Dust Devil, by Anne Isaacs and Paul O. Zelinsky - a rip-roaring ride! (ages 5 - 10)

Do you love reading outlandish tall tales with your child, seeing how preposterous they can get? Dust Devil, by the award winning Anne Isaacs and Paul O. Zelinsky, will delight you again and again, and would make a perfect gift for any horse-loving, outdoor-loving, laughter-loving kid. Pair it with a model Breyer horse and a western saddle, and you have a great match.

Dust Devil
by Anne Isaacs
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
NY: Schwartz and Wade Books, 2010
ages 5 - 10
available on Amazon and at your local library

Angelica Longrider is hero who would give Paul Bunyan a run for his money. She's moved to Montana, a place wide open and perfect, after taming the marauding bear Thundering Tarnation in Isaac and Zelinsky's wonderful book Swamp Angel. Montana is flat as a pancake, with soil so rich that if you plant a seed before breakfast it will reach the sky by lunchtime. But Angel can't find a horse large enough for her to ride. When a dust storm covers Montana and rips the roof off of Angel's barn sucking up the oats, apples and hay, Angel leaps up into the storm and rides that bucking bronco until the dust washes away and reveals the perfect horse for Angel.

Isaac's language is a joy to read aloud, in your best Western accent. Here's Angel hollering at the dust storm:

"'Dust devil, it's time to quit horsing around!' she hollered, and without another word she sprang right onto the back of the whirlwind. The storm roared and bellowed, tossing buckets, goats and pitchforks in every direction, and tried to throw Angel off. Up into the sky she rode that bucking blast, latching on for all she was worth."

Angel is a hero perfect to inspire any young girl that she can wrestle any bad guy out there, and do any job she wants to. No sooner than she finds a worthy horse, Angel sets out to rid Montana of the worst vermin to ride the land: Backward Bart and his Flying Desperadoes. Although the sheriff tells her that only men can serve as deputies, Angel shows that she has the wits and the strength to put Bart and the Desperadoes in jail better than the sheriff's deputies.

Zelinsky's art matches Isaac's language perfectly, combining humor, outlandish size, and small details. Like Swamp Angel, Zelinsky painted Dust Devil directly onto wood veneer. Publisher's Weekly describes the long process Zelinsky went through to bring this to life. Take a look at the artwork and get a sense of the story in this book trailer from Random House:

Dust Devil has received praise from many quarters: The New York Times, Fuse #8, Kids Lit, and starred reviews from many journals.

As a child, I loved playing with model horses. Breyer horses are classic, and the Baxter Morgan horse matches Dust Devil perfectly. Add a Western roping saddle, and you have a great gift for any horse-loving child.

The review copy was kindly sent by the publishers, and then I purchased an additional copy for our home library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small percentage will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support!

Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan - great adventure & fun! (ages 9 - 12)

"Oh Mom, they have to make a movie of this book!" My two oldest children are engrossed in reading The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, and kids are starting to talk about how good it is. Today I sat down with a group to talk about their thoughts. The Lost Hero is the first in a new series, The Heroes of Olympus, but it also continues the setting and some of the characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. 

The Lost Hero:
The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1
by Rick Riordan
NY: Disney/Hyperion, 2010
ages 9-12
available on Amazon and at your local library

The Lost Hero is getting rave reviews from kids who have eaten up Riordan's earlier series about Percy Jackson, son of Neptune, the Greek god of the sea, and a mortal mother. Now I must admit that kids have snatched the copy out from my hands so fast that I haven't had a chance to read it yet - so this review is straight from the kids.

The Lost Hero "was very adventurous. I liked the way it still retained that Percy Jackson feel with lightly more moving around." Like the previous books, Riordan has plenty of action, suspense and magical items. Kids report that his writing is very descriptive, especially creating the picture of Camp Half Blood with the cabins for the different gods. The Canadian wilderness was also memorable to these readers, with its icy wilderness and rigorous challenges.

"I like the way that he added the Roman gods to this story. I used to think that they were the same as the Greek gods, but realize now that they had their own personalities." My test group overall found this aspect interesting and not confusing. The librarian is me is cheering!

I asked my group if the length was a problem (576 pages long!), and this small group of students said that it was very fast-paced. "I'm reading it really fast," said one student. "It's a real cliff hanger, so I want to keep reading more and more." Others said that they wished it were longer!

The only complaints came from readers who wanted more of the Percy Jackson characters in the story. One reader had an interesting suggestion to make more time have elapsed between the characters, so you felt more distance from the previous characters you had really enjoyed.

