Sandy's Favorites 2014

It's been a pretty ridiculous year for me.  I had a baby, and they aren't kidding when they say that it changes everything.  My free time has diminished a bit, and I've found myself wanting to occupy this free time with new activities.

What all of this boils down to is the fact that I haven't read nearly as many books this year as I have in the past.  According to Goodreads, I've read 43 books, most of which are novels for children or teens.  Not included in this total are several works of adult nonfiction all about pregnancy, parenting, and making baby food that I didn't feel the need to review.

Forty books doesn't seem like much when you consider that in 2009  (a year post-grad school where I only worked part time) I read 175 books.  Even in 2013 I read 75 books, nearly double this year's total.  Still, 40 books is perfectly respectable.  Besides, I like to think that I've made up for the lack of quantity with the quality of the books that I have read since many of these books have completely blown me away.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Chapter Books

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Molly and Kip are Irish siblings who don't seem to have parents to care for them.  Molly takes a job as a housekeeper to a formerly wealthy family that is down on its luck.  But it's not just the money that seems to be troubling this family.  The entire family seems sickly, and everyone seems to be getting treasures from a mysterious source.  There is also the Night Gardener who appears during the night, and though know one know exactly what his intentions are, they certainly do not seem to be good.  This bit of Gothic horror features fantastic storytelling, and I love how the horror elements mirror some of the other issue that the characters are dealing with.  Given the masterful writing, I think that this book has a shot at a Newbery Honor.

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
One evening, Ellie's mother comes home with a teenage boy in tow.  Strangely enough, her scientist grandfather seems to have uncovered a sort of fountain of youth and have given himself a young body.  Through a series of episodes, Ellie and her grandfather explore the wonders of science and discover what it really means to grow up and to grow older.  This book is an unusual blend of sci-fi and contemporary fiction that will appeal to fans of both Wendy Mass and Madeleine L'Engle.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Wilson
So much has already been said about Wilson's memoir told is verse, which recently won the National Book Award.  It's a bit of a patchwork dealing with Wilson's family, the era in which she lives, race, and other small details from her childhood.    This memoir seems to be this year's "it" book and is widely favored to win this year's Newbery Medal.  It's worthy of the hype.

Teen Reads

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Sinclair family is everything they are supposed to be:  Beautiful, athletic, and incredibly wealthy.  Every summer they vacation on a private island near Martha's Vineyard.  Cadance, the oldest grandchild, looks forward to spending these summers with her cousins and Gat, the nephew of her aunt's boyfriend.  But then one year Cadance has some sort of accident.  She can't remember what happened and no one seems terribly interested in telling her.  During her 17th summer on the island, Cadance tries to piece together bits of memory to figure out what happened.  What makes this story stand out is Cadance's narrative voice.  The way that this story unfolds and the fact that she is so unreliable make this book stand out in the crowd.

Six Feet Over It by Jennifer Longo
Leigh's father decides to uproot the family and operate a cemetery, and he does not seem particularly willing to look further than the kitchen table for ready employees.  Leigh finds herself working in the cemetery's office selling graves after school.  Meanwhile she has her own grief to deal with after being uprooted from her beloved home by the sea, the death of her best friend, and her sister's cancer treatments.  This book sounds very dark and while it certainly does have its morbid moments, Leigh's sarcasm and ready wit help to keep it from being depressing.  Leigh is a character that I grew to love as she developed over the course of this novel.  This is my favorite book of the year.

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
Victoria dreams of being an artist.  Unfortunately, as a woman in Edwardian England her options are fairly limited.  Getting into a proper art school will be next to impossible without some assistance, and her father absolutely refuses to pay her tuition.  The plot thickens with a sweet police constable / artistic muse, some periphery involvement in the suffragist movement, and a wealthy finance who might not be the easy solution Vicky was hoping for.  This book was a tad predictable in terms of plot, but this author definitely did her research about this era.  Readers will enjoy being pulled into this fascinating time period.

Bad Things

The other day a girl, maybe in the 4th grade or so, came up to me and asked for help:

Girl:  "Can you help me find a series?"
Me:  "Sure.  Was there a certain series that you wanted, or do you just need help finding something new to read?"
Girl:  "It was a series where bad things happen..."
Me:  "Oh, I know what you're looking for!"

Instantly I knew exactly which series of books this girl was looking for, possibly because this particular series has a very soft place in my heart.  The books in question were Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events."  Each book in this series describes the trials and tribulations of the recently orphaned Baudelaire children and their efforts to remain out of the clutches of their evil uncle, Count Olaf.

Admittedly, bad things happen is lots of children's books.  This girl's vague description could have described any of a number of books or book series.  But instinct told me to look for Lemony Snicket, and of course my instincts proved correct.

2014 Youth Media Awards

On Monday the American Library Association announced the winners of the 2014 Youth Media Awards.  These awards are given to the best of the best in children's literature in a variety of categories.  Today I'm going to focus on the two oldest and, arguably, most prestigious awards:  The Caldecott and Newbery Medals.  To see a full list of the awards and this year's winners, click here.

