Children's Atheneum

Chloe & the Lion Book Review

Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex

Mac and Adam are writing a book together, about Chloe and a Lion. But when Adam decides to draw a dragon, things go from bad to worse. Soon Adam has been eaten by said Lion, a new illustrator has been hired, Chloe is being drawn terribly, and Mac doesn't know what to do. With Chloe's help, Mac seeks out a way to save his story and his illustrator.

Reminiscent of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Chloe and the Lion is a fun collaboration between a very funny author and a hysterical illustrator. Using different forms of art, claymation and puppet wallplay, Mac and Adam create a story that will entertain both children and the adults reading to them. I absolutely loved this book and once again am singing the praises of Adam Rex.

Oddfellow's Orphanage Book Review

Oddfellow's Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin

After the death of her parents, Delia, an albino mute child, is brought to live at Oddfellow's orphanage, a place that is as strange as it sounds. The children range from a tattooed girl, to an onion-headed boy, to a child-like hedgehog. Their little adventures range around a sea-monster hunt, hair-cutting day, and a circus.

This was a book that will probably make my end of the year list as "Weird just for the sake of being weird." It was obvious to me that the illustrations were made first and the story was created to accommodate the illustrations. There is little in the way of story line and the what is there never made me feel closer to any of the characters. It would seem that since the story began with the mute Delia, she would be the character the reader should relate to, but often the story and the narrative escape from Delia, which matters little as we know so little about her.

Where the story falters though, the illustrations fully charm, reminiscent of artwork I have seen in children's picture books from the twenties and thirties. Although I did think the adults did look like children with beards, I wouldn't mind at all having various paraphernalia like a bag or perhaps children's clothing that had these illustrations on them.

In other words, I didn't think the book was the best, but it is well worth a look simply for the illustrations.

Life As We Knew It Book Review

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Miranda has a regular life, sophomore in high school, two best friends who are drifting away, a mom who doesn't understand her, and a mountain of homework including three separate papers about the moon. This due in large part to the fact that a meteor is set to crash into the moon, no big deal the scientists say, but Miranda thinks so because look at all these papers she has to write. But when the meteor crashes and knocks the moons orbit off, everything goes terribly wrong. Tsunamis wipe out almost every single coastal city. Terribly storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes. Never mind that there isn't a lot of food, the sun has disappeared behind the ash, and things are getting cold. Now all Miranda wonders is, what will kill them first, the cold, starvation, or disease?

This is the ultimate in apocalypse novels and Pfeffer has thought everything out. Everything. If you aren't one to think about these doomsday like events, I promise you will when the book is finished, and not in a creepy way, but in a way, would-I-survive-if-that-happened-to-me way.

Told in a journal like format from Miranda's perspective, the reader only knows as much as Miranda. What she chooses to ignore, like the nightly news broadcasts, the reader is forced to ignore as well, and for this book it works. This gives a wonderful glimpse into what it really means to grow up. At first Miranda avoids the pantry only looking in when it is full, never taking inventory, but as the story progresses we see her as she begins to face the reality that they may not all make it through this. She begins to skip meals, knowing that being hungry for a few hours could mean life or death months down the road.

This is a story of survival and tough choices, of loss on a massive scale and a world that gets smaller with each passing day. It is a fight against the odds and I read it with a deep hunger for more. And wouldn't you know...it's a trilogy.

Illustrator of the Week - Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Author and Illustrator, Laura Vaccaro Seeger sees the world a little differently than most, through the use of color and wordplay, she helps young readers explore that world with her. Her books include a Caldecott Honor Book First the Egg, The Hidden Alphabet, What If?, the ALA notable book Lemons are not Red, and her newest book Green, among others. She hols a BFA from New York State University and has worked as an animator, artist, designer, and editor.

http://www.studiolvs.com/website_root/StudioLVS_Home/Home.html

Illustrator of the Week - Erin E. Stead

Caldecott Medal winner Erin E. Stead has illustrated numerous children's books including A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Bear Has A Story to Tell, and her newest book And Then It's Spring. Using woodblock printing techniques and pencil, Erin's art has garnered much attention, having been named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2010 and a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2010.