For more reviews, check out these blogs: Pink Me, and The Bookette.  Our review copy was kindly sent by the publisher. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

No Such Thing As Dragons, by Philip Reeve (ages 8 - 11)

Do you believe in dragons? No, I didn't think so. Well, the famous dragon hunter, Brock, doesn't either. But he convinces simple rural village folk that they need to hire him to rid their mountain villages of these frightening beasts. If your children like fantasy stories with adventure and danger, come take a look at Philip Reeve's newest tale. Children are going to love it.

No Such Thing As Dragons
written and illustrated by Philip Reeve
NY: Scholastic, 2010
ages 8 - 11
available on Amazon and at your local library

Philip Reeve is well known for his steampunk Mortal Engines series for teens and sci-fi Larklight series for tweens, but here he creates an adventure fantasy for younger readers. Ansel, a nine year old mute boy, is sent by his father to be a servant to Brock, a man who travels from village to village earning his living by slaying dragons. Of course, Brock doesn’t really believe that there are really any dragons. He carries a crocodile skull and plenty of armor for show. Brock tells many great stories, and the superstitious mountain villagers and local lords promise to reward Brock for slaying their dragon and alleviating their fears.
And yet when Brock and Ansel go up high on the mountain they meet a young girl, Else, who was left by the villagers as a sacrifice to the dragon. Somehow, Else has survived and she warns them that the dragon does truly exist. Should Ansel trust his instinct or his master? And how can Ansel get a grip on his mounting fear? Can he be brave and help Else? Will they be able to escape the harsh mountain and the threat of the dragon?
Reeve creates compelling dilemmas and characters, with no clear black and white sense of good or evil. Each character must figure out their loyalties along the way. It's fascinating the way Reeve prompts readers to think about the different perspectives. I loved getting the sense that Ansel started thinking about the events from the dragon's perspective, realizing that the dragon was just a wild animal searching for food in an environment encroached upon by mankind. The mountain settings, inspired by the Lake District in England, are superbly described, as Ansel, Brock and Else fight for their lives. For more background on how the story developed, see Philip Reeve's website.

Reeve also drew pen and ink line drawings for each chapter, a few of which he shared with us here. The illustrations helped me visualize the story, giving me enough details to start me thinking about a scene, and yet not so many that they gave me the whole picture. The scene then started coming alive in my mind as the writing filled in more and more details.

The review copy was kindly provided by the Association of Children's Librarians, and the illustrations were kindly shared by Philip Reeve. If you make a purchase from Amazon through this site, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

Teens reading - Mockingjay is spreading like fire

I'd like to share a guest post by a colleague Sharon Levin on teens reading. It's a wonderful insight into how reading spreads like a wild fire, how a book catches the imagination of a group of kids, and how exciting a new release is. She wrote it last week following the release of Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins. Here's Sharon:

"Who says kids aren’t reading? I find myself constantly defending kids and their reading habits to adults who seem to feel that kids aren’t reading at all, distracted by texting, computer games, and really bad movies (really, Jackass 3D?!?!?!?).

Thirty five years after I was in junior high (go ahead, I’ll wait while you do the math) I am FINALLY cool to teens BECAUSE I read their books (believe me when I was an actual junior high student I was anything BUT cool). I find I can talk to almost any kid because I just ask them what they’re reading and then the conversation goes from there. I do not cut down their tastes (even if they’re reading Twilight, we are all allowed our ‘trash’ reading) and I love to hear how they view various characters and plot.

We know the stereotype of 8th graders: too cool for words, into fashion, video games, boys or girls and perhaps sports. Excited about a book? Nope, that’s not what we think of. Well, let me tell you about my morning.

Today, I paid a surprise visit to my daughter’s 8th grade Language Arts class (YES, I asked her permission first, so it wasn’t a surprise to her, just the teacher and her classmates). I had gone to Kepler’s (our local, independent bookstore) to pick up Mockingjay, the final book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy that was just released today (August 24).

I knocked on the classroom door and when I walked in, I didn’t say a word, I just held up the book and grinned. There was a moment of silence and the room just exploded. The kids who knew the book (about 85% of them) were going “Woo Hoo! No way!! I want it!!” as I handed the book to their teacher (it was a gift for her) who hugged it and said, “Mine, all mine.” (yes, she’ll share, but she’ll definitely be reading it tonight) The kids who didn’t know it were saying, “What? What’s happening?” Guaranteed, all those kids will be getting Book 1 today, in order to be in the loop. This is the closest I will ever get to being treated like a rock star (if you ever heard me sing, you'd realize why, even my rabbi wouldn't let me lead a round at my daughter's Bat Mitzvah and I don't blame him a bit). :-)

Of course, I also handed a copy to my daughter, so she can start reading it during SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) today (why else do you think she gave me permission to come into her class on the second day of school?).