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded each year to, "the most distinguished American picture book for children."  This year the award goes to a lovely piece of picture book nonfiction:  Locomotive, written and illustrated by Brian Flocca.  This book will transport readers back to the sepia-toned days of the old West, when travel by train was new and exciting.  Plenty of details about trains and train travel are provided.  For example, did you know that back in 1869 toilets on the train were nothing but a hole in the floor?  Even the text of this book is rendered beautifully, with certain words printed in a special typeface with a scale and color that really makes the text move along with the train.  This book was graced with another awards, the Sibert honor, for its roles as a great work of nonfiction for children.  Nonfiction does not often win other awards, so Locomotive's receipt of the Caldecott Medal is especially notable.

Three Caldecott Honor books were also named:

• Journey, written and illustrated by Aaron Becker
• Flora and the Flamingo, written and illustrated by Molly Idle
• Mr. Wuffles! written and illustrated by David Weisner

Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to, "the most outstanding contribution to children's literature."  This year the award goes to the book Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, written by past Newbery winner Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by K.G. Campbell.  This this unique novel, Flora is a cynical young girl who also happens to be a fan of the comic series Terrible Things Can Happen to You.  When her neighbor accidentally vacuums up an unsuspecting squirrel, Flora discovers that Ulysses has been born anew with powers worthy of the comics, including flight, super strength, and the ability to write poetry.  Flora takes Ulysses under her wing and with the help of her squirrel friend, her unusual yet kind-hearted neighbors, and her father, she learns to overcome her cynicism and once again feel hope and love.  This novel is written mostly in lovely prose, though periodic comic-style illustrations show readers the action from Ulysses' viewpoint.  This is a fantastic book for readers of all types.

Four Newbery Honor books were also named:

• Doll Bones, by Holly Black
• The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
• One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
• Paperboy by Vince Vawter

My Thoughts

This was a good year for picture books, and I know that I had an especially hard time predicting who the winner of the Caldecott Medal would be.  Despite this deep pool of talent I am not at all surprised to see most of the books that were granted Caldecott Medals or Honors on this list!  I'd expected Aaron Becker's Journey (which is a wordless story reminiscent of the classic Harold and the Purple Crayon but with tons of lush detail) to take the shiny gold medal, but Locomotive's charm makes it easy to accept the committee's final listing.  David Weisner's Mr. Wuffles! is also a delight, and it's definitely my favorite book from this outstanding author in quite some time.  The only real surprise for me on this list comes in the form of Flora and the Flamingo, which though certainly charming took me by surprise when it was named an honor book.  Still, it's sure to be a hit with young girls everywhere.

There were actually very few truly stand-out children's novels this year in my mind, so I was thrilled to see that my favorites from the year were all graced with awards of some kind.  I'd really expected the Medal to go to either Doll Bones or The Year of Billy Miller, both of which I found to be outstanding books.  Looking back on it, I can definitely see how Flora and Ulysses's style and charm won over the committee.  Its elegant prose, whimsical characters, and even the comic illustrations all work well together and make this novel stand out from the pack.  Time and energy permitting, reviews for these three great books may be forthcoming on this blog.  Authors Amy Timberlake and Kevin Henkes are both Wisconsin-born authors, and it's nice to see my home state represented so well at this year's awards.  Paperboy, however, was not even on my radar.  I'll need to explore this one on my own to discover what exactly it was that made this book a winner during what I felt was a off year for children's novels.  

Sandy's Picks 2013 - Chapter Books

Now that the year is drawing to a close, it's time for me to look back on the books that I have read this year and pick my favorites.  According to my Goodreads account, I read a total of 74 books in 2013.  This number is down quite a bit from years past, but does not truly reflect every books that I read this year.  These 74 books do no include very many picture books (which I do not always remember to take the time to review), several volumes of a manga series or two (where I generally review the series as a whole, not each individual volume), or some self-help or reference non-fiction (which I feel a tad self-conscious about reviewing).

This is the second in a series of three posts, each covering a different type of children's book.  Today we will be looking at Chapter Books, generally written for school-age independent readers.

Doll Bones by Holly Black
Zach's two best friends are girls, and together the three of them create fantastic adventures for their dolls and action figures.  But is Zach getting too old for this kind of play?  His dad seems to think so, anyway.  Embarrassed, Zach decides to stop playing and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice.  But when Poppy insists that she is being haunted by a china doll supposedly made of the bones of a murdered girl, the three friends team up one last time to set the girl's spirit to rest.  Their adventure involves midnight bus rides, sailing down the Ohio River, and sneaking into a library after hours.  Part creep-tastic and part coming-of-age, this book really stands out from the crowd.  It's my top pick for this year's Newbery Medal.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
Two kids are left at home with their father, but unfortunately there is no milk in the house to put on their breakfast cereal.  Dad obligingly runs to the store to pick up some milk, but it takes him awhile to return home.  When he finally comes back, he tells his children a fantastic story involving aliens, dinosaurs, pirates, vampires, and - of course - the ever-present bottle of milk.  This book is kind of like a ramped-up version of Dr. Seuss' book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  It's tons of fun, and a quick read that will make you laugh out loud.