http://erinstead.com/

Chomp Book Review

Chomp by Carl Hiassen

Wahoo's family owns a wildlife refuge, full of all manner of beasties from pythons, to parrots, to a 13-foot alligator named Alice, the very animal responsible for Wahoo's missing thumb. After Wahoo's father, Mickey is struck on the head by a frozen Iguana, the family falls on hard times and in their desperation they agree to be animal handlers for Expedition, Survival!, a not-so-reality based show in which Derek Badger goes into the wild (or into Wahoo's backyard), fighting off all manner of dangerous creatures, or in this case, the rather docile Alice. Things turn bad though when Wahoo and his dad agree to go to the Everglades along with the TV crew and a girl named Tuna, whose abusive father is not far behind.

Having only read Hoot, which was rather light despite the environmental message, I think I was expecting something along those lines. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this novel, so much more than Hoot and yet still light enough for young readers. Wahoo, despite his wacky name, is a kid who has been forced to grow up quickly, taking on the role of manager while his mother is off in China and his father is still suffering from his iguana attack. Smart, witty, and quick thinking, Wahoo is the perfect foil for his speak-before-he-thinks father. Mickey, is a great complex adult character, the kind I rarely see in children's novels, albeit usually the adults are simply missing in middle grade books. Derek Badger is plenty the imbecile and once he gets to the real wild, the Everglades, his idiocy is ramped up to the point of bizarre...and it is wonderful. Tuna was the only character who I felt was a little unlikely, but Hiassen weaves her and her abusive father into the plot so deftly that I barely gave notice while reading.

After some research, I think this may be one of Hiassen's darker novels for young readers, but it was handled well and even though there were serious issues involving abuse and guns and such, Hiassen is careful to keep his intended audience in mind. That said, teachers and librarians should keep in mind that this novel has a bit more bite. Or Chomp.

Scarlet Review

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Will Scarlet, aka Scarlet, is a thief. And a female, although this is mostly unknown outside of Robin Hood's band of merry "men". Hiding a dark past, Scarlet steals and fights for Rob, frustrated by her own tumultuous feelings regarding men, especially Rob and Little John. When Guy of Gisbourne, a notorious thief catcher, is hired by the Sheriff of Nottingham, Scarlet's secret is threatened. A secret that could very well get her killed, or worse, married.

The Robin Hood ballad has always been a favorite of mine, Howard Pyle's compilation of stories The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood is one my favorite books. I own and watch frequently the 1936 Errol Flynn movie by the same title as well as the anthropomorphic Disney classic. Amazing authors like Rosemary Sutcliff, Geoffrey Trease, Robin McKinley, and Theresa Tomlinson have all flirted with the notorious outlaw. Cynthia Voight wrote an interesting tale called Jackaroo that was reminiscent of Robin Hood, with a female as the main character. Robin Hood has been made into movies, TV shows, songs, comic books, and even a Lego set, which, of course, I owned)

I say all this to express my absolute love for this classic tale and how I am generally happy with the different retelling that has been created over the years. However, I am afraid that Scarlet was not my favorite addition to this 'genre'. (if I can call it that)

Scarlet's constant prattling about men and boys and her flirtations, that she swears are not, with Little John and Robin were the bulk of the story. Even her deep dark secret, which I promise not to reveal, revolved around this theme. I liked that Scarlet was a girl, it was a fun twist on a classic story, but there was far too much inner monologue and the story, which has always been one of adventure and action, became nothing but a angsty love triangle. The reader is never really allowed to get to know neither Robin nor Little John outside of Scarlet's twisted versions of them, which makes her a rather frustrating and unreliable narrator, even for her own life and feelings. The author relys on the reader's foreknowledge of the two main male characters as character development. We all know who Robin ends up with and it definitely is not Will Scarlet, so where is this story going? When the secret is revealed, I wanted to bang my head against the table because I saw it coming and I was just hoping that the author wasn't going there.

Scarlet is not badly written and I imagine that the girls who prefer romance, would enjoy it. Although I found the book cloying, it wasn't all bad and I did feel the need to finish it. Scarlet is a rather adventurous story with plenty of action and knife throwing. The love triangle is definitely original, but it could have been so much better, which is important when retelling something that has been told again and again for centuries.