I left with a huge grin on my face and realized that I had not said a single word while I was in the room. I didn’t have to, the book said it all."

Sharon is an incredible resource for parents, teachers and authors. She runs a children's literature email list which updates San Francisco Bay Area folks on upcoming events and releases. If you are interested in joining her list, email her at: sharonlevin(at)mindspring(dot)com.

I haven't had a chance to finish Mockingjay yet, but my favorite teen reviewer said that the ending just grabs you and won't let you go. It's a great choice for teens who like fantasy/sci-fi and adventure, but who also want to get into the emotions characters are experiencing.

Thank you very much, Sharon, for sharing your enthusiasm and insight.

Please note, if you make a purchase on Amazon using the links on this page, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support!

Book 1:


Book 2:


Book 3:

What we're reading on vacation

We have been having a great family vacation, visiting family and friends in England and sight-seeing in Paris. I keep thinking of different posts, but have found little time to write. I thought, instead, I'd try to do a quick wrap-up of different things we've all been reading.

Audiobooks: I love having the kids listen to audiobooks while we're on vacation. They each have a different audiobook loaded onto an MP3 player (like an iPod), and listen to them at night (great help with jetlag in the middle of the night!) or just when they need some down time. I get our audiobooks through Audible.com or through the local library.

Ramona and Her Father, by Beverly Cleary: We have loved listening to several other Ramona books all together. So now, my 6 year old is listening to Ramona and Her Father, the 4th book in this series and a Newbery honor book. The Ramona books make wonderful family listening - we all laugh at Ramona, seeing her stubbornness, but we find ourselves relating to her predicaments and rooting for her. Available from audible.com or your local library.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire, by Derek Landy: I loved, loved the first Skulduggery Pleasant book as an audiobook (see my full review here), as did my 8 year old. She loves the blend of fantasy, action and humor. The protagonists are fantastic: a 12 year old girl full of courage and curiosity, and a 100 year old skeleton detective who's witty, sarcastic and, well, long-lasting. I recommend it to kids who've loved The Lightning Thief and want that blend of action, adventure and fantasy. This is the second in the series. I have not listened to this book, but she's now listening to it for the second time and begging for the third in the series. Rupert Degas is a deliciously wonderful narrator. Available from audible.com or your local library.

Bloody Jack #4: In the Belly of the Bloodhound, by L.A. Meyer: The Bloody Jack series is a ripping yarn full of adventure for Mary "Jacky" Faber, a young British girl who escapes poverty and convention in her 18th century life to live on the high seas. In this installment, Jacky and her classmates at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls are kidnapped and forced onto a slaver ship. My 11 year old loves the combination of historical fiction, action, adventure and breaking stereotypes. Winner of the 2010 Odyssey honor award from the ALA for outstanding audiobook. Click here to listen to a clip from the publisher, Listen and Live. Available from Amazon, audible.com and your local library.

Novels and chapter books: We've also brought along several books to read on vacation. Here are the ones that stand out.

House of Dolls, by Francesca Lia Block: My kindergartner was fascinated by the world of the dolls in this book. Wildflower, who once belonged to the little girl's grandmother; plain and meek Rockstar, so named because the little girl had wanted a more glamorous doll; and Miss Selene, a greenish-skinned fairy. The little girl, Madison Blackberry, is a lonely child with little contact with her parents or friends. This book was a bit of a stretch for my 6 year old, and yet it touched both of us in a heart-felt, deep way. As Madison starts mistreating her dolls, Madison's grandmother realizes that no one has given Madison real attention. Her grandmother makes Madison a dress, just the way she used to make the dolls dresses. My 6 year old could really connect to that, as we talked about a blanket I made just for her. It was a very touching moment, one that will stay with both of us. This is a book to read aloud with your child, perhaps 2nd and 3rd graders, and talk about. Review copy was sent by the publisher, HarperCollins. Available on Amazon or at your local library.

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan: My husband is reading this aloud to my 8 year old, and I've been listening to the audiobook. It was really exciting to visit the British Museum and the Louvre and watch my daughter get so excited about the Egyptian sections. Right away, she recognized Horus, Isis, Thoth, and Baset. Riordan has an amazing ability to bring mythology alive. I must say that I've found the audiobook a bit hard going. There are so many different characters, and the narrators play up the different accents with almost too much gusto for my taste. But the story is full of action and suspense. Available on Amazon, at audible.com or at your local library.