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Billy worries a bit about starting the second grade.  Will he be smart enough?  Will he get along with his teacher?  Told in four parts, this story recounts a few events from Billy's eventful second-grade year, with each section focusing on Billy's relationship with a specific person.  The book is quite long in terms of its page count, but would still make a charming read-aloud story for younger kids.

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill
Bo is five years old.  Her family is a bit unusual:  She has two fathers who work in an Alaskan mining camp, and she is friends with everyone in the town.  This episodic story tells of Bo's everyday adventures, giving lots of fresh details that really transport readers into this particular time and place.  If you like Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books, then you'll love this story too.

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban
Ruby is supposed to give a speech at her town's annual Bunning Day parade.  As she waits for her cue she thinks about all of the things that have gone wrong in her life recently.  Things aren't going well with her friends, and she especially regrets what happened with her grandmother, Gigi.  Ruby's hope is that if she does well with her speech she can fix everything.  Linda Urban does a fantastic job of writing introspective characters, and I especially loved this book.  The pacing is unique in that everything takes place over the course of only a couple of hours, using flashbacks to fill in the details that a reader needs.  Fantastic writing is the only way that a structure like this can work, and Urban really nails this one.

What were your favorite kids' reads of 2013?  Tell me about them in the comments.

Books to Be Excited About

A few weeks ago I found myself in a reading rut.  Nothing on the library's shelves excited me, and there was nothing new coming in that begged for me to take it home.

Fortunately, a recent shipment of new books and the arrival of a few holds has changed these circumstances.  I've gone from having nothing to read to being a tad overwhelmed by the good books.  Here are a few of the books I'm excited to try:

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet by Tom Angleberger
In case you haven't heard, I'm a huge Origami Yoda fan.  I'm very excited about this fourth volume to the series, and I'm curious to see how the kids as McQuarrie Middle School handle the return of Dwight to their class, along with the school's newly-imposed curriculum designed to raise their test scores.  Can Origami Yoda save the day again?

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope by Ian Doeschter
It's Star Wars written in iambic pentameter, told in the style of one of Shakespeare's plays.  It's two of my favorite things rolled into one.  What's not to like?  I'm not exactly expecting brilliance out of this pastiche, but I am expecting to be entertained (and probably laugh lots and read especially clever/amusing passages out loud).

Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt
I don't often read books written for an adult audience.  Much of this has to do with that fact that I work with children and teenagers, so I get really caught up in the books that are written for them.  But every so often a book for adults will catch my eye.  I'm curious to see what this author has to say about D&D - its history, its cultural significance, and the nerd subculture it has spawned.  (For the curious:  Yes, I have played Dungeons & Dragons.  Yes, I enjoyed it.  No, I'm not a complete loser.)

The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer
Several months ago it was announced that Farmer would be publishing a sequel to her multiple award-winning novel The House of the Scorpion, and I've been eagerly waiting on the edge of my seat for the book to be released.  That day is finally here!  It's been ten years since The House of the Scorpion was first published, but it remains one of my favorite books of all time and one that I regularly try to recommend to middle-school readers.  Sequels tend to make me anxious, but I'm still excited to see what Farmer has in store for Matt and his newly-inherited opium empire.

Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde
I was pretty much awed by Jasper Fforde's last fantasy novel, The Last Dragonslayer.  I was so happy that Jennifer Strange would be returning for a sequel.  If you're a fantasy fan, and if you've enjoyed books by Neil Gaiman and/or Terry Pratchet, then I think that Jasper Fforde should be the next author you try.

Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy by Elizabeth Kiem
In this teen novel, clairvoyance meets 1980s Soviet immigrants.  Intriguing, n'est-ce pas?  I love a combination of plot elements that you don't see every day.  Also, I'm kind of a fan of the cover art.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
First of all, the author's name is Rainbow.  Love it.  Second, this book sounds really good:  A girl tries to survive her first year of college after her best friend outgrows their shared love of a celebrity.  Thirdly, this book has gotten awesome reviews.  I probably should be reading another book by this same author that's gotten some early award buzz (Eleanor & Park), but this book just sounds a bit more fun.

Bo at Ballard Creek

Bo has two fathers, but she didn't get them in the usual way.  She also eventually gets a little brother, but he doesn't join the family in the usual way either.  This this charming story tells all about young Bo's childhood as the adopted daughter of two big, burly miners just after the height of the Alaskan gold rush.  The town of Ballard Creek is filled with tough miners and loving Eskimo families, and everyone takes a hand in raising Bo.  Over the course of a year, Bo sees her first airplane, encounters a grisly bear, helps one of her papas in the cookshack, listens to lots of records, and attends a big Fourth of July celebration.  All the while the miners are busy working, hoping that they'll hit enough paydirt to make it through the year.  Even though Bo lives in a small town in the wilderness, there is never a dull moment in Ballard Creek!