Insert Romantic Cliche Here

As a teen I was what you would call a late bloomer. I wasn't very interested in boys nor was I interested in the girls who were obsessed over them. I preferred watching movies and reading books and going out places with my friends. We once invented a game called pan ball in which you went to Wal-mart, got a pan from the pan aisle and a ball from the ball aisle and then proceeded to play a version of tennis in which the only rules were don't break anything. Ahh, to be young. Even when I did begin dating, I think it was more for the...this is what you do not necessarily because I was boy crazy.

Now that I am an adult, I have to say, the plight of the teenage dating process doesn't interest me in the slightest. Neither does the breakup process concern me. This may be because I know that for very few of these teens, the relationships they have at fifteen are lasting. Sure it leaves a psychological impact, but it is just not something I care about.

This does not mean that I think these books are badly written in the least. Clearly they fulfill an emotional need and many teenagers can relate to them. All I am saying is that there are some books that I am more likely to avoid. If the occasional romance shows up then so be it, but an entire book about love and dating or breaking up is not something I would pick up on my own. In other words, Romance is not my genre.

Which is why books like the following often have characters and storylines that I just can't seem to care about and they will rarely be blogged about:

Just thought I would clear that up for some of my readers who wonder why I don't review more of these types of books.

When Things Come Back Book Review

When Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Cullen Whitter hates his boring ass-hat town, full of boring ass-hat people and dreams of the day when he can escape. Until then he suffers through saved only by his best-friend Lucas and his very cool little brother Gabriel. Then an ego-centric birdwatcher announces that he has discovered the extinct Lazarus Woodpecker. This discovery puts Cullen's small town on the map, but while everyone else is going Lazarus crazy, the Whitter family is desperately searching for Gabriel who has mysteriously gone missing. Interweaved within the novel is a second plot in which a young missionary goes to Africa and loses his faith and this seeming innocuous event leads a chain of events that will change Cullen's life forever.

Winner of the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, I obviously felt obligated to read this book. Having just read another book about two brothers of about the same age, I spent the first fifty pages confusing the characters of this book with the ones in Angry Young Man. Once I got past that though, I just felt confused. The second plot with the missionary kid was often jarring. I trusted the author to make it connect and he did, but I don't know if I expected it to go to crazy. Honestly, I thought it would be more sinister than what it was.

Whaley established a righteous anger in his readers too as each day and week passes and they are no closer to finding Gabriel. It is like no one cares and no one is helping them look. As if a missing fifteen-year-old is no big deal and that woodpecker overshadows everything. This sense of helplessness with Cullen and his family is really the most engaging part of the story. And it is the mystery too for the reader is forced to ask, up until the very last page, What happened to Gabriel?

I don't know if I consider this the best book that came out last year, but I can see why it was in the running. In the end, I personally didn't like the crazy place that it went and found the second storyline to still be rather out of touch with Cullen's world.

Angry Young Man Book Review

Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch

"I want you to understand my brother. I don't need you to, so don't get all worked up over it or anything. Ultimately you can do what you like. But I would like for you to understand him. As far as that goes, I'd like to understand him myself."

And so begins the journey of Robert and his brother, Xan. Robert, eighteen, is a driven and although he teases his brother, he is deeply protective. Understandably so as Xan, his rather serious and socially awkward seventeen-year-old brother needs a lot of guidance. Xan hides behind dark glasses attempting to his his soft-puppy like "soul windows". And it is Xan's softness and his righteous anger that gets him into trouble.

Angry Young Man is a book full of brotherly love that quickly turns sinister, with Xan being sucked in by an extremist animal rights group bent on destruction and a loan shark out for their mother.

The problem with the novel is that the pacing is very slow, the real action of the story not beginning until the last third of the book. Yet, the book was good enough that I had to keep reading. Also, Robert struck me as a rather unreliable narrator and frankly, I didn't find him that interesting. He was a regular guy with a regular girlfriend, struggling to get by and go to college at the same time. Xan on the other hand was anything but normal and reminded me a lot of my brother who has Asperger's Syndrome.