Word After Word After Word, by Patricia MacLachlan: I've just started this book, on the recommendation of a fellow librarian at ACL, and it's is truly wonderful. On one hand, it's the story of an author coming to visit a 4th grade class to teach the children about writing, but on the other hand it's a story about friendship and surviving and growing up. It's full of beautiful writing, touching moments and words that whisper in your ear. None of it feels forced. I can't wait to read more. It reminds me of Love That Dog, one of my students' all-time favorite books. Review copy sent by the publisher, HarperCollins. Available on Amazon, at audible.com or at your local library.

I hope your summer is going well. Have you read any good books with your family lately?

Please know that any purchases you make on Amazon using the links on this page, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support.

Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz - a magical adventure with a feisty fairy (ages 6 - 10)

One mark of a great book is that it changes the way I look at the world. As I walked through my garden this weekend, I found myself looking at the plants and listening to the birds in a whole new way - wondering about the tiny creatures that live there, whose live I know nothing about. I found myself wondering about what tiny creatures live all around us, wondering if there are fairies or if the animals have friendships. Another mark of a great book is that I find myself thinking about it as I go through my day, returning to the magical world or relating that world to my own.


The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz, is a truly wonderful, magical book. I just finished reading it aloud with my 6 year old and we both loved it. It stirs your imagination, celebrates a character with feisty independence, and makes you look at the natural world around you in a whole new way.

The Night Fairy
by Laura Amy Schlitz
illustrated by Angela Barrett
MA: Candlewick Press, 2010
ages 6 - 11
available from Amazon or your local public library
audiobook available through Audible.com

Flory is a brand-new night fairy, just born and getting used to her beautiful wings. Fairies, you see, aren't raised by mothers, but must make their own way in the world. Suddenly, a bat clamps down on Flory, eating her wings before spitting her out and letting her fall to a tree below. Flory, now wingless and in shock, hides in the white blossoms of the cherry tree until she finds an abandoned bird house to make her home.

Unable to fly, Flory is forced to make her way in this new environment, becoming a day fairy and making friends with the animals in the garden. Flory is feisty, temperamental and manipulative in the beginning of the story - not what you'd call a good friend at all. Through hard challenges of surviving in a realistic world where predators must find prey to eat, Flory discovers that compassion and generosity help you gain friends, trust and happiness.

Written in short chapters illustrated with beautiful full-page watercolors, The Night Fairy works wonderfully either as a read aloud for 5 - 7 year olds, or as an independent reading book for older children. It has exciting and somewhat scary parts that will appeal to readers who want suspense and action (a frightening spider and praying mantis) - I had to keep showing my daughter the picture at the end to reassure her that Flory would have a happy ending.

My daughters have long built fairy houses in the garden - imagining little creatures that live under the leaves and come out at night when everyone is away. There is something about the tiny scale that fascinates them - I think it's being able to imagine being smaller than everything else around, hiding and watching the world without anyone seeing you, but still having power and magic. The Night Fairy celebrates that sense of imagination, that sense that things beyond our sensing are real. This is a book that helps them imagine those possibilities, helps bring them to life. Throughout the whole book, my daughter was measuring how big Flory was - at first the size of an acorn. She would measure Flory in the pictures, or try to imagine her crouched on a squirrel's ear. The tiny scale of the book and of Flory was part of its draw.

You can read an excerpt at thenightfairy.com and see some of the beautiful illustrations. You can also read a letter from Laura Amy Schlitz where she describes her inspiration for writing this book.

It is available as an audiobook on Audible.com - the excerpt sounds wonderful, and I think the book would translate well to an audiobook. But I have not listened to the whole audiobook.

There are many other reviews. Some of my favorites are:

A Year of Reading: "I wish I could send this book back to my 9 year-old self. I would have loved everything about it -- its small size, its thick pages, the shimmery end papers, the illustrations, the dedication to ME!!!"

The Book Aunt: "The Night Fairy is the best of everything a book should be—an adventure, a fresh take on fairies, vivid storytelling, and a tale in which the main character's experience of becoming will sweep readers along with her. To top it off, this book is physically beautiful, with a design and interior illustrations so perfectly suited to the story that it's hard to believe the illustrator isn't the author."

The HappyNappyBookseller: "There is a simple beauty to this story. Each day brings something new for Flory. It was a pleasure to watch Flory navigate her new world and learn how to interact with others."