Kirkpatrick Hill's charming novel, Bo at Ballard Creek, reminds me quite a bit of Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic Little House in the Big Woods.  Each chapter of the book recounts a different episode in Bo's life and provides exquisite detail about what everyday living in this specific time and place was like.  The story is very engaging, the characters are lovable, and Bo herself is a spirited counterpart to Laura Ingalls.  As a reader I found myself especially fascinated by Bo's papas and their unique co-parenting situation.  Such partnerships may seem unusual to modern readers, but it really does make perfect sense given the time and the place.

Overall Grade:  A+

If you'd like to learn more about this book check out an interview with Kirkpatrick Hill, the author of Bo at Ballard Creek.  Hill herself grew up in Alaska in the company of mining, just like Bo does.  In the interview, Hill describes how some of her own experiences were included in the story.

The Center of Everything

The small town of Bunning comes together every year for their annual festival celebrating the donut, which they claim was invented by the brave Captain Bunning who founded the town.  This year Ruby is honored by being the student chosen to read her winning essay at the festival's parade.  As Ruby waits for her turn to read her essay, she is also waiting for an opportunity to fix everything that has gone wrong in her world recently.  Ruby's best friend is mad at her, and things aren't looking so good with her new friend, Nero, either.  Most of all, Ruby greatly regrets not listening to her grandmother, Gigi, who recently passed away.  But Bunning Day is the perfect opportunity for Ruby to make things right.  It all depends on her essay, and also on the magic of her birthday wish...

Author Linda Urban has a history or writing thoughtful novels with introspective characters, such as A Crooked Kind of Perfect and Hound Dog True.  Her latest effort, The Center of Everything, is brilliantly written.  Ruby's character is well-crafted, and she somehow manages to be meek and powerful at the same time.  The pacing of this novel is interesting as most of the action takes place in only a two-hour period, but lots of flashbacks and introspection to flesh out the details and provide needed backstory.  The writing is certainly distinctive (it's already getting some early Newbery buzz) and I expect that this book will make my "Best of 2013" list.

This book will be appealing to fans of author Wendy Mass (11 Birthdays, etc.) and Rebecca Stead (When You Reach Me)

Overall Grade:  A

Green Dragon Book

Two boys, probably in the 5th or 6th grade, came up to me the other day. One of the boys was trying to tell his friend about a book he had read, but he couldn't remember the title or the author. All he could remember was that there was a dragon on the cover, and that it wasn't the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini.

 I asked the boy if he could tell me what the book was about. His response: "Well, the book was green..."

Hmm, not very helpful. But when he said there was a dragon on the cover my mind immediately went to another popular series of dragon books: The Last Dragon Chronicles, written by Chris D'Lacey. Each book in the series shows a close-up picture of a dragon's eye on the cover, and each book also features a different color. I was pretty sure that one of the books in that series was green. So I took a shot in the dark and walked the boys over to the shelf where this series is kept and, sure enough, the first book in the series (The Fire Within) was the book he had been thinking of.

Thank goodness.  If this hadn't been the right book, I might have had to resort to showing the boys every single book that we have that features dragons.  That's a lot of books!

Often it's really hard to figure out these mystery books when all we have to go on is the color of the book.  Clues like the plot of the book, the setting, or even the main character's name are usually much better clues because they better narrow down our options.  These clues are even searchable in reader's advisory databases like Novelist or even on Google, where book color really isn't.  Color also becomes tricky when a book has been reprinted with a different cover because the book on the library shelf might not match the image that the patron is familiar with.  Most book covers also feature multiple colors, and it's amazing how different colors in an image stand out to different people - a book cover that I might describe as yellow, for example, might appear blue to someone else.

Captain Underpants Display

Recently we decided to replace all of our well-worn Captain Underpants books with brand new, shiny, clean copies.  Since we're likely to never again have them all in one place at the same time, we thought it was a good time to do a fun display:

 

I giggle every time I walk past the display.  Wouldn't you?

All underpants displayed here are brand new, but will eventually go home to certain staff people's husbands. 

2013 Youth Media Awards

Yesterday the American Library Association (ALA) announced the winners of the 2013 Youth Media Awards.  Nineteen different awards were given to the best of the best in children's literature.  As I have done for the past several years I will document the biggest, oldest, and most prestigious of these awards:  The Caldecott and Newbery Medals.  A full list of today's awards and their recipients can be found here. 

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded each year to, "the most distinguished American picture book for children."  This year the award goes to This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by John Klassen.  In this follow-up to last year's I Want My Hat Back, which was the recipient of a 2012 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor, Klassen has crafted a similar story involving an animal's stolen hat.  This latest offering had a new cast of characters, a new color scheme, and plenty of clever humor to keep audiences happy.  One of the coolest things about this picture book is the way that the illustrations really do tell the story, adding plenty of detail that the text alone cannot provide.