That said, I like the discussions between the brothers about killing and how far are we really willing to go to help those things and people that we care about. There is also this wonderful understanding by the end that although we can get hurt through life, we cannot change who we inherently are. Xan is kind and soft and cries easily and no matter what he does he will always be that person. No matter how angry or serious he is, that is who he is and that is good. I liked that message and definitely think there teens who could really relate to one or both of these characters despite their seeming differences. Written for upper YA.

Starters Book Review

Starters by Lissa Price

Sometime in the future, mankind has discovered a way to extend life, allowing many to live to almost 200. Because the Enders (as they are called) live longer they are vying for jobs and positions and therefore anyone under the age of 20 (called Starters) are not allowed to work. This would have been fine if war had not struck and a biological weapon wiped out all those between the ages of 20 to 60, leaving kids without living grandparents or relatives to fend for themselves. Those not claimed can be locked up in institutions that make workhouses of old look like playgrounds. Enter Prime Destinations, a business that allows Enders to rent the bodies of teens for a day, a week, or a month, and allows them to be young once more. Desperate for money, Callie signs up, but when the chip implanted in her head malfunctions, Callie is thrown into a world of intrigue and danger that even a street hardened girl like her may be too difficult to handle.

This post-apocalyptic thriller was non-stop can't-put-it-down action that sucked me in from the very beginning. Callie is a normal girl, living is completely abnormal circumstances, and her world is both horrifying and fascinating. At first I wondered how adults could be so terribly cruel and uncaring about the unclaimed minors, but after having just read a book about Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London, I had to remind myself that even in a so-called civilized world, there can be uncaring and unfeeling people. I think that the problem was not that it was so improbable, but that I wished it wasn't. But there is hope, for there are grandparents and nice adults who do care and who do suspect the evil that is Prime Destinations.

The bad guy in this story is also sufficiently creepy. Wearing a mask that constantly shifts from one grotesque image to another, the "Old Man" is goosebump inducing and not to give anything away, but he ups the creepy level to 10 by the end. Amidst the action are wonderfully tender moments between Callie and her brother, her friend Michael, and her love interest Blake. The romance scenes were well-handled and never slowed down the pacing of the story.

Clearly, the publisher and author intend this to be a series, but I was pleasantly happy that the author wrapped it up in a way that made me happy but left me with more questions. This is the perfect book for Hunger Games lovers and may even become as big as Hunger Games with the right word of mouth.

Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London Book Review

Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London by Andrea Warren

In this engaging and eloquent biography, Andrea Warren takes her young readers on a journey through the streets of London through the lens of Charles Dickens. A world in which children could literally be dropped on the streets and left to die, where poor mothers delivered newborns to workhouses and orphanages in desperate attempts to survive, and where the upper class lacked any kind of charity or compassion.

Full of details that are meant to draw in the young readers, to help them empathize and sympathize with children of Dickens' day, Warren paints a vivid and often horrifying picture that is sure to stay with her readers. Although Charles Dickens is the main throughline for the book, there is also mini-biographies concerning Fredrick Handel, William Hogarth, and Thomas Coram all of which were advocates for the poor and needy. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of Handel's history with the Foundling Hospital in London and Coram's seventeen year journey to open a children's shelter.

Warren is never afraid to speak of issues such as alcoholism, death, starvation, and pregnancy, but any fan of Dicken's will quickly realize that she was not so concerned with the negative aspects of Dicken's character, always quick to gloss over his flaws like abandoning his heartbroken wife although never divorcing her and treating the characters of his books with more affinity than his own progeny.

Most important, Warren finishes the book with an explanation of where our world is today in regards to children and poverty, pulling the reader back into this century and encouraging all to take a hard look at themselves and what they can do to help those less fortunate.

A Million Suns Book Review

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

It has been months since Amy, the only person aboard Godspeed who remembers Earth, was unplugged from cryosleep. Everything she ever knew is gone and everywhere she looks are the suffocating metal walls that make up this ship. Elder has assumed an uneasy leadership, made more difficult by the lies that have been running the ship for centuries. Together they must unravel this puzzle for the lives of all those on board may depend on it.