Fuse #8: "I don’t know where this notion that fairies are insipid came from. ... In light of this, Flory may have to become a spokeswoman for anti-fairy defamers. ... Typically fairies are considered girly territory, but there’s nothing about Flory that a boy wouldn’t also enjoy. She’s feisty, a fighter, and she knows what she wants"

Kids Lit by Tasha at the Menasha Public Library: "Schlitz’s writing is laced with magic. This deceptively slim volume holds so much story that it could have been much longer. Instead, Schlitz has written a tightly woven story gilded with wonderful language. The language invites readers deeply into the story, lets them know that something special has been written here, and then sails them off on adventure."

The review copy was purchased for our home library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you).

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett (ages 8 - 10)

Did you grow up on the Hardy Boys? Do you love sharing mysteries and adventures with your kids? Look no further, but go right out and snag a copy of The Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity. Mac Barnett's new series is full of chases, excitement and mysteries that only Steve Brixton, the intrepid kid-detective, can solve. This was great as an audiobook, and will hook families with its wit and adventure.

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity
by Mac Barnett
with illustrations by Adam Rex
NY: Simon & Schuster, 2009
audiobook by Listening Library, 2010
ages 8 - 10
available on Amazon and your local library

Twelve-year-old Steve Brixton loves mysteries, but his favorite book of all time is The Bailey Brothers' Detective Handbook. You see, Steve would like to be a detective when he grows up, and the Bailey Brothers are his ultimate role model. One Friday, Steve's teacher assigns a research report (due Monday! how unfair!) and gives Steve the unthinkable topic: early American needlework. Depressed at his bad luck, Steve goes to his local library to check out a book for his project. But just as he's checking out his library's only book on historical quilts and ninjas descend upon him from the skylights. Steve is terrified and perplexed.

As the ninjas are combing the library for him, Steve does what any good detective would do: escapes. But he lands right in the hands of the Librarian Secret Agents. Suddenly everyone (including his mom's cop boyfriend) is treating Steve like a criminal. If he can't find out who's behind the missing quilt, he'll be tried for treason! Throughout the novel, when Steve gets into a jam, he'd think what would Brixton Brothers do?

The audio production fits the dry wit of Barnett's writing perfectly. Arte Johnson's voice helps create the 1950s throw-back vibe, reminding me of voice-overs from kid detective TV programs or documentaries. This would make good family listening, pulling in kids in 2nd through 4th grade. Listen to an excerpt here:

Barnett's writing is witty, funny and engaging. There is some great action as well, which will go over well with kids who want to get a vision in their heads of what's happening. I especially loved the chase scene in the library, depicted on the cover.

For other great reviews, see:
TheHappyNappyBookseller: "I loved this book. ...The cover tells a reader everything they need to know about this book. There's action and danger - the men dropping into the library. There's a mystery to be solved - the magnifying glass and the fingerprint."
The Book Aunt: "Barnett manages to make this story, not only smart, but funny, and without trying too hard. The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity is tongue-in-cheek all the way. I should note that Barnett doesn't simply satirize the Hardy Boys by setting Steve Brixton up against grim reality; he stylizes the characters around Steve, having them act a little like the players in a Hardy Boys mystery—just enough to be funny."
Pink Me: "Joined now by this first book in what I hope will be a long long long (think Hardy Boys, Barnett - hope you're not doing anything for the next ten or twelve years) series of detective novels starring preteen everyman Steve Brixton and his honorary brother and actual best friend, Dana. WITTY. This book. Wit to the Tee."

The audiobook review copy was kindly sent by the publisher. If you make a purchase on Amazon through the links on this site, a small percentage will go to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

Woods Runner, by Gary Paulsen (ages 11 to 14) - a gripping story set in the American Revolutionary War

Historical fiction brings me into a time period I can only imagine, and makes me feel what it would be like to live in a completely different place and time. Gary Paulsen, best known for Hatchet (one of my all-time favorite books), does just this in his new novel Woods Runner, bringing readers into the American Revolutionary War as a young frontier boy. It is a gripping story which I loved listening to as an audiobook.

Woods Runner
by Gary Paulsen
read by Danny Campbell
NY: Listening Library, 2010
ages 11 - 14
available on Amazon, Audible, or at your local public library

You can listen to a clip of the audiobook (this is the beginning of the story):

Thirteen year old Samuel lives in Western Pennsylvania, in a small settlement far away from any large city. He spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. In order to survive, Samuel has learned how to track game, sense changes and follow trails in the woods. Samuel’s parents moved to the frontier to escape the pressures and complications of life in the city.