A whopping five books were given Caldecott Honors:

• Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
• Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by John Klassen
• Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small
• Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal is given every year to, "the most outstanding contribution to children's literature."  This year the award goes to The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  This poetic, lyrical novel tells the story of Ivan, a silverback gorilla who lives in an exhibit at a mall.  Ivan has never really questioned his existence there and is happy enough drawing pictures with the crayons provided by his caretaker.  When a baby elephant is added to the mall's menagerie, Ivan suddenly realizes that he needs to find a better home for his new friend.  The language in this book really makes it stand out from the crowd as it brings Ivan's story to life.  The emotional story - based on real-life events - will warm your heart and bring a tear to your eye.

Three books were awarded Newbery Honors:

• Splendors and Gloom by Laura Amy Schlitz
• Bomb:  The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

My Thoughts

This year the Youth Media Awards has yielded a varied crop of winners, some of which I expected and some of which were complete surprises.   The Caldecott, with its unusually large pool of recipients, was especially filled with surprises.  I didn't expect either This Is Not My Hat or Creepy Carrots to make the cut, though both books are full of humor and real appeal for all sorts of audiences.  I had expected that John Klassen would win the Caldecott Medal this year, but not for the book that got the big prize.  Still, it pleases me to see Extra Yarn on the list of honor books.  And how cool is it that Klassen came away with two Caldecott awards for two different books this year?  This has only happened once before in the history of the award, when Leonard Weisgard won both a Caldecott Medal and Honor in 1947.

I'd read so many good, worthy children's novels this year that it was very difficult to predict which ones would come away with the Newbery.  There are a couple of titles that I was sad to see neglected - The Unfortunate Son and The Lions of Little Rock come to mind - but generally the recipients seem to be worthy.  I was somewhat surprised to see Three Times Lucky come away with a Newbery Honor.  Personally, I just wasn't terribly enchanted by this book and might have preferred to see another "plucky girl" story (Summer of the Gypsy Moths) come away with an award instead.  But that's just me.

Sandy's Picks 2012 - Chapter Books

It's that time of year again! Time to look back on what I read in 2012 and pick out the titles that I think were the best of the best. I'm not simply looking for literary quality or books that are award-worthy as I make this list (though such qualities certainly don't hurt a book's chances as making the cut). I'm just looking back at the books that made me happiest when I read them, and the books that have stuck with me as the year progressed.

According to Goodreads.com, I have read a total of 109 books this year. Of course, this number is not entirely accurate. This count does not include a wide range of picture books and non-fiction that I paged through and didn't record, nor does it include each volume of several manga series that I plowed through this year, where I reviewed the series as a whole instead of each individual volume.

Today we'll start out by taking a look at novels written for children, AKA Chapter Books.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall's exhibit, he decides that he must find her a better life. This book just melted my heart with lovely poetic writing and a powerful story based on real events.

One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale, who was an officer and spy for the American rebels during the Revolutionary War, shares his story, from his unlucky days at Yale to his later unlucky days as an officer, with a hangman and British officer. This graphic novel takes American history and makes it fascinating. There's lots of humor for sure, but also lots of great historical fact, lots of military history, and lots of great detail that tends to be eliminated or glossed over in typical study.  One Dead Spy is the first in what will be a series of books as Nathan Hale, the hangman, and the British soldier return to discuss different periods of American history.  It was published simultaneously with the second title, Big Bad Ironclad, which discusses naval warfare during the Civil War.

The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds
Luc, a boy born with one ear and raised by a drunken father in fifteenth-century France, finds a better home with fisherman Pons, his sister Mattie, and their ward Beatrice, the daughter of a disgraced knight. Even after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in Africa, he remains remarkably fortunate. This books stands out to me thanks to solid writing and a fascinating historical setting. While I've had trouble pinning down my top choice for this year's Newbery Medal, I think that my final vote has to go to The Unfortunate Son.

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas, painfully shy twelve-year-old Marlee sees her city and family divided over school integration. But her friendship with Liz, a black girl who tries to pass for white at Marlee's school, helps her find her voice and fight against racism. Kristin Levine told a great story a few years ago dealing with racism and friendship with her first book The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, and her latest effort just just as powerful.

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

Discovering that the moon has disappeared from the sky above a Chinese village where he works, runaway Rendi wonders about strange local behaviors until a mysterious storyteller arrives at the town's inn and astonishing transformations begin to happen.  Just as she did with her Newbery Honor-winning book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, author Grace Lin has masterfully reworked Chinese fairy tales to tell a moving story.  You do not have to have read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon to understand Starry River of the Sky as the two books stand completely on their own, but a few overlapping elements will be greatly appreciated by those who have read both.  Both books are well worth the effort. 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Born with a facial deformity that initially prevented his attendance at public school, Auggie Pullman enters the fifth grade at Beecher Prep and struggles with the dynamics of being both new and different. I will admit: I kept putting this one off because of all of its early hype. But I'm so glad that I finally read it! The story is both heartwarming and heartwrenching. Not only is it a great story centering around a medical condition, but it's also simply a great school story that explores interpersonal relationship in an upper elementary setting.

Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
A foster child named Angel and twelve-year-old Stella, who are living with Stella's great-aunt Louise on Cape Cod, secretly assume responsibility for the summer vacation rentals when Louise unexpectedly dies and the girls are afraid of being returned to the foster care system.  I loved this book so much.  It's got humor and heart and two girls who hide a dead body.  What else do you need?



What were your favorite children's novels of 2012?  Share your favorites in the comments.

The Unfortunate Son

Often Luc feels like he is incredibly unlucky.  After all, he was born with only one ear and his father seems to despise him.  But when he becomes an apprentice to a fisherman Luc feels that his luck might be changing.  It turns out that he has a real talent for life at sea, and soon his nets are full.  He develops strong bonds with Pons, the old fisherman, his sister Mattie, and Beatrice, the daughter of a disgraced knight whom Pons and Mattie care for.  Life as a fisherman is simple, but for the first time Luc is truly happy.  But Luc's luck changes again for the worst when he is kidnapped at sea and sold into slavery in Africa.  Luc's situation could certainly be worse - his master is a kind and respected man who gives Luc a wonderful education - but even under these favorable circumstances Luc is still a slave and fears that he may never be able to return to his home in France.  Meanwhile, Beatrice is determined that Luc be found and in so doing uncovers a secret about his origins that would change his life forever...if only they knew where Luc was. 

 

Set at the turn of the 16th Century primarily in France, author Constance Leeds has crafted a masterful piece of historical fiction in the form of The Unfortunate Son.  The writing is filled with so many little details about life in this time and place.  Each and every one of the characters is well-developed and likable.  The plot is filled with equal parts adventure and intrigue with a dash of subtle humor thrown in for good measure.  Most intriguing is the way that this book gets readers to think:  How does one deal with an unfortunate situation?  What does it really mean to be lucky or unlucky? 

 

This book remains on Elizabeth Bird's list of picks for the 2013 Newbery, and I'll agree that this book is certainly deserving.  Great writing, the setting, unique plotting, and interesting characters help this title stand out from the crowd and make it truly "distinguished."

 

Overall Grade:  A

Holds That Need Placing

My library is in the process of switching over to a new computer system.  This system hosts the library's catalog, allows us to check items in and out, keeps records of all of our patrons, allows us to add new items to the catalog, and of course, lets us place holds on items that are not currently available and/or that we need to get from other libraries.  Unfortunately, as we transition to the new system we have to temporarily give up certain tasks that we would normally do with the catalog to make the data transfer easier.  Three weeks ago we were forced to stop placing holds.

I didn't quite realize how much I relied on the ability to place holds until it was taken away.  In the meantime I have compiled a list of books that I desperately want to place on hold once we go live again:

My Truck Is Stuck by Kevin Lewis
I Love Trucks! by Philemon Sturges
I'm planning a truck-themed storytime that will happen only six days after go live, and I need these two books to read to my preschoolers.  Here's hoping that they arrive in time or I'll have to resort to my less-fun backups.

The Baby Beebee Bird by Diane Redfield Massie
Another picture book that I'd like to use in an upcoming storytime.  It's one of my favorite storytime read-alouds.

Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket
I'm super excited whenever Lemony Snicket (pen name for the glorious Daniel Handler) has a new book out because I love his brand of smart humor.  I'm especially excited because this book is the first in a new series that will document the life of a young Lemony Snicket (the character, not the "author") before his involvement with the awesome "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz
This books is the sequel to A Tale Dark and Grimm. Probably won't win any awards, though it did find a place on the Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2012 list. Mostly I'm excited to read because of the fairy tale genre and because I liked the first book so much.

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Obed
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
These three books are what currently remains on my list of highly acclaimed and/or potentially award-worthy books that I need to read before the end of the year.  And the sooner the better - my library system does a Mock Newbery event and I'll want to have these read before we meet.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
I mentioned both of these books in an earlier post detailing some YA titles I was dying to get my hands on. Should have placed my holds on these books then.

Reached by Ally Condie
I go back and forth on how excited I am about this final installment to the "Matched" trilogy.  But I should really get my name on the super-long hold list soon or I'll never get my hands on it.

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
This is next month's pick for my teen book club.  I need to place holds on about eight copies of the book so that I can give them to my teens. 