I love me some good old fashioned science fiction. Bring on the adventure, the spaceships, cryosleep, space adventures. Forget that dystopian sci-fi that has permeated the genre. Having met Beth Revis last spring, the very reason I read the first in the Across the Universe series. I loved her, my favorite quote of hers being, "I love explosions." And she is a woman after my own heart for she too doesn't love writing romance, which means that the love story in A Million Suns never felt forced.

Very early on in the book the secret is revealed that the ship is no longer moving, the engines no longer working. This of course goes against all theory of relativity, for if the ship is stopped then that means someone stopped it, and then the next question is why? As the citizens of Godspeed begin to think for themselves, no longer on the drug Phydus, Elder is stuck between discovering the secret of Godspeed and becoming the leader he doesn't want to be.

Oh and those secrets...big. HUGE. AWESOME! With every new twist and turn I found myself pleasantly surprised, glad that Revis gave just enough to her readers that I knew a lot but not everything. For those who aren't huge fans of hard science fiction, I challenge you to give this series a chance. Apart from the setting there is a great mystery, serious adventure, coming of age, romance, and deep intrigue.

Mississippi Jack Book Review

Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and Lily of the West by L.A. Meyer

In the fifth installment of the Bloody Jack series, Jacky Faber is wanted by the crown for piracy--among other things. Along for the ride is her faithful servant Higgins, her boatswain Jim Tanner, and friend Katy Deer. Jacky and company set out from Boston heading toward the Ohio River in hopes of taking a boat down to New Orleans. But as is always the case with Jacky, nothing ever goes as planned and she soon finds herself with a host of problems from tall-tale telling captains, to slave catchers, to bandits. Little does she know that her love and betrothed, Jaimy Fletcher is on her trail with misfortunes that are as disastrous as Jacky's.

Up until now I have been singing the praises of the Bloody Jack Adventures, but I am afraid that this one just fell flat for me. Jacky was her usual charming self, of course. There was no end to the adventures and therein lies the problem. There was just too much adventure, a statement that I never thought I would say.

For my benefit and yours the various scenes/adventures are as follows:
1. Escapes from a British warship with the help of Higgins and an acting troupe.
2. Travels west to Katy Deer's home in order to confront the other girl's molesting Uncle.
3. Hires a boat whose captain is the most annoying tall-tale teller this side of the Mississippi.
4. Steals said riverboat from the captain.
5. Picks up passengers including a card man and his black servant girl, a conniving evangelist, a Native American cook, and two drunken fools fresh out of prison.
6. Pick up Clementine, a country girl who knows a secret or two about Jacky's fiancee.
7. Deck out the riverboat with guns for safety and paint in order to make her a showboat.
8. Get in a fight with bandits along the way, clearing out their den with the handful of people on board.
9. Pick up a runaway slave named Solomon.
10. Visit with some Native Americans where she runs into some Brits who are stirring up trouble.
11. Is captured and tortured by said Brits, eventually being rescued.
12. Get attacked by renegade Indians who are scalp hunting.
13. Is caught by Jaimy kissing another man. Jaimy paddles away and Jacky can't catch him.
14. Gets captured along with Solomon and Chloe (the serving girl who turns out to be the card sharks daughter).
15. Is tarred and feathered and almost hung by slave catchers.
16. Is thrown overboard during a storm and washed up near New Orleans.
17. Goes to a friend who works at a whorehouse where she raises some money and a few eyebrows.
18. Gets into a fight with three men who all want to kill her.
19. Buys a boat using money that she won by cheating at cards.
20. Travels to Jamaica to meet up with Jaimy who forgives everything in a single instant.

I think I got it all in there, but I think you get the point, simply too much going on here. There were also some things I was curious about. When Jaimy catches Jacky in the arms of another man, something to which she has admitted to doing, he flips out and refuses to return. Not only is this hypocritical of him, for he was very recently in the arms of a Miss Clementine Jukes. To that point, Jacky also gets upset, very upset, when she finds out about the Clementine and Jaimy, yet she has no problem in showing her parts or giving out kisses to handsome and sometimes not so handsome men. Although Jacky is impulsive, in this regard I felt that the story went against character.