Soon after Samuel hears news of the Revolutionary War, the brutal realities of the conflict are brought right to his home. British soldiers and Iroquois attack his settlement, burning all the homes, slaughtering most of the inhabitants and taking Samuel's parents away as prisoners. Samuel follows the British, tracking them silently through the forest, determined to find a way to rescue his parents. Along the way, Samuel sees more devestation caused by the war, particularly brutalities caused by the Hessian mercenaries. But he also finds allies: men and women who help him, feed him, protect him. Samuel learns that he must go all the way to New York City, to find his parents.

Paulsen’s writing carries emotional weight, as you connect with Samuel and feel his isolation, his pain, his anger. But Paulsen intersperses each chapter with a short nonfiction section explaining such things as weapons, war orphans, Hessians and other issues related to the story line. These nonfiction sections are short, usually one or two paragraphs, and without illustrations. While some readers might skip them, I found them interesting on audio, a short break from the intense story, and always related to the story. I was hoping Paulsen would provide sources for further reading, but am hooked enough on the story to want to seek out more information on my own.

This was a great story to listen to as an audiobook. Danny Campbell creates a deep, rough voice that feels like he's telling Samuel’s story sitting around a campfire. As Audiofile says, “Campbell skillfully employs pace and projection to build suspense and convey Paulsen's page-turning action. Campbell uses a deeper, flatter tone to differentiate brief paragraphs of background information appended to each chapter.” Because of the violence and emotional impact of this story, I would not recommend it for younger readers. It is appropriate perhaps for 5th graders, or more likely for 6th grade and above.

Other great reviews:
BookPage
Audiofile
A wonderful article about Gary Paulsen by Jim Trelease is here.

Gary Paulsen will be visiting bookstores through the US in April to talk about Woods Runner. See his schedule here.

This audiobook was kindly sent by the publisher. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small percentage will go to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support.

Audiobooks for family trips (children ages 7 - 10)

Audiobooks are a wonderful way to bring children in 2nd and 3rd grade into longer, more developed stories.  Children in these grades love more complicated stories, but they are still working on their reading skills.  They often do not have the patience or ability to read these longer stories.  Try listening to one together on a long car ride, and you'll see how much you all enjoy it!

Here are three audiobooks we've really enjoyed this year with my family.  Below I will include others that readers have recommended.  Do you have others that you've enjoyed listening to with your children?  Let me know - other parents would love the recommendations!  Send me an email (greatkidbooks at gmail.com) or leave a comment below, and I'll pass the word on to other parents.

Dominic
by William Steig
narrated by Peter Thomas
Listening Library, re-released 2009
length: 2 hours, 42 minutes
ages: 7 - 10

Dominic is a dog in search of his fortune.  He leaves his home, taking only his hat and his piccolo, and along the way he meets many animals, developing new friends as he goes.  My children have been captivated by Dominic's story, as he bumbles his way along, searching for - well, he doesn't quite know what.  Dominic learns about the world and himself as he makes new friends and outwits the notorious Doomsday gang.  This is a wonderful story, with charm, heart and a bit of magic.  One of the interesting things I found myself wondering is what made Dominic so determined to defeat the Doomsday gang.  Was he getting revenge for the way they had tricked him, or was he trying to make his world a safer place for his friends?

The length of this story makes is a good choice for a broad age range.  While 3rd graders and older will get the most out of this rich story, young children enjoy it as well.  Dominic was re-released this year by Random House / Listening Library.  You can find it on Audible and download it to your computer, iPod or MP3 player.  You can buy the CDs on Amazon, or find them at your local public library.

The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1
by Rick Riordan
narrated by Jesse Bernstein
NY: Listening Library, 2005.
length: 10 hours, 1 minute
ages: 7 - 10

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson knows he's different, but he never imagined that his life would turn into a hero's journey with fast-paced adventure and life-or-death battles with monsters.  Percy is an average kid living in modern-day New York City; he has trouble concentrating and paying attention in school.  But when his algebra teacher becomes a deadly monster and his scrawny best friend turns out to be a satyr, he learns he's a hero -- the half-blood son of an Olympian god.  These books fly off the shelves in our library.  They become a rage, typically with 4th grade boys - but many girls I've know (including my own daughter) love them.  The stories are filled with twists and turns, weaving in a multitude of characters from Greek mythology.

