than Pizza: Discussing Picture Books at Politics and Prose http://ow.ly/lmTQN #kidlit @PWKidsBookshelf

| @zoobeanforkids Grabs $500K From Kapor Capital & Others For Handpicked Kids’ Books Subscription Service @TechCrunch http://ow.ly/lmUch

The @Freakonomics blog on the apparent success of Tor's experiment in removing DRM from their ebooks http://ow.ly/lmVr5

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.

The Wig in the Window: Kristen Kittscher

Book: The Wig in the Window
Author: Kristen Kittscher (@KKittscher)
Pages: 288
Age Range: 9-12 

The Wig in the Window is a middle grade mystery featuring a pair of 12-year-old sleuths and best friends. Sophie and Grace are next door neighbors in the small town of Luna Vista, CA. The girls' FBI-obsessed efforts to spy on their neighbors go awry after they observe bizarre behavior by Ms. Agford, the counselor at Sophie's middle school. (Grace is home-schooled.) 

The Wig in the Window is ever so slightly over the top, which keeps it middle grade reader friendly despite some dark elements. There's a clique of do-gooder girls that virtually amounts to a cult. Sophie has an obsession with Chinese culture, The Art of War, and feng shui. She becomes ostracized at school after a single incident. And, as the narrator, she displays a dry sense of humor. Like this:

"My grandpa spent his days playing canasta with other veterans down at the VFW, a club for Veterans of Foreign Wars. (Besides the Civil War, were there any non-foreign wars?)" (Chapter 3) 

"Students bearing unwieldy instrument cases and mangled lunch bags poured forth. Marissa and her friends arrived as a set, looking like displaced flight attendants as they strode along the sidewalk, their matching rolling backpacks in tow." (Chapter 15)

The friendship between Sophie and Grace, which we see filtered through Sophie's perceptions and mis-perceptions, is complex and conflict-filled, lending another layer of drama to The Wig in the Window. I actually preferred Sophie's new friend, Trista, over Grace. Trista is an outcast who doesn't seem to mind her lack of social position, who befriends Sophie when others cast her aside. Sophie's hint of a developing relationship with a book in her class didn't quite work for me for some reason, but is a very minor part of the book, and may add interest for middle school readers. 

I am always on the lookout for middle grade mysteries that feature real stakes and active investigation on the part of the protagonists, and The Wig in the Window fits the bill. The mystery in The Wig in the Window is not watered down for young audiences, though Kristen Kittscher uses middle-school-appropriate humor to keep things accessible. The balance between having kids running around investigating on their own and having them get in trouble with concerned parents is a tricky one, but I think that Kittscher nails it. You also have to love an author who can use the word "recapacitate" in a sentence (Chapter 22). Recommended for mystery fans, ages 9 and up, particularly girls. 

Publisher: HarperCollins (@HarperChildrens)
Publication Date: June 18, 2013
Source of Book: Advance review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

Growing Bookworms Newsletter: May 29

Today I will be sending out the new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on children's and young adult books and raising readers. There are 1673 subscribers. Currently I am sending the newsletter out once every two weeks.

Newsletter Update: In this issue I have six book reviews (three picture books, one middle grade novel, and two young adult novels). I also have two posts with children's literacy and reading-related links that I shared on Twitter.

Reading Update: In the past 2 weeks, I finished 2 novels for middle grade readers, 2 novels for young adults, one novel for adults, and one adult nonfiction title. I read: 

• Dana Reinhardt: Odessa Again. Wendy Lamb Books. Middle Grade. Completed May 24, 2013. Review to come.
• Liz Kessler: North of Nowhere. Candlewick Press. Middle Grade. Completed May 26, 2013. Review to come.
• Tim Tharp: Mojo. Knopf Books for Young Readers. Young Adult. Completed May 16, 2013. Review to come. 
• Allen Zadoff: Boy Nobody. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Young Adult. Completed May 23, 2013, on digital ARC. My review.
• Charlaine Harris: Dead Ever After: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel. Ace. Adult Mystery. Completed May 22, 2013, on MP3.
• Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon: How Will You Measure Your Life? Harper Business. Adult Nonfiction. Completed May 29, 2013, on MP3.

I'm currently reading The Last Academy by Anne Applegate. Baby Bookworm has been enjoying a couple of the Berenstain Bears books (especially The Berenstain Bears Go Green and We Love Our Dad). She's also dabbling in Fancy Nancy as well as some Pete the Cat early readers. And of course she loves Giant Dance Party by Betsy Bird and Brandon Dorman. 

How about you? What have you and your kids been reading and enjoying? Thanks for reading the newsletter, and for growing bookworms. 

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.  You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. 

When No One Is Watching: Eileen Spinelli & David A. Johnson

Book: When No One Is Watching
Author: Eileen Spinelli
Illustrator: David A. Johnson
Pages: 26
Age Range: 4-8 

When No One Is Watching is pretty much exactly what the title promises. It's a picture book about a girl who can only be brave and boisterous (dancing, cheering, scoring baskets, etc.) when she's by herself. When other people are there, she tends to hide, or lean against the wall, or pass the ball instead of shooting.

I was a bit worried as I was reading this book that it would be one of those issue books with a facile or heavy-handed solution to the problem. But I should have trusted Eileen Spinelli. The unnamed girl doesn't change overnight, or have some elaborate intervention. Instead, she finds one friend. Her friend, Loretta, is also shy, and the two girls are able to do things (reading, going to the zoo, "splashing in the summer", together). So, there's a solution, yes. But it's a small, quiet, plausible solution, one that suits the tenor of the book. I was pleased with it.  

I still don't think that I would go out of my way to introduce this book to my daughter, unless I thought that she was having problems with shyness (right now she's not old enough to understand it anyway). No point in raising as an issue something that might not be an issue. I don't need her wondering "Should I be hiding when people come over?" or whatever. But I do think that this would be an excellent book for libraries to have on hand for those families struggling with this issue. 

When No One Is Watching does work as a bouncy read-aloud. Like this:

"When no one is watching,
I cheer.

I cheer for myself
as I race near the hoop.

I soar and I score
with a dunk and a whoop!

When no one is watching,
I cheer.

But...

When everyone's watching,
I pass.

I pass the b-ball
to my classmate Tamar.
Tamar makes the basket --
she's always the star.

When everyone's watching,
I pass.  

There's a poetry to the repetition, and I like the double-meaning of "pass" in this example (a literal pass of the ball, and a pass on being actively engaged). A lot of thought has gone into this book.

David A. Johnson's digitally manipulated ink and watercolor illustrations suit the tone of the book. On the pages where the girl is not being watched, he includes a series of slightly grayed out images of her doing things, together with one brightly colored image. On the pages where she is being watched, she only appears once, still brightly colored, while the others in the picture are shown grayed out. So, even when she's trying not to be watched, to the reader, she's still at the heart of the image. It's a nice, relatively subtle technique. She wears the same outfit in all of the pictures, with bright red and white squares, which also makes it easier to always really see her. She also has delightfully out of control curly black hair. 

When No One Is Watching is a picture book that addresses the things that are easier to do "when no one is watching" (dancing, playing sport, etc.). For kids who are shy, or have experienced stage fright of one form or another, it's a nice, accepting sort of book. It's one that I plan to keep at hand, just in case... Recommended, particularly for elementary school libraries. 

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (@EerdmansBooks)
Publication Date: February 7, 2013
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.