There were also a number of plot points that felt unnecessary. Like Jacky falling into the water. Perhaps Meyer was trying to find a way of getting Jacky into the whorehouse down in New Orleans, but I think this could have easily been done since she would have needed a place to hide out and it was the perfect place for her entertaining skills, not to mention her new found card shark abilities. Throughout the book there were a number of parts that just felt so contrived. British soldiers at a Native American encampment that she just happens to be visiting at the same time? Pulling over the boat to get some firewood at the exact moment that slave catchers were nearby?

Lastly, I think it is time that Jacky and Jaimy be together. I understand that in most good love stories, the characters shouldn't get together, really together, until the end, but after five whole novels, I am just tired of them chasing each other around, always missing each other by second. Their bad fortune makes me think that perhaps they should never be together, for clearly the fates are not with them.

The book isn't without some merits, but I do wonder if there was any character development that really mattered in this book and if it wouldn't be possible to just skip book five altogether with the simple understanding that she went on an adventure down the Mississippi, picked up some more crew, and is still waiting for Jaimy. Jacky is wonderful, but Huckleberry Finn she is not.

The Pregnancy Project Book Review

The Pregnancy Project by Gabby Rodriguez and Jenna Glatzer

Typically a senior project is something simple, volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity or following around a business professional, but Gabby Rodriguez took the call of her sociology project seriously. How could she do something that would make a real difference, that would challenge her peers. So Gabby set out on a journey in which she would pretend to be pregnant for six months, complete with a fake belly bump and symptoms". Only a handful of people would know.

There are a number of judgements that people made about Gabby before knowing her story. Some thought she was searching for her fifteen minutes of fame, while others thought she was purposefully being cruel, tricking the people she called her friends. My greatest fear at the beginning of the book was simply that she was a little too naive about what she was getting herself into.

I was correct. I don't think Gabby realized what the consequences would be. She is smart and defintiely brave and thought about a lot of the way people would treat her, but the reality was harder than she imagined, but the results were incredible.

The thing I took away from this book and what Gabby came away with too was that everyone makes mistakes. Pregnancy is a hard one, made even harder by the people who are supposed to love and care about you. Your family, your friends, your teachers. The mistake has been made, but once the girl decides to go through with the pregnancy, it doesn't end there. The constant stream of negatives fills their life. "Doesn't she know she ruined her life?" "I always knew she would get pregnant." "What a waste." Gabby found solace in the fact that she was not pregnant, but was all too aware that the same comfort was not available to girls who really were pregnant.

The writing is rough, even with the help of a ghost writer, but I think the importance of what is said is enough to make the book a worthy read. Besides, she is seventeen, life only gets better, with or without a child.

The Fault In Our Stars Book Review

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Despite a medical miracle drug, Hazel has always been terminal, her cancer simply a side effect of dying. Forced to attend a Cancer Kid Support Group because she is depressed (also a side effect of dying), Hazel meets Augustus Waters, philosopher and fellow cancer survivor who shows Hazel what it means to really live and die.

Despite being beautifully written, this book is a hard sell. Not exactly a light read, I have found it difficult to recommend this one to teens and have watched on a number of occasions, a teen pick up the book from the shelf, read the dust jacket, and consequently put the book back on the shelf. The relative success of movies lie 50/50 and My Sister's Keeper apparently have not increased the love for books where cancer is the major crux of the story.

Truth is, this book is excellent. It is an existential crisis wrapped up in a love story, which is not to be confused with a romance story. There is so much more to this book than that. The character's Hazel and Augustus come off as a little smarter and pretentious than one thinks they should, but the sarcasm and humor make them likeable and relateable. Also, I would like to think that when kids have to handle such difficult situations like cancer and dying, they mature in a way that is the epitome of beautiful strength and terrible weakness.

Although this is not technically a book about disabilities, I still thought it was necessary that they
obey certain peremitters that I have previously set up in regards to those kind of books. The most important being that although there are kids with cancer, I did not want it to be a book about cancer. It was not. As Hazel drags around her oxygen tank, one doesn't forget she is sick, but for Hazel oblivion is to be ignored and her fierce need for closure is what drives her. What will her parents be like when she is gone? What will Augustus do if he falls for her and then she leaves?