Listen to these stories before the movie comes out in February.  The audiobooks are gripping, as you hear about Percy's quest to find who stole Zeus' lightning bolt.  As AudioFile magazine writes, "Narrator Jesse Bernstein artfully creates a variety of characters, including nervous goat-boy Grover and bossy wise-girl Annabeth (Athena's daughter), but his masterpiece is the boyish and sarcastic Percy himself... Adults and children alike will be spellbound as they listen to this deeply imaginative tale unfold."

This book appeals to a wide age range.  It's a great choice for 4th and 5th graders, as they may get hoooked and want to read other books in the series.  I've also known many 2nd and 3rd graders to ask their parents to read the whole series aloud to them!  Here is a clip to listen to a bit of the story:

The Lightning Thief is the first of five volumes in the Percy Jackson series.  You can download the audiobook to your computer, iPod or MP3 player from Audible, or buy the CDs through Amazon.  They are also available at your local public library and many local bookstores.

My family has enjoyed many Roald Dahl books, so I was particularly pleased when my children asked to listen to Dahl's autobiography Boy.

Boy: Tales of Childhood
by Roald Dahl
narrated by Derek Jacobi
NY: HarperAudio, 2005
length: 4 hours
ages: 7 - 10

Boy is the first of Roald Dahl's autobiographies.  Listening to Dahl's boyhood antics will give you a glimpse into where he got some of the plot ideas and inspirations for his most popular books.  It is told in episodes, starting with how Dahl's Norwegian father came to Wales, and proceeding through his childhood and school memories.  At times, you will laugh out loud at Dahl's pranks, other times you may cringe.  I found it interesting how he portrays some of the adults in his life, especially since so many of the adults in his stories are rotten.  The audiobook has captivated our family.  As AudioFile writes,

Derek Jacobi narrates this humorous and delightful account of Roald Dahl's childhood in a friendly, amusing tone. The listener feels as if he is at his grandfather's knee listening to tales long ago. Jacobi's enchanting voice makes one feel that Dahl himself is speaking.

Unfortunately, this is getting a little hard to find.  You can download it at Audible to your computer, iPod or MP3 player.  From there you can easily burn CDs.  We found our copy at our local public library.

An interesting question: I noticed that the narrator, Derek Jacobi, also narrates many of the Chronicles of Narnia.  Has anyone tried this series on audiobook with their children?  Michael York has also read   I think we may try this in January.

Other suggestions from readers for great audiobooks for children ages 7 - 10 include:
- novels by Kate DiCamillo, including Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane
- Harry Potter series, read by Jim Dale
- Tales from the Odyssey, written by Mary Pope Osborne
- Beverly Cleary's Ramona series, read by Stockard Channing


Please send other suggestions, and I will add them to the list!

If you purchase a book through Audible or Amazon, a small commission goes toward Great Kid Books.  Thank you for your support.

http://www.amazon.com/Because-Winn-Dixie-Kate-DiCamillo/dp/1400091497/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261544250&sr=1-1

Gone, by Michael Grant - a fantastic sci-fi adventure for teens

Imagine all the adults in your life suddenly disappear. Isn't that every teen's fantasy? Leave me alone - I know how to take care of it all by myself! That's where this amazing book Gone starts, and oh what a ride it is. I highly recommend it to any teen who loves science fiction or realistic fiction - my only caveat is that it's a long book, so you have to be ready to dive in.

Gone
by Michael Grant
NY: HarperCollins, 2008.
ages 12 and up
568 pages (!)

Gone sucked me in from the very beginning. I was caught - completely immersed in this imaginary world where the kids are in charge. Here, read the first page:

One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone.

There.

Gone.

No "poof." No flash of light. No explosion.

Sam Temple was sitting in third-period history class staring blankly at the blackboard, but far away in his head. In his head he was down at the beach, he and Quinn. Down at the beach with their boards, yelling, bracing for that first plunge into cold Pacific water.

For a moment he thought he had imagined it, the teacher disappearing. For a moment he thought he'd slipped into a daydream.

Sam turned to Mary Terrafino, who sat just to his left. "You saw that, right?"

Mary was staring hard at the place where the teacher had been.

Sam starts exploring first his school and then the town. The grownups have all completely disappeared. The kids who are 13 and 14 are the oldest kids around, and so have to start figuring things out. What do they do with kids who are hurt? What about the daycare center full of babies and toddlers without any teachers? What about the kids who are raiding the grocery stores? The excitement quickly turns to fear as a fire starts in a building near the daycare center.