See You At Harry's

Fern's family drives her crazy.  Her dad has a new plan to advertise his restaurant that involves using the whole family and he doesn't understand how this will ruin Fern's life. Her mother spends a lot of time meditating to find her inner peace.  Her sister is taking a year off between high school and college and is supposed to be helping at the restaurant, but is mostly looking to get out of doing any work.  Her older brother is in the closet and is having trouble both at home and at school as a result.  And Fern's younger brother Charlie is little and cute and seems to get away with everything, and no one else seems to see how annoying he is.  Fern loves her family, but with so much going on she often feels alone.  But when tragedy rocks the whole family's world, Fern feels more alone than ever as she wrestles with her grief and guilt. 

There isn't a way to talk about Jo Knowles' See You at Harry's without making it sound incredibly sad and tragic.  And I'll be honest - it's a heart-wrenching tear-jerker at times.  But what impresses me most about this novel are the more positive aspects.  Knowles does an amazing job of creating a realistic, nuanced portrait of a family.  The members of Fern's family all love each other, but they don't always get along perfectly.  The characters are what make this story powerful instead of saccharine, and it's great to see how the family comes together when they really need to.  This book is a bit of a page-turner and most readers will be able to get through it fairly quickly, but it is worth lingering a bit with these characters.

Overall Grade:  A-

Summer of the Gypsy Moths

Nothing is going the way that Stella planned, and for a girl obsessed with keeping things in order this is a very bad thing. Stella's mother has gone off to "find herself" (again), and so she has been sent to live with her great-aunt Louise at the small Cape Cod resort that Louise runs. To complicate matters Louise has also taken in a foster child Stella's age, and unfortunately Stella and Angel do not get along very well. Things get even more troublesome when, just as school is ready to end for the summer, Louise suddenly dies. What are Stella and Angel to do? Neither of them has family that can take them in or anywhere else to go. The only option the two girls see is to bury Louise in the garden and hope that nobody notices...

Author Sara Pennypacker has made a name for herself with her early chapter books, especially the lovable "Clementine" series. Summer of the Gypsy Moths is her first foray into writing for somewhat older readers and it's a real gem. It's easy to see why this book has been generating a bit of buzz this year as the writing expertly blends humor and heart. It's just a delight watching Stella and Angel's relationship develop as their unusual circumstances throw them together. And who can resist a story where two girls hide a dead body? Pick this book up today. You'll be glad you did.

This book should appeal easily to fans of Suzanne LaFleur's Love, Aubrey and/or Jennifer Holm's Turtle in Paradise.

Overall Grade: A

Books with Buzz

We're just over the halfway point in the year, which means that I've started looking at various book blogs and on Goodreads for books that are generating lots of conversation - and maybe even some award buzz. Here are a few books that people have been talking about that I'm looking forward to reading soon:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Augie was born with a facial deformity that prevents him from attending regular school...until now. As he enters the 5th grade, Augie must prove to his class that he's a normal kid despite appearances.

Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
Stella loves routine and Angel is tough and spunky. Needless to say, the two girls do not get along at first. But then tradedy strikes and the two unexpectedly bond. I'm a big fan of Sara Pennypacker, and I'm excited to give this novel a try.

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
Georges is new to his Brooklyn apartment building and is quickly recruited as a spy by another kid. Author Rebecca Stead already has one Newbery Medal under her belt, and if the reviews are to be believed her latest book is just as good.

Three Times Lucky by Shiela Turnage
This book promises Southern charm by setting the book in a small town full of interesting characters. Add in a mystery and we have ourselves the making of what promises to be an interesting book.

How to Survive Anything - Gender Inequality

Last week I cataloged two items for the children's graphic novel collection. These two books made me very angry:

They seem innocent enough when you first glance at them. They are yet another installment in the "survival guide" genre, telling kids how to deal with various circumstances. These titles stand out with their graphic novel approach to the genre.

A closer look, however, shows that apparently boys and girls need to be prepared to survive very different circumstances. The boys' book give useful advice on how to handle shark attacks, how to navigate using the stars, and how to escape from quicksand. The girls' book, on the other hand, deals with more social elements: How to throw a great sleepover, how to handle a fight with your BFF, and how to get ready for soccer try-outs.

Seriously? According to these books, all boys are outdoorsmen in exotic lands, while girls have nothing at all to worry about except for parents, zits, and friends. This is so insulting to members of both genders. Boys need a guide to social situations just as much as girls do since I'm pretty sure that boys need to interact with their peers too. And there is absolutely no reason why a girl won't need advice on how to prevent a polar bear from attacking you. Pretty sure that the polar bear doesn't care what your gender is.

There is a single survival tip that can be found in both the boys' and girls' volumes: How to Survive a Zombie Attack. Clearly Scholastic's editors know what's really important. But even this piece of advice is presented on unequal footing. The girls' book encourages girls to use their brains and suggests evasion tactics. The boys' book includes some instruction on evasion, but also suggests creating a shelter and bonking zombies on the head with a baseball bat as a way of stopping them. So while girls get to run away, boys get to kick some zombie butt.