I also loved how deep and real the parents were in the novel. Typically, in young adult and middle grade novels the parents are either dead or simply not around. I know in my own writing, I was advised to make the parents as non-existent as possible for it is hard to have an adventure with the parents around. The reality is that parents are part of these kid's lives and I love that Green did them justice.

The cover is a little bland, but it is a must read.

Mighty Miss Malone Book Review

Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

Deza Malone is one of the smartest girls in her class. That's why she is confused when her teacher gives her a second place on her English essay. But Deza's teacher knows that the life of any child in 1936 is going to be difficult. When her father is injured in a boating accident, the already struggling family is forced to make many changes that require Deza to see the world as it is. Always tenacious, Deza refuses to give up on her dreams or her family.

With the backdrop of the Great Depression, Curtis' newest novel paints a vivid picture of a struggling family in the 1930's. There is Deza's brother, Jimmie, who has quit growing due to lack of adequate food and nutrition. Her mother, whose clothes hang off her. And her father, whose efforts to obtain a job have proven fruitless and have forced him to travel further and further away in search of work and self-respect. Eventually Deza's family is forced to move, finding a home in a transient camp, a place full of people whose lives have been just as touched by the economic disaster as the Malones.

The thing that makes this story so endearing though is Deza's resilience despite all of this. She is aware of their difficulties, yet as all children do, she can see past this. Her teeth may be rotting in her head, but Deza powers through, concerned only for her family and her schoolwork. She never complains about her teeth even though they hurt excruciatingly. Deza's insatiable need to learn and love and see the best of any situation makes her easy to follow through this terrible ordeal.

Admittedly, there were times when I wondered if she was a little too innocent, a little too naive. One wonders if a twelve-year-old would truly be so self-absorbed and out of touch with what was going, but perhaps Curtis was attempting to capture some of the innocence that seemed to last longer all those decades ago. Luckily, Deza does grow and change and that innocence does begin to fall away a bit, leaving a much wiser little girl in her stead.

As in many middle grade books, I think there is a lesson to be learned here, but the story is by no means didactic. The lesson is simple, take nothing for granted. From your teeth, to your clothes, to your shoes. Appreciate everything, but most of all your family. No matter what happens to the Malones, no matter what they are forced to leave behind, their love and humor is what keeps them going. A wonderful book to be added to the historical fiction genre.

Biographies: To Bobble or Not to Bobble

I am a sucker for a good biography and even more enamoured by a good autobiography. People fascinate me and I often find myself flipping to the picture pages present in most biographical tomes. As a kid I loved history books with pictures of children from the turn of the century or during the civil war, something about those old photographs drew me into their world. These days, there are a number of places to turn if one wants to find a good biography for children. Everyone from Walt Disney to Mother Teresa to Albert Einstein to Neil Armstrong. The two biggest series though are the Who Was...? series and the DK Biography series.

The Who Was...? series' covers always have a rather comical caricature of the books' subject. Often the picture looks like one of those caricatures a person might buy at the fair or the beach. Except of course, the subjects of this art is none other than Michelangelo or Babe Ruth. The biographical information is on point, but something about the cartoon characters throughout the entire book really irks me. How is a giant bobble headed person going to help a child understand what George Washington looked like? Dispersed throughout the book are sidebars with other historically relevant information having to do with that particular time period or subject. Again, I do wonder if cartoons are really the best way to convey historical information here. Anyone know of a study regarding visual learning of facts, cartoons vs. photographs?

The DK series is my preferred method of biography. DK loads their biographies with all kinds of photos and whatnot. For example: Paintings of George Washington, a photograph of his house, pictures of his false teeth used in the day, letters, as well as other artifacts of the era.

Perhaps I should have made a caveat in regards to cartoons. As a child, cartoons were never my preferred viewing method. I would have rather watched a Disney live action film over an animated film any day. Hans Christian Andersen starring Danny Kay was one of my favorite movies. And it is just this bloggers' opinion, but if you are going to introduce a child to a historical figure, the lease you can do is show them a real picture of them rather than a giant bobble head.