The kids soon realize that they are completely by themselves without computers or cell phones, and without any sign of rescue. They are trapped inside a force field barrier that surrounds the town, and whatever caused this is also causing mutations in birds and animals - along with some strange powers in some of the children. Soon, a band of kids from an exclusive prep. school outside of the town come down - they want to be the leaders. One of the reviews for Gone describes the book as Lord of the Flies written by Stephen King. This video trailer gives you a sense of the drama and excitement.


I couldn't put this book down. Even though it's a long book (over 500 pages), I read it in a week - literally at every chance I got! I really liked the suspense - it turns out that Sam's 15th birthday (when everyone disappears) is in just a few days. The relationships between the kids appealed to me; I liked the way the friendship and then romance developed between Sam and Astrid. I found the characters well developed and interesting. I think this book would be a hit with girls and boys, grades 7 and up.

The sequel, Hunger, has just come out and I'm looking forward to reading it soon!

See some other reviews on the web:
That Teen Can Blog: "a breathtaking saga about teens battling each other and their darkest selves, gone is a page-turning thriller that will make you look at the world in a whole new way."
The Tainted Poet: "This book describes how people change when cornered with a crisis; how their true forms emerge and how they bloom to meet the task at hand."
Jen Robinson: "I will be astonished if this book isn't made into a movie at some point." Hen just reviewed Hunger - you can see her post here.

This copy of Gone was recommended to me and purchased at Kepler's Books, a wonderful independent bookstore in Menlo Park, CA. You can find Gone at your local public library, at an independent bookstore near you, or on Amazon.

Sisters of the Sword - exciting series set in ancient Japan

Sisters of the Sword is the start of a new series set in ancient Japan during the time of the Samurai. I love historical fiction - for me, it brings to life what it might have felt like to live in another time. But many kids want action, conflict and intrigue to pull them into a story. Well, this has it all - a great sense of time and place, along with action, fighting and drama.

Sisters of the Sword
by Maya Snow
NY: HarperCollins, 2008.
ages 9 - 13

Kimi and her younger sister Hana are daughters of the Jito, the feudal lord of their province in ancient Japan. While their father teaches them basic skills they might need to protect themselves, their future is clear - they are young ladies, and girls do not become samurai. But then they watch their power-hungry uncle stab their father and order his samurai to kill the rest of their family. The two sisters run and hide in the forest surrounding their family's estate.

Kimi and Hana find refuge in the dojo, or samurai training school, run by the wise and respectable Master Goku. In order to escape notice from their uncle's samurai, Kimi and Hana disguise themselves as boys and as servants looking for work in the dojo. Meanwhile, they learn the skills of the samurai - sword handling, meditation and clearing your mind during battle. The majority of the book is their life in the dojo, hiding their identity and trying to figure out how to reunite with their mother and seek revenge on their uncle.

I think girls and boys will like this book mainly for the action and intrigue in the plot. It's a compelling story, finding out how Kimi and Hana survive, fight their enemies and trick their uncle. The fighting scenes are exciting, and yes, a little bloody and gruesome. Here's a scene where Kimi and Hana are fighting one of their uncle's samurai for their lives:

I flung my sword up toward his head. The sharp edge near the hand guard sliced easily through the leather flap at the side of his helmet. Crimson blood spurted from the side of his face and for a moment he was blinded, shrieking in agony. His grip on my throat loosened and I twisted away.

He staggered toward me, blinking the blood from his eyes. I half turned, moving fast, and jerked my elbow up under his chin. His head snapped back and my sudden small victory gave me courage. Power surged through my limbs as I leaped forward into the air, my foot swinging up to deliver a hard kick --

But the samurai stepped behind me and grabbed my shoulder. He pulled hard and all at once I was falling!

I liked the sense you got of the samurai's code of honor. I was a bit conflicted by the sisters' search for revenge on their uncle, but I think that was a part of the culture. While the Japanese words might be hard for some children to read, the story is straightforward. I would imagine it's a good read for 4th through 7th grades.

This book was written by Maya Snow, but I am pretty sure that is a pen name. This book is copyrighted by Working Partners Limited, the same group that has written the Warriors series and the Rainbow Fairies series - so they clearly know how to put together compelling series that kids want to read. There are already three volumes of Sisters of the Sword series published:
1. Sisters of the Sword
2. Sisters of the Sword 2: Chasing the Secret
3. Sisters of the Sword 3: Journey Through Fire

You can preview this book at the HarperCollins website. Find this series at your local public library, an independent bookstore or Amazon.

For other reviews, see:
Reading Tub
BookScoops
Semicolon
PixiePalace

This review copy was purchased for our school library. This review is written and copyrighted by Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books.