What's especially irritating is that on the cover of the girls' book we see a girl harnessed up on a zip line, seemingly ready for adventure. But there is no adventure advice to be found in this graphic novel. Of course, the fact that the girl is also holding her cell phone should probably have been a hint.

Overall Grade: D

New Kids' Reads

It's been quiet here in Library Land. Almost too quiet. The weather is turning nice and kids are spending their time outside isntead of in the library.

So to hold us over until my next interesting, blog-able story comes along, here are a few books from the kids' room that I'm looking forward to reading:

Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger
I'm a big fan of Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, and I'm excited to see what he can do this this book. In this title a young boy tries to take over the world with the help of his impressive fake mustache. I've been promised that hilarity ensues.

Little Dog, Lost by Marion Dane Bauer
A novel in verse telling the story of a boy who needs a dog and a dog who needs a boy. I cataloged this book just this morning and it seems like it could be a real charmer.

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
Here's another book by an author who has pleased me in the past. This book is piece of historical fiction centered around school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1958. Just as with her 2009 novel The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, Lavine pulls together the themes of friendship and bravery to tall a story dealing with race relations.

The Fairy Ring, or How Elsie and Francis Fool the World by Mary Losure
This work of non-fiction tells about the Cottingly Fairies hoax. Two girls staged photographs of fairies to get their parents to stop teasing them. Little did they know that this innocent deception would spiral far beyond their control.

The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood
I'm a super big fan of the "Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place" series, and I'm sure that this third volume will be lots of fun to read. I can't wait to get started!

The One And Only Ivan

Ivan is a silverback gorilla who lives at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall. Ivan is used having humans visit him and rarely thinks about his former home in the jungle. Generally Ivan is content to sit in his domain, talk to his friends Stella the elephant and Bob the dog, watch television, and - best of all - create art with crayons and paper.

Things change, however, when business at the mall slows and visitors become few and far between. To bring in more business a baby elephant named Ruby is added to the mall's menagerie. Ruby is frightened. She misses her home in the jungle and her family. Suddenly Iven is forced to look at her situation - and his own - through new eyes. Finally Ivan has someone to protect, someone who needs a mighty silverback gorilla to provide for her. But what can Ivan do to change Ruby's situation when he is stuck in a cage?

There is so much to appreciate about this novel. First of all, The One and Only Ivan is a stunning, inspiring book full of emotional power. Author Katherine Applegate did a great job giving Ivan his own voice, using brief paragraphs and efficient, poetic languate to pull readers into Ivan's story. This style of writing really makes this book a page-turner. It's just beautifully written.

In many ways the writing reminds me of Kathi Appelet's 2009 Newbery Honor winner The Underneath with one important difference: I found The Underneath incredibly depressing. I love the fact that even though The One and Only Ivan gets into some serious issues regarding animal rights and captivity and even though parts of this book are sad (I'll admit that I teared up a few times), the story never becomes bogged down in sadness. There are plenty of hopeful, inspiring moments too and lots of well-developed character to love, and I truly feel that this tone makes The One and Only Ivan much more accessible to readers.

Overall Grade: A



Need more convincing? Check out the book trailer:

Saving Armpit

The small town of Harmony Point is having a rough time. The town's welcome sign been strategically vandalized to read, "Welcome to Armpit," and with the town slowly falling into disrepair there are some who think that "Armpit" is living up to its name. Things soon begin to look up, at least, for the local baseball team. The Terriers haven't won a game in recent memory, but with the help of their new coach - Harmony Point's new postmaster - their game is really starting to turn around. The Terriers are thrilled with their coach and are looking forward to maybe winning a game or two this season. But soon rumors spread that the government will close Harmony Point's post office, consolidating with the post office of a nearby larger city and forcing their new coach to move away. What are the Terriers to do? They soon begin a letter writing campaign in an attempt to increase business at the post office and prove that Harmony Point really does need its post office. In the process, the Terriers might just be able to help their town make a few changes that will help the rest of the town shed its reputation as the region's armpit.

I was pleasantly surprised with author Natalie Hyde's work in Saving Armpit. Sports fans should be pleased with the story of an underdog baseball team, and those readers who generally avoid sports stories will find enough else in the story to keep them interested. I especially enjoyed reading the responses that the kids got to their letters from sources ranging from summer camps to government officials to the Barry Manilow Fan Club, which were featured between chapters and often included plenty of funny comments. I also greatly appreciated the subtle message about community activism found in this book. Though the Terriers didn't initially set out to really improve their community, by the end of the story readers can see that all of the letters that they wrote really have made their community a better place.

It is worth noting that this book is set and was originally published in Canada. Readers will need to be aware of this setting as they encounter references to Parliament and see the Canadian flag on replies from government officials. The only non-transferable difference that truly prevents this story from taking place in the United States: Apparently Canadians can write letters to their representatives without paying for postage, part of a program designed to encourage communication between representatives and their constituents. Still, this detail shouldn't be a major deterrent for American readers and might actually spark some conversation about the similarities and differences between the two nations.

Overall Grade: A-