An Invisible Thread: Action Beyond Thought

“Excuse me lady, do you have any spare change? I am hungry.”

When Laura Schroff first met Maurice on a New York City street corner, she had no idea that she was standing on the brink of an incredible and unlikely friendship that would inevitably change both their lives. As one lunch at McDonald’s with Maurice turns into two, then into a weekly occurrence that is fast growing into an inexplicable connection, Laura learns heart-wrenching details about Maurice’s horrific childhood and journey's into a friendship that has spanned over three decades.

When I lived in Boston, I can't tell you how many homeless people I walked past every day. They became like part of the scenery, only sticking out if one of the crazier ones screamed at himself in the subway or held the door open for you in hopes of some change in return. I never saw children begging, at least not that I remember, which disturbs me because I wonder if perhaps I did and I ignored them as many of us do. Laura Schroff did too. She admits it. But then she stopped because something drew her to one little boy on a street corner.

An Invisible Thread reminded me of that small link we have with humanity. It reminded me that the things we take for granted like brown bag lunches, Christmas presents, and dining rooms, are some of the things that other children crave desperately. I read articles about politicians and policy makers every day who are constantly asking how do we clean up the streets, lower crime, get people off of welfare. I think some of those answers lie within the pages of this book. It is about showing children that the vicious cycle they are stuck in, the lies they are being told daily, does not have to be their life.

Maurice could have easily become a drug dealer or an addict. I would even say that if a woman had not stopped on that street corner and come into his life, he probably would have been one or both. But how many children out there are like Maurice? Good kids who have never met anyone with a real job before, whose lives have been one welfare motel to another.

So my charge to you, my dear readers, is to open your eyes and look for ways in which you can be a good example for a child. In Maurice's words, "Kids like us know about this stuff, but we are always on the outside looking in." Perhaps this year you can open your heart and life to someone.

For suggestion on ways that you can help children in your community check out these links:

Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Mentor

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Also, check out local schools, Urban ministries, and Literacy centers for places where you can volunteer. It may be only a few hours out of your week, but the difference you can make in someone's life is beyond huge. In case you need a reminder though, read An Invisible Thread.

A Year in Review 2012

Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

We're In a Book (An Elephant and Piggie book) by Mo Willems

Goodnight iPad: A Parody For the Next Generation by Ann Droyd (hehe)

Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith

New-To-Me Series That On One Hand I'm Glad To Have Found, But On The Other, I'm Seriously Horrified That I'd Missed Out On Until Now:

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Sequel Happiness:

The Death Cure by James Dashner

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

Stoner & Spaz II by Ron Koertge

In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer

Book That Made Me Crave Food:

Raspberries by Jay O'Callahan

Most Enjoyable Bad Book:

Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker

Forgettable Plot Saved By a Fresh, Honest Voice:

Liesel & Po by Lauren Oliver

Book(s) I Was Most Surprised By:

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Made of Pure Awesome:

Tuesdays at the Castle

Amanda & Her Alligator by Mo Willems

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Best Book Hidden Under the Worst Cover:

Pride an Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

More Adorable Than Sparkling Puppies:

Tuesdays at the Castle

YA Book Most Likely to be Loved By Adults More Than Actual YAs:

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Biggest Disappointment:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Books that Invoked Irrationally Violent Emotions in me:

Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Books I Loved For Their Imperfect Heroines:

Graceling by Kristine Cashore

Valiant by Holly Black

Best Book For Wimpy Kid Lovers:

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson and Chris Tebbets

Best Vampire Book For Twilight-Haters:

Valiant by Holly Black

Favorite Roadtrip Book:

Ranger's Ransom by Emily Diamand

In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer

Best Action/Adventure Book:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The Death Cure by James Dashner

Books that were weird just to be weird:

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The Green Futures of Tycho by William Sleator

Dormia by Jake Halpern

Sci-fi's that made me think there is still a future for this genre (future, get it):

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Girl Parts by John Cusick

Raider's Ransom by Emily Diamend

A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard

Books I lent out to people multiple times: