Booklist: Teachers You’ll Never Forget!

It’s Teacher Appreciation week, and we’re celebrating with some of the best teachers in kids books!  So put down your pencil, pick up a book, and read about these remarkable and unforgettable teachers!

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Ms. Bixby’s Last Day  by John David Anderson
Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers. The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard, the ones who stopped trying long ago. The ones you’ll never remember, and the ones you want to forget. Ms. Bixby is none of these. She’s the sort of teacher who makes you feel like school is somehow worthwhile. Who recognizes something in you that sometimes you don’t even see in yourself. Who you never want to disappoint. What Ms. Bixby is, is one of a kind. Topher, Brand, and Steve know this better than anyone. And so when Ms. Bixby unexpectedly announces that she won’t be able to finish the school year, they come up with a risky plan–more of a quest, really–to give Ms. Bixby the last day she deserves. Through the three very different stories they tell, we begin to understand what Ms. Bixby means to each of them–and what the three of them mean to each other.

Because of Mr. Terupt  by Rob Buyea
It’s the start of a new year at Snow Hill School, and seven students find themselves thrown together in Mr. Terupt’s fifth grade class. There’s . . . Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who’s having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.   They don’t have much in common, and they’ve never gotten along. Not until a certain new teacher arrives and helps them to find strength inside themselves–and in each other. But when Mr. Terupt suffers a terrible accident, will his students be able to remember the lessons he taught them? Or will their lives go back to the way they were before–before fifth grade and before Mr. Terupt?

Frindle  by Andrew Clements
Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school — and he’s always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he’s got the inspiration for his best plan ever…the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn’t belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there’s nothing Nick can do to stop it.

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she’s just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a menacing, kid-hating headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It’ll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it!

The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School  by Candace Fleming
The fourth graders at Aesop Elementary are, well, unusual. There’s Calvin Tallywong, who wants to go back to kindergarten. But when he actually gets the chance, he’s forced to do the squirrel dance and wear a school bus name tag. The moral of his story? Be careful what you wish for. Then there’s Amisha Spelwadi, who can spell wildebeest, no problem. But when Mr. Jupiter asks the class to spell cat, all Amisha can come up with is kat. The moral: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

Flying Solo by by Ralph Fletcher
When the substitute for Mr. “Fab” Fabiano never shows up and his sixth-grade students are on their own, they set out to prove that they can run the class by themselves. With a little ingenuity and some careful planning, they might just succeed. But when a fight breaks out between Bastian Fauvell and Rachel White over a classmate, Tommy Feathers, who died six months earlier, everything begins to fall apart. Can Rachel deal with the anxieties that plunged her into silence the day Tommy died? Inventive and uniquely constructed, “Flying Solo” follows Mr. Fab’s students hour by hour as they tackle the challenges of an unusual school day.

Room 214 : A Year in Poems  by Helen Frost
Unforgettable students in this fifth-grade classroom reveal their private feelings about birth and death, a missing bicycle and a first kiss, as well as their thoughts about recess, report cards, fitting in, and family.  Using a rich array of traditional poetic forms, such as sonnets, sestinas, and acrostics, Helen Frost interweaves the stories of the kids in Room 214 and their teacher.

Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub  by Jamie Gilson
Hobie Hanson and the rest of his fourth-grade class can’t believe their luck: Mr. Star, their teacher who never gets sick, is not in school. That means they’re getting a SUB. That means it’s time for their class to have some FUN. It’s boys against – girls in the fight to see who can sink the sub faster — and what starts with simple name-changing leads to an all-out flood in the classroom!

The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Fred doesn’t know what to make of new teacher, Miss Agnes Sutterfield. She sure is a strange one. No other teacher throws away old textbooks and reads Greek myths and Robin Hood.  No other teacher plays opera recordings, talks about “hairyos,”and Athabascan kids becoming doctors or scientists. No other teacher ever said Fred’s deaf older sister should come to school, too. And no other teacher ever, ever told the kids they were each good at something.  But then Miss Agnes says she’s homesick and will go back to England at the end of the year. Fred knows what this is about: Just when things seem to be good, things go back to being the same.  This is a story about Alaska, about the old ways and the new, about pride. And it’s a story about a great teacher who opens a door to the world — where, once you go through, nothing is ever the same again.

The View from Saturday  by E.L. Konigsburg
It was a surprise to a lot of people when Mrs. Olinski’s team won the sixth-grade Academic Bowl contest at Epiphany Middle School. It was an even bigger surprise when they beat the seventh grade and the eighth grade, too. And when they went on to even greater victories, everyone began to ask: How did it happen?  It happened at least partly because Noah had been the best man (quite by accident) at the wedding of Ethan’s grandmother and Nadia’s grandfather. It happened because Nadia discovered that she could not let a lot of baby turtles die. It happened when Ethan could not let Julian face disaster alone. And it happened because Julian valued something important in himself and saw in the other three something he also valued.
Mrs. Olinski, returning to teaching after having been injured in an automobile accident, found that her Academic Bowl team became her answer to finding confidence and success. What she did not know, at least at first, was that her team knew more than she did the answer to why they had been chosen.   This is a tale about a team, a class, a school, a series of contests and, set in the midst of this, four jewel-like short stories — one for each of the team members — that ask questions and demonstrate surprising answers.

The Unteachables  by Gordon Korman
The Unteachables are a notorious class of misfits, delinquents, and academic train wrecks. Like Aldo, with anger management issues; Parker, who can’t read; Kiana, who doesn’t even belong in the class–or any class; and Elaine (rhymes with pain). The Unteachables have been removed from the student body and isolated in room 117.  Their teacher is Mr. Zachary Kermit, the most burned-out teacher in all of Greenwich. He was once a rising star, but his career was shattered by a cheating scandal that still haunts him. After years of phoning it in, he is finally one year away from early retirement. But the superintendent has his own plans to torpedo that idea–and it involves assigning Mr. Kermit to the Unteachables.  The Unteachables never thought they’d find a teacher who had a worse attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never thought he would actually care about teaching again. Over the course of a school year, though, room 117 will experience mayhem, destruction–and maybe even a shot at redemption.

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Five years after Anne Shirley came to the town of Avonlea, she feels (a little) more grown up, but she’s still the same skinny, red-headed orphan Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert took in. After putting her dream of attending Redmond College on hold so she can help Marilla with the farm, Anne doubts she has many adventures ahead of her. But even in plain old Avonlea, her life proves to be anything but ordinary.  This sequel to Anne of Green Gables follows Anne’s endeavors to become a successful teacher, help raise a pair of rambunctious twins, and improve her beloved hometown–with the help of her former enemy, Gilbert Blythe, who’s giving her an awful lot of attention…

A Book of Coupons by by Susie Morgenstern
Elderly Monsieur Noel, the very unconventional new eighth-grade teacher, gives coupon books for such things as dancing in class and sleeping late, which are bound to get him in trouble with the military discipline of Principal Incarnation Perez.  The last thing the class expects when they go back to school is for their new teacher to be old! And then he gives them a goofy present-a book of coupons: one coupon for skipping school for a day; one coupon for not listening in class; one coupon for singing at the top of your lungs whenever you like. The list goes on! What is this wrinkly old teacher trying to do, get everyone in trouble?

Ms. Rapscott’s Girls by Elise Primavera
Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents is not your typical boarding school. Students arrive in boxes, birthday cake is served for breakfast, and two very talented corgis assist the rather quirky headmistress. This semester, the girls will learn how to get to The Top, but the semester is not off to a good start. One of the girls doesn’t make it back to school and when her friends try to rescue her, they wind up at the Bottom of the Barrel. Luckily, Ms. Rapscott knows that learning to fail is the secret to Going Far in life.

Operation Frog Effect by Sarah Scheerger
Ms. Graham’s class didn’t mean to mess things up. But they did. They took things too far, and now Ms. Graham is in trouble–for something they did. They made a mistake; the question is, they we fix it? Ms. Graham taught her class that they get to choose the kind of people they want to be and that a single act can create ripples. So get ready, world–they’re about to make some ripples!   Told in eight perspectives–including one in graphic novel form, Operation Frog Effect celebrates standing up and standing together, and tells the unforgettable story of how eight very different kids take responsibility for their actions and unite for a cause–and a teacher–they all believe in.

Bluefish by Pat Schmatz
Travis has a secret: he can’t read. But a shrewd teacher and a sassy girl are about to change everything in this witty and deeply moving novel.Travis is missing his old home in the country, and he’s missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there’s just the cramped place he shares with his well-meaning but alcoholic grandpa, a new school, and the dreaded routine of passing when he’s called on to read out loud. But that’s before Travis meets Mr. McQueen, who doesn’t take “pass” for an answer – a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world. And it’s before Travis is noticed by Velveeta, a girl whose wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own.

The World’s Worst Teachers by David Walliams
Think your teachers are bad? Wait till you meet this lot. These ten tales of the world’s most splendidly sinister teachers will have you running for the school gates. Dr Dread teaches science and is half man, half monster… Watch out for the ghastly Miss Seethe. She is ALWAYS furious – and she’s on a detention rampage. And as for Mr Phobe, he’s a teacher with a real difference. He is bone-shakingly terrified of… children!  A delightfully dreadful collection of the most gruesome  (and memorable!) grown-ups ever, The World’s Worst Teachers.

The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters
It all starts with a Special Project in Mr. Melville’s Social Studies class: Solve a mystery in your own life. For seventh grader Bethesda Fielding, one mystery is too tempting to ignore: Ms. Finkleman.  Bethesda is convinced that her mousy Music Fundamentals teacher is hiding a secret life, and she’s determined to find out what it is. But no one is prepared for what she learns. Ms. Finkleman used tobe . . . a rock star? Soon the whole school goes rock crazy, and a giant concert is in the works with none other than timid Ms. Finkleman at the helm!  But the case isn’t quite closed, and the questions continue to swirl for Bethesda. Could there be even more to the secret life of Ms. Finkleman than she already revealed? With the help of her rock-obsessed classmate Tenny Boyer, Bethesda won’t stop until she solves the real mystery of Ms. Finkleman once and for all!

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So this started out as a “Five Books Featuring”…but there are so MANY good books about teachers!  And even I can’t make eighteen titles fit into five…

How many of these titles have you read?  And which teacher is your personal favorite?

Enjoy these great teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day.  And let your teachers know that you appreciate them.

Happy Reading!
::kelly::

Five Books Featuring…Codebusters!

Smart kids can do anything!  In these five books, smart kids put their problem-solving skills to the test.  Can they solve some codes and ciphers and solve a long-standing mystery?  It’s Five Books Featuring…Codes and Ciphers!

Our Five Books feature is a short booklist of five books on a specific topic, with a short synopsis and link to the book in the catalog. 5 Books–One Old, One New, One Popular with Kids, One Well-Reviewed, and One Favorite. (But you’ll have to guess which is which)!

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The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Bertram
Mr. Quisling is definitely up to something mysterious, and Emily and James are on high alert. First, there’s the coded note he drops at a book event. Then they uncover a trail of encrypted messages in Mark Twain-penned books hidden through Book Scavenger. What’s most suspicious is that each hidden book triggers an arson fire. As the sleuthing friends dig deeper, they discover Mr. Quisling has been hunting a legendary historical puzzle: the Unbreakable Code. This new mystery is irresistible, but Emily and James can’t ignore the signs that Mr. Quisling might be the arsonist. The clock is ticking as the arson fires multiply, and Emily and James race to crack the code of a lifetime.  series

Floors by Patrick Carman
The Whippet Hotel is a strange place full of strange and mysterious people. Each floor has its own quirks and secrets. Leo should know most of them – he is the maintenance man’s son, after all. But a whole lot more mystery gets thrown his way when a series of cryptic boxes are left for him… boxes that lead him to hidden floors, strange puzzles, and unexpected alliances. Leo had better be quick on his feet, because the fate of the building he loves is at stake… and so is Leo’s own future!  series

Ruby Redfort Look into My Eyes by Lauren Childs
Ruby Redfort’s not your average kid. She’s super-smart, always ice-cool, not to mention a gadget-laden secret agent with a talent for breaking codes. And she can keep her mouth shut…can’t she?  Ruby and her butler, Hitch, work for an undercover crime-busting organization, where break-ins, daring rescues, and life-OR-death situations are all in a day’s work. But always remember Rule #1:  You can never be completely sure what might happen next.  series

Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright
Randy and Oliver Melendy awake one fall morning full of gloom. Their brother and sister are away, the house seems forlorn and empty, and even Cuffy, their adored housekeeper, can’t pick up their spirits.  But a surprise message in the mailbox starts a trail of excitement and adventure that takes them through the cold season.  Full of unforgettable moments (like finding a secret note tucked under the dog’s collar) and delightful twists of language (the more challenging clues, the better).  Will Randy and Oliver manage to follow the clues to the end of the trail before their time limit runs out?

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs
Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth– or destroy it. Now a diabolical group known as the Furies are hunting for the equation. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie Thorne into the hunt. Charlie is a genius… a thief… and not old enough to drive. But she must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.

Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman
Twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald didn’t want to jump off a cliff. They didn’t want to get hit by poisoned darts from blowguns either. And they certainly don’t want to get locked in their burning school, thrown into a pit at the top of a sand dune, or drowned in a vat of liquefied SPAM. But what are you supposed to do when you’re being chased by your insane health teacher and two guys in bowler hats who are trying to kill you? On a cross-country vacation with their parents, they fend off strange assassins as they try to come to terms with their being part of a top-secret government organization known as The Genius Files. One thing’s for sure, it’ll be a snap for Coke and Pepsi to write their essays on “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”  series

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
Kyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games–board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route!  series

William Wenton and the Impossible Puzzle by Bobby Peers
William Wenton is a code-breaking, puzzle-solving genius. He lives with his family in a quiet Norwegian town. He and his family used to live in England, but eight years ago his grandfather vanished and the Wentons suddenly packed up, moved to Norway, and changed their last name! Neither of his parents will tell William why or share the reason he has to keep his talent for solving codes and puzzles a secret. But then a special exhibit comes to the local museum: the Impossible Puzzle. The experts say it is unsolvable, but William’s sure that he can crack it if he gets a chance. However, when he does, everything begins to go wrong. Suddenly William is whisked off to a strange school filled with robots, killer plants and kids whose skills are almost as good as his own. But it’s also a place filled with secrets. Secrets about William’s grandfather. Secrets about what really happened the night William and his father were involved in a serious car crash. And about why William’s family had to uproot their lives. But as William begins to look for answers, he learns that there’s much more at stake than he could have imagined. And he’s left wondering if there’s anyone he can trust.  series

The Westing Game by Ellen Rankin
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger–and a possible murderer–to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game!

York: the Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby
It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before.  Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher–a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment–until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York.  And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.  series

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Okay, okay…so I doubled the list.  Five for Codes, Five for Ciphers!

The kids in these books range from normal kids to puzzle-solvers to genuises…and they figure out these codes all over the world and right in their own backyard.  But whether they’re in Omaha or Timbuktu, they’ve all got one thing in common: persistence!

So pick up one of these books and stick to it.  While you’re reading, see if you might be able to be a codebreaker yourself!

Happy Reading!
;;kelly::

Old Favorite: Hatchet!

One boy, alone.  A plane crash in the northern wilderness. A hatchet that was a surprise gift–that may save his life.

Today’s Old Favorite is Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen!

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Brian is not happy.  He’s the only passenger in a single-engine Cessna 406 bush plane, which normally would be kind of exciting.  But the reason he’s in this plane, on the way north, is not exciting at all.  Divorce.  His parents had just split earlier in the year, and his father had visitation rights.  So that’s why Brian’s mom had driven him to the airport in New York, to put him on a plane to spend the summer with his father, somewhere in northern Canada at an oil fields, where the forests turned to tundra.

Brian wants to see his dad, but he feels slightly guilty too.  Because he knows something, a secret…the Secret…that explains why his parents split.  But as angry as he is with his mom, he still loves her too.  Enough to indulge her by strapping the ridiculous-looking hatchet she bought him for his summer in the wilderness to his belt.  Enough to forget to take it off when he got on the plane.

Things get a little more interesting when the pilot–Jim? Jake?–shows him how to steer the plane.  It’s enough to distract him from the thoughts whirling through his brain.   But the pilot takes back the controls, and Brian slumps in the copilot’s seat again, watching the trees and the lakes and the marshes far beneath them.

And smelling…gas?  Human gas.  The pilot is rubbing his shoulder and arm, and the smell is worse and worse.  And then, right before Brian’s eyes, the pilot clutches his chest and shouts.  Brian saw a man have a heart attack at the mall once, so he knows what’s happening.  And he doesn’t know how to help.

Now the pilot is slumped in his seat, not breathing, and Brian is the only person in the plane.  He needs help!  He manages to keep the plane gliding, and finally manages to get the radio to work…but the man on the other end doesn’t seem to understand him.

Brian’s plane is going down…and no one knows where his is.  Can he land it?  Will it crash?  The ground beneath him is full of trees and water.  No towns, no houses, no land.  Even if he can get down, how will he get home?

The plane crashes, and Brian manages to get out.  But all he has are his clothes, and the hatchet on his belt.  Lost in the wilderness, with no idea even of which way to go.  Will he survive?

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Hatchet is a wonderful, suspenseful, scary survival story.  It was published in 1986, and won a Newbery Honor Medal that year.  Gary Paulsen published his first book in 1966, and is still writing today.  Not a whole lot is known about his life, but many of his books are based on his experiences growing up.  He has a great affinity for life in the outdoors, and has both raised and raced sled dogs, as well as sailing in the Pacific ocean.

Hatchet it is often listed as a favorite book by many young readers.  Brian’s struggles to keep himself alive while dealing with animals, weather and finding food have set the standard for survival stories.  New survival stories are usually compared to Hatchet, in terms of  suspense, survival techniques, and if the situations are as believable as what happened to Brian.

I love recommending this book to readers looking for adventure, or a sort of “man vs. nature” type of book.  It’s not a long book–only 189 pages–but so much happens in it!

Because readers weren’t willing to let Brian go, there are several sequels.  My favorite is The River, where FBI agents ask Brian to recreate his life in the wilderness in order for scientists to understand the psychology of survival.  Of course, things don’t go well, and this time Brian not only has to survive, but to rescue the agent with him.

Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return and Brian’s Hunt are sort of  alternate timeline sequels.  Brian’s Winter assumes that Brian wasn’t rescued at the end of Hatchet, and had to survive the winter.  The other two follow that timeline with Brian’s further adventures.  I loved Hatchet and The River so much than I really wasn’t as open to the other sequels.  Other people love them even more than Hatchet though, so it just goes to prove that you must read them all and decide for yourself!

Hatchet is popular with readers from third through ninth grade.  It definitely has wide appeal over all ages.  Some of my favorite read alikes are Far North and Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs, The Wilder Boys by Brandon Wallace, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, Ice Dogs by Terri Lynn Johnson, Peak by Roland Smith, and Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo.  (See?  Many survival books are compared–or maybe inspired–by Hatchet!)  You could also read the 30th anniversary edition of Hatchet, which has a whole section of survival tips and tricks.

So while you’re surviving at home, grab Hatchet and read about why you’re happy not to be surviving in the wilderness!  (And if you’re ever on a north-bound, private plane, make sure you have a hatchet close at hand.)

Happy reading!
::kelly::

 

Old Favorite: Over Sea, Under Stone

A holiday by the sea, a strange house, a mysterious yacht.  The three Drew children are in for the adventure of a lifetime!

Soon they are on a treasure hunt, risking their lives to help find a mysterious missing object.  But villains are on their trail!  Can they follow the clues and solve the puzzle before the bad guys catch up?

It’s Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper!

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Barnaby, Jane and Simon Drew are all set for four exciting weeks of holiday.  Their Great Uncle Merry has invited them to spend time with him, in Cornwall, in a strange twisty home called Grey House.

Any time they can spend with Great Uncle Merry–or Gumerry, as Barney named him when he was a toddler–is to be celebrated.  Gumerry is tall, with wild white hair and deep-set eyes, no one knows how old he really is, but anyone spending time with him starts to feel he’s ancient–as old as the hills, or the sea, or the sky.  Always, wherever he was, unusual and interesting things happened around him.  Who wouldn’t want to spend time in his presence?  It’s sure to be an amazing holiday!

Before they even enter Grey House, the children stop to look out at the ocean.  There’s a strange wildness in the breeze; the scent of seaweed, salt and excitement. Barnaby notices a fast moving white yacht in the harbor.  Barnaby and Simon imagine how thrilling it would be to go onboard.  Only Jane, who isn’t fond of the open sea, notices that Gumerry seems to be startled.  Not only startled, but surprised, alarmed and unsettled at the sight of the white yacht.

Down in the village, Jane is nearly run over by a rude boy on a bicycle.   A wizened old fisherman helps Simon and Barnaby get Jane to her feet and patches her up.  Kindly Mr. Penhallow tells them a little about the town, and confirms that Gumerry is well known in the village.  Barnaby chats with him and finds out all about the fishing schedule in the village.  He also tells his brother and sister than Mr. Penhallow said that rain was coming.  Looking at the beautiful blue sky above, Simon says that it doesn’t seem likely.

But the next day, not only is it raining, but there’s thunder as well.  The first full day of the holidays, and they’re stuck in the gloomy old house.  Bored, Barnaby convinces Simon and Jane to go exploring in the house.  There are rooms they haven’t seen, and the house is so big, that there have to be things to find!  They do find some interesting rooms and strange corridors.  But they start thinking about the layout of the house and walls; curious enough to start thinking about the logistics, they start measuring space, and realize that there should be a room behind the wall in Simon and Barnaby’s bedroom.  Moving a heavy cupboard, they find a dusty door.  Forcing it open, they push past cobwebs and enter the tiny room… which isn’t a room at all, but a staircase, ascending into dusty darkness…

Simon, Jane and Barnaby’s discovery is the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. It sends them on a dangerous quest that entraps them in the eternal battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark.

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Over Sea, Under Stone was published in 1965.  Ten years later, Susan Cooper wrote four highly acclaimed sequels, starting with The Dark is Rising.  Barnaby, Jane and Simon appear in three of the other books–Greenwitch, The Grey King, and The Silver on the Tree.  Since the four were published by a different publisher, Over Sea, Under Stone didn’t really get credit as the first book in the series until 1979.

I loved this book as a kid!  I did not guess who Gumerry was until near the end, but I did guess before the big reveal.  The mystery is based around the coast of Cornwall, with caves and fishing villages and cliffs, as well as beautiful vistas.  Readers will want to visit Cornwall after finishing the book!  The clues are complicated, but there are enough clues in the text to help figure it out with the kids.

While the rest of The Dark is Rising Sequence are high fantasy, Over Sea, Under Stone is more of a mystery.  It does have elements of fantasy, and Great Uncle Merry–Merriman Lyon–is definitely fantastical.  Because it’s a mystery, it’s more focused on the clues and the treasure, and can be accessible to slightly younger readers.  It would be best for fourth through seventh grade readers.  (The rest of the Dark is Rising Sequence is probably fifth through tenth grades, increasing slightly with each book.)

Some read alikes are The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones and Yesterday’s Magic by Pamela Service.

So grab your Guide to Cornwall and try Over Sea, Under Stone…and enjoy!

Happy Reading!
::kell::

Book and Audio Review: The War That Saved My Life

Whoo-hoo!  Another audio book review!  One to go on our “top ten” list, too.

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The War That Saved My Life
By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle
6 CDs, 7 1/2 Hours

Ada and her little brother Jamie live in a one-room flat in London with their Mam.  It’s 1939, and a war with Germany is looming.  Ada doesn’t know much about the war; because she has a ‘bad foot’, Mam doesn’t allow her to ever leave their room, even for school.  She has grown up staying in the flat all day, sitting for hours in the chair by the window, watching Jamie play with his friends and waving at neighbors she’s never met.  Unless it’s a day that Mam is angry with her, then she’s stuffed into the cupboard under the sink or not given any food.

One day, Jamie comes home with the news that the children from their neighborhood are being evacuated to the country because the government is expecting London to be bombed.  Mam scoffs, but decides that one less mouth to feed might be a good thing.  She’s not letting Ada go though. No, Mam says Ada has to stay and get bombed, if it comes to that. Both children protest, but Mam locks them in and leaves for the pub.

No one at school knows Ada even exists, but she’s determined to go away with Jamie. Her practice standing on her bad foot comes in handy for their escape. When the morning comes to evacuate on the train, she steals her mother’s shoes and limps, then crawls, then gets a lift from one of Jamie’s friends.  Ada and Jamie make it to the country…only to be left out when everyone else is chosen.  Not one villager seems to want two dirty children with no belongings.

Then Lady Thornton, the woman in charge of the evacuated children, takes them in hand and leaves them to stay with Susan Smith, in a big old empty house.  Even though Miss Smith claims she is unkind and unfit to care for children, living with her is better than living with Mam.  As Ada and Jamie start exploring the world around them, fall in love with horses (Ada) and planes (Jamie), they start to trust Susan.  But will Susan want to keep them?  Will the war reach them, even in the country?  Will their Mam come to take them away, as the other refuge children are taken back?  And what about spies?

A little bit adventure, a little bit coming-of age, a little bit historical fiction, this is an amazing story about strength and courage and family.  The War That Saved My Life was a 2016 Newbery Award Honor Book Winner.

The sound recording of The War That Saved My Life is simply wonderful.  I loved the narrator, Jayne Entwistle.  She did a terrific job finding each character’s voice, and I was truly impressed at how she could infuse her voice with emotions.  You could hear the laughter and the tears in her voice as Ada spoke.  This audio book is right up there in my top ten recordings of children’s books.  It also won the 2016 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audio Production, so I’m not the only one to think that way!

The War That Saved My Life is for kids in grades 5 – 8, although I think adults would enjoy it just as much as their kids do.  The sound recording would be great to share on a family car trip, although it might be difficult for a child younger than nine or ten, because of some tough subject matter.  (In addition to the consequences of being at war and the loss of loved ones, Ada and Jamie’s Mam is a thoroughly horrible person, and her treatment of the children might be difficult to hear.)  Listening to it as a family though, would provide some great groundwork for discussion about war, and families, and strength of spirit.

Some read-alike suggestions:  Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt.

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Remember, if you would like recommendations for book or books on CD, ask one of our librarians.  Or check out some of our earlier recommendations here at BellaOnBooks!

::Kelly::

 

 

Fun Summer Reads #2

Looking for something fun to read this summer?  Try one of our Fun Summer suggestions!

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The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain, Book One)
by Lloyd Alexander

Say you were a lowly assistant pig keeper in a castle, but you wanted to be something grander, something more important.  Might you–perhaps–neglect your charge?  Even if she was Hen Wen, the only oracular pig in all of Prydain? And instead try to learn sword making, sword-fighting, and other skills that befit a true warrior?

Because that’s what Taran does.  He longs to become an expert swordsman and have adventures.  But instead, he’s watching a pig.  It’s true, she’s the most special pig in the kingdom, but wallowing in the mud isn’t Taran’s idea of an adventure.  But when Taran’s on duty and all of the animals in Caer Dallben react to an approaching danger with terror, Hen Wen is so frightened she digs under her fence and escapes into the forest.  Taran follows her.  His plan is to rescue her and bring her back, but instead he manages to fall into the adventure he always craved.

With the dreaded Horned King on the loose and King Arawn gathering the forces of evil, Taran is soon in the middle of an adventure.  But it’s not as easy being a hero as it might sound, and adventures are not as exciting when you’re in the middle of them as they are when you’re hearing them as legends.  Taran’s bravery, cunning and, yes his swordsmanship, is put to the test…along with his connection to Hen Wen and his ability to think on his feet.

The Book of Three is the first book in an award-winning Chronicles of Prydain series, partially based on Welsh legends, with some of the best characters in children’s literature.  A book that I read and re-read as a kid, with a quest that keeps its thrilling life or death drama.

::Kelly::

Four Audio Reviews — Adventure!

It’s always hard to decide how to post audio reviews.  Should I rank them according to how I liked them?  But in that case, should it be best to worst or worst to best?  Do a grab-back and pick?  Should I pick the order in which I listened to them?  Maybe a random combination?

It’s never easy.  This time, I’ll start with the earliest one I listened to, save the best one for last, and mix up the order of the other two.  Hey, it makes sense to me.

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The Genius Wars
By Catherine Jinks, Read by Justine Eyre
10 CDs; 11 Hours, 55 Minutes

Cadel Piggott is a genius.  He’s not exactly modest about it, it’s something he’s known all his life.  He was hacking into high-security computers by the age of eight, and his skills only developed with age.  Cadel as a child was able to do things that no one else could do.  Unfortunately, he was also a criminal, working under an evil mastermind at the direction of Prosper English, the man he believed to be his father.

Now though, things are finally going his way. At fifteen, Cadel is in his first year at University. He’s living with his foster parents Detective Saul Greeniaus and his wife Fiona, and finally escaping his past.  He has friends, interesting classes, and nothing to worry about.

Until Prosper English is sighted on several surveillance cameras in nearby Sydney, walking across the city as if he hadn’t a care in the world.  Cadel knows that his testimony would put Prosper English in jail for the rest of his life.  Is Prosper in Sydney to get revenge on the boy once believed to be his son?  Cadel certainly thinks so.  When his best friend Sonja is attacked and ends up in hospital, Cadel knows that he has to take desperate measures.  Soon he’s abandoned his new life as a law-abiding teenager and hacking into computer networks, revisiting all his illegal skills and traveling around the globe to protect his new family and friends.

Will Cadel find Prosper English before Prosper English finds him?

The CD for Genius Wars was very entertaining.  Most of the characters are from Australia, and all the accents sounded varied enough to come from different areas of that country.  There were also British, Canadian and American characters, and they all had accents that sounded true.  Maybe it was the accents that threw me off, but I believed I was listening to a Australian teenage boy reading the story, not a Canadian woman.  (I guess it helped that Justine Eyre has an Australian father, grew up in the Philippines, was educated in Britain and works in both the US and Canada…obviously, her ability to mimic various accents is something that comes to her from experience!)

Being set in Australia, there were some words and phrases that might be troublesome for American listeners, but their meanings were fairly obvious.  I did have to look up “wardriving”– a term which made no sense to me, although I could tell what it was through the story.  (It might be what we call geocaching…but not quite.)

Genius Wars is the third book in a series, preceded by Evil Genius and Genius Squad.  Although I didn’t read the first two books, it wasn’t difficult to come in on the third book.  I’m sure I missed things, but the story hung together tightly and made sense.  I did wonder about a few past connections (and I want to read the two earlier books anyway) but I think anyone who picks up Genius Wars cold will enjoy it as an adventure novel and not worry about what they might have missed.

Genius Wars has plenty of action, loads of dangerous situations and some skillful detective work. It also has quite a bit of humor, which helps alleviate the tension.  Hackers and computer geeks will probably love it, although some of the terms went over MY head!

I’d recommend Genius Wars (and both Genius Squad and Evil Genius) for middle school and high school readers.  Kids a little younger who are familiar with computer terminology who like a fast-paced, involved mystery might enjoy it too.  Our copies of all the books and the books on CD are in our Teen Collection.

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The False Prince
By Jennifer A. Nielsen, Read by Charlie McWade
7 CDs; 8 hours, 14 minutes

Sage lives by his wits on the streets.  Officially, he lives at Mrs. Turbeldy’s Orphanage for Disadvantaged Boys,  but that’s only for another few months, until he’s sixteen and is kicked out.  Sage believes in being prepared, so he helps get extra points with Mrs. Turbeldy by “acquiring” a few things she needs for herself and the boys in the orphanage.  It’s not his fault that other people call it stealing.  When Sage is caught by the henchman of a foreign noble after stealing a roast from a butcher in the market, he has no idea how much his life is about to change.

Conner offers Mrs. Turbeldy money for Sage, and she sells him to the noble. Sage takes issue with this and tries to escape…unsuccessfully.  When he wakes up, he’s tied in the back of a wagon, surrounded by three other boys.  All four look remarkably similar, as if they could be brothers.

Conner explains that he’s looking for a boy, one who can learn quickly and keep his mouth shut. It seems that there is a problem with the throne in Conner’s country, and he’s looking for someone who could play the part of a missing prince.  Prince Jaron was rumored to have been killed by pirate four years ago, but if found, he would be heir to the kingdom. And Conner wants to place whichever of the boys who learns his part best to take Jaron’s place on the throne.  He makes it brutally clear to the boys that the only alternative to participating in his plan is death.

So Sage quickly starts working to be Prince Jaron, along with Roden and Tobias.  As Conner and his henchmen plot, the three boys work hard at swordplay, court intrigue and other royal skills.  But Sage has a plan, and it doesn’t necessarily involve Conner.  With Prince Jaron’s title and kingdom and his own identity on the line, how far will Sage go?

The CD recording for The False Prince is well-done, with just the right pacing.  I loved the voice of the narrator, Carlie McWade. He sounded like a young man, stressed by circumstances and secrets.  He managed to make all the characters sound a little different, with different tones and speeds for their voices.

The False Prince is the first part of a trilogy, but it doesn’t leave you hanging. It’s a complete story in and of itself, but you will want to read the second book, The Runaway King, which came out earlier this year. The third book will be out next year.

The False Prince is a fantasy adventure, and perfect for a family car trip.  I would recommend The False Prince to readers in fifth through ninth grades, and the book on CD would be great for families from fourth grade up.  There is much going on in the story, so if you don’t listen carefully, you might miss some clues to the secrets and lies going on behind the scenes!  There is a bonus interview with the author that is quite interesting, and a missing scene from the book included on the CD.

Our copy of The False Prince as a book is located in both the Juvenile and Teen collections; the CD is in the Juvenile collection due to space issues.

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100 Cupboards
By N.D. Wilson, Read by Russell Horton
5 CDs, 6 hours; 23 minutes

Henry York has spent all twelve years of his life with overprotective parents in Boston. How overprotective?  Henry had to wear a helmet to play outside, he wasn’t allowed to play sports, and at twelve, he was still riding in the back seat of their car, buckled into a booster seat.  When his parents were kidnapped on a business trip, Henry was put on a bus to Kansas, where his aunt, uncle and cousins live.

Arriving in Kansas, Henry is surprised at how different things are.  Uncle Frank has him ride home in the back of his pickup truck–no safety seat, not even a seat belt!  His Aunt Dotty is warm and welcoming, and not the least bit smothering. And his cousins– Penny, Henrietta and Anastasia—seem happy to meet him and want to take him right outside to play baseball and explore.

The girls have happily (mostly) sacrificed their attic playroom to give Henry a bedroom.  There is a spare bedroom in the house, but it had belonged to their grandfather, who died two years earlier.  He had locked his room, and since that day, no one has been able to get into the room. They’ve tried picking the lock, breaking the windows, chainsawing through the door…but both the door and windows are impervious to everything.

In the attic, Henry starts to hear strange noises from inside the wall, and suddenly plaster starts coming off.  Henry becomes curious and digs, and finds a post office mailbox under the plaster.  Henrietta sees it the next day, and the two of them set to work, pulling off the plaster.  Once it’s gone, they find a wall of 100 cupboards–all different sizes, shapes and types–revealed.  None of them will open.  But where would they go, anyway?  The other side of the wall looks over the field outside.

But then, one does open. And Henry discovers that on the other side is not the field, but a post office somewhere else. When an envelope and postcard appear in the mailbox that are obviously meant for him, Henry decides that he has to find out what is going on with the cupboards. With Henrietta’s help, he finds a key, and suddenly they are both traveling through the cupboards to mysterious places.  Why are the cupboards in the attic?  Where do they all go?  Henry and Henrietta find themselves and their family in terrible danger as they try to solve the mystery.

100 Cupboards is the first book in a time-travel/fantasy trilogy.  I found the story to be intriguing and interesting.  However, I had a very hard time with the narrator of this particular book on CD.  Although he did a great voice for a couple of the villains that appear later in the book, his voices for the rest of the characters sounded all the same to me; whiny and irritating. Uncle Frank and Anastasia were the only two that sounded different, and their voices were even more annoying.  People’s voices were drawn out, and the emotions I felt they might be feeling were not evident in the reading.

Now, voices and reading are a very subjective thing, so this may be something that doesn’t bother other listeners.  And I really did want to find out what was going on in Henry’s attic bedroom, so the problems I had with the voices didn’t prevent me from enjoying the story.  I did feel irritated with some of the actions of the characters, and I don’t know if it was because of the story or because of the narration.  But I do feel it’s a fair warning for discerning listeners!

This book is appropriate for third through sixth grade readers, and the audio recording would work with those ages as well.  100 Cupboards is in our Juvenile collection.

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Three Times Lucky
By Sheila Turnage, Read by Michal Friedman
7 CDs, 8 hours

Moses LoBeau, rising sixth grader, lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, population 148.  She lives with The Colonel and Miss Lana, on account of her Upstream Mother losing her during a hurricane eleven years ago.  Mo counts herself lucky to have been found floating downstream on a pile of debris, a tiny newborn, and being found by the Colonel, especially with his memory problems.

Mo helps run Tupelo Landing’s only cafe, which Miss Lana runs and the Colonel owns.  Some days she’s even responsible for opening it and creating the menu.  One summer day, the cafe is the reason Mo can’t go fishing with her best friend, Dale.  He’s a good friend though, and helps her at the cafe instead. And because they’re running the cafe, they’re among the first people in town to meet Detective Joe Starr of Winston-Salem, traveling through to Wilmington to solve a murder.  He stops to ask questions in the cafe though, and angers the Colonel.  Mo is skeptical of Joe Starr’s intentions, and Dale is downright scared, what with him having “borrowed” Mr. Jesse’s boat for their postponed fishing trip and not yet having returned it.  Crime is crime, right?

Summer goes on. Mo sends some more letters in bottles, trying to find her Upstream Mother, Dale returns Mr. Jesse’s boat, and both of them help Dale’s brother, Lavender, with his race car.  Miss Lana is away, but the Colonel helps with the Cafe.  Mo’s sworn enemy, Anna Celeste (otherwise known as Attila) even manages to not be so annoying.  Although the Azalea ladies and Grandmother Miss Lacy Thornton are gossiping about Miss Lana’s absence, things seem to be going about the same as they always go in Tupelo Landing.

But when Mr. Jessie is found murdered, Joe Starr is right there, investigating the murder.  Mo and Dale establish the Desperado Detectives with the intention of helping.  Mo is right there in the middle of everything, finding clues, interviewing witnesses and detecting, even if Joe Starr doesn’t seem to appreciate her assistance.

But when Dale comes under suspicion, and Miss Lana disappears, things have definitely taken a turn for the worse.  If Mo can’t help, who else can?  Mo is determined to find out who killed Mr. Jesse, and maybe, in the midst of all the turmoil, find out who she really is.

Three Times Lucky  is absolutely wonderful: a little slice of quirky southern life.  Mo is someone I would have wanted to know when I was twelve.  After finishing the story, I wanted to drive straight down to Tupulo Landing and meet everyone that I had just read about!  I loved Three Times Lucky as a story, but the audio recording makes it even better!  As you listen, you absolutely believe you are listening to Mo, complete with her adorable southern accent.  The characters come to life as you listen through their accents, cadence and tones.  Even though Mo is narrating, each person has their own voice.

I especially loved the southern flavor of the town, which is evident in the text, but it’s something that comes alive through the audio recording.  The little idiosyncrasies of southern flavor were more apparent read aloud than they were in the visual text.  There is such a feeling of place that it felt like I was listening to a conversation at Mo’s Cafe.  I listen to books on CD in my car, so every time I had to stop and turn it off, I felt like I should be talking with a southern accent!

I’m not sure what else to say about Three Times Lucky other than it was great.  If you’ve ever listened to Turtle in Paradise, Three Times Lucky reminded me of that book, with a strong sense of place and the perfect marriage of story and narrator.  This book was a Newbery Honor book in 2013, and it was definitely a real winner.

Three Times Lucky is the perfect book for a family car ride.  The book is probably best for fourth through sixth grade readers.  There are some elements of the murder mystery that may make it difficult for the youngest readers, but on the whole, the audio recording works for everyone.   Three Times Lucky is my favorite audio recording of this entry and my favorite of the year, so far!

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And there you have it.  It took me almost as long to write this as it did to listen to one of the CDs!  I hope you’ll try one of these and enjoy!

::Kelly::

Two Audio Reviews that will make you think

Summer is a great time to listen to audio books, whether you’re driving back and forth to the beach, to camp or to visit relatives.  Audio books make the trip go faster and, if the whole car is listening, give you something to talk about along the way.

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Okay For Now
by Gary D. Schmidt, Read by Lincoln Hoppe
8 CDs, 9 hours, 18 minutes
Winner of an Odyssey Honor Award for Audiobooks

Doug Swieteck is not in the least bit happy when his father’s temper causes him to lose his job. Instead of just finding another one in the city, his father calls an old buddy, Ernie Echo, who gets him work at the papermill he works for in upstate New York. So Doug, his mother and his older brother have to give away everything that doesn’t fit in a pickup truck and move.  One of Doug’s classmates shows up as Doug’s mom is giving away her plants and gives Doug a jacket signed by his hero, Joe Pepitone.

But even Joe Pepitone’s jacket can’t save the day. Stupid Marysville is a small town, and The Dump, as he calls the family’s new home, is disgusting. Doug has to share a tiny room with his brother, the criminal mind. He has to hide Joe Pepitone’s jacket from him too, or the criminal mind would take it and trade it for something else.

On the first stupid Saturday in stupid Marysville, Doug ends up on the steps of the local library, where he meets Lil Spicer, who teaches him how to drink a really cold Coke. She also gets him a job with her father, delivering groceries for Spicer’s Deli. On his route, Doug meets some of the characters in Marysville, like  and Mrs. Windemere, an elderly playwright with a penchant for different ice cream flavors every week.

And in the library, Doug discovers a treasure–a book of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. The book is in a glass case, but Doug is fascinated by the Arctic Tern, whose eyes seem to see more of life than Doug could have imagined.

But life in Marysville is challenging with a family like Doug’s. His brother, the criminal mind, is suspected of robbing several local stores. His father is spending more time with Ernie Echo than with his family. And Doug’s mother is thinking of her oldest son, serving in Vietnam.  Doug’s life in Marysville is filled with ups and downs, love and loss, discoveries and and learning how to see what life is really all about.  His time there changes his life, but his presence in Marysville changes the lives of the residents just as much.

I loved Okay for Now, and I adored the audio recording. The book is set in 1967, and full of details about life in the 60s.  (For instance, Doug earns $5 for a full day of deliveries, and the library is only open on Saturdays.) This was the year of the Apollo Lunar Landing and of Vietnam war protests. It was a turning point year in many ways, and Doug manages to survive things that kids today would consider horrible treatment.

I do have to admit, it took me the full first disc to get into the story. I didn’t like Doug’s accent (he sounded like an imitation Vinnie Barbarino) and I was tired of listening to “So what?” and what Joe Pepitone would and wouldn’t do. But I stuck with it, and I’m extremely glad that I did.

This is a book that could lead to some great discussions for book groups or for families. I would recommend it to middle school and high school readers, but certainly a sophisticated fifth grader could read and enjoy it.  It is recommended for listeners ages 10 through 16, and would be a wonderful sound recording for a family trip, especially with middle school students.

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No Passengers Beyond This Point
By Gennifer Choldenko, Read by Becca Battoe, Jesse Bernstein and Tara Sands
5 CDs, 6 Hours, 6 Minutes

Finn Tompkins is the middle child (and only boy)  between two very different sisters. His older sister, India, is into fashion and gossip and dating–a typical 14 year old.  His younger sister, Mouse, is a genius who has a unique outlook on life and an interest in science and planets.  They live with their mother, who is a teacher. Their father died after a car accident on the way to the hospital before Mouse was born.

When a series of bad decisions leads to their mother losing their house to foreclosure, she decides that Finn, India and Mouse will go live with their Uncle Red. Although she’ll join them eventually, she will have to complete the school year and stay with their aunt in town. It’s evident to the entire family that four more people just couldn’t all fit into Uncle and Aunt’s tiny house.

No matter how hard India argues that she HAS to stay with her friend Maddie…no matter how much Finn wants to stay and play basketball with his team…no matter how much Mouse cries and begs to stay with their mother, she remains firm. The kids are put on the plane to Red Fort and Uncle .

But when they arrive at the airport, it’s not Red Fort.  It’s not even Denver, or Colorado.  The man waiting for them in the airport turns out to be a boy disguised with a mustache. He drives a pink feathered taxi.  The kids are delivered to Red Bird, where crowds of people cheer and celebrate their arrival. India, Finn and Mouse are each given a small wooden puzzle piece and told the only way to return home is for all of them to decide they want to go home, and to join their wooden pieces together. They’re also given a clock, and told that they have 13 hours to decide, but that time will go differently for each of them.  Then each one is brought to all their new house, designed specifically to their interests, with an adult parent-substitute who will provide for all their needs, sometimes even before they ask.

India loves it (she has a direct line via computer to Maddie), Mouse is happy (her new “mom” has all the time in the world for her, plus she loves science experiments), but Finn questions where they are and what’s going on. His questions lead to him being kicked out of his house and trading time for information.

The more Finn discovers, the more he realizes that he has to find his sisters and get home. Unfortunately, it won’t be as easy as Finn thinks, because there are a lot of obstacles in his way, and the biggest one might be India.  And the clocks are ticking down…

No Passengers Beyond This Point was a very interesting book to listen to. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on until halfway through the book, and without the actual print copy I couldn’t flip through to see if I was right! It wasn’t until the very last chapter that the full story is revealed in a very clever fashion.  This really IS one of those books where to say too much is to give away the story.  However, I am very curious to know what other readers or listeners think!

I loved that there were multiple narrators for this book–each chapter is from the viewpoint of India, Finn or Mouse, and each had a different narrator.  This was much more effective than a single narrator would be, and gave each of the siblings a unique voice.   The pacing was great.

No Passengers Beyond This Point is recommended for listeners ages 8 to 14. I’d say the book is accessible to kids in grades four through six.  If you like adventures and puzzles, try this book. It’s enjoyable both on tape and in print.  It would also be a great discussion book for a parent-child book group.

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Try either of these audio titles on your next trip, and see what you think!

::Kelly::

Old Favorites: The Avion My Uncle Flew

I’ve always enjoyed mysteries, as well as books that take place in a different country–especially if it was a place I’d like to visit.  But I think that when I originally picked up this book to read, way back in fifth grade, it was because of the funny word in the title. “Avion”?  What was that?  The plane on the cover did kind of hint at what it might be, but I wasn’t sure.

When I read the blurb on the back of the book to see what it might be about, it looked exciting–a boy building a plane, spies and France!  Even better, the last few pages (yes, I check the last few pages…mostly to see if the main character’s name is still there…it’s a thing) seemed to be in French.  I recognized the language from the books at my grandparents’ house.  That was that. I just had to read The Avion My Uncle Flew, by Cyrus Fisher.

* * *

Johnny Littlehorn lives on a ranch in Wyoming with his mother and the ranch hands. His father would normally live there too, but he’s been away for over three years, fighting overseas.  While he was gone, Johnny tried to help out on the ranch. With so many men away, there are never enough ranch hands and so much work.  During a terrible snowstorm, Johnny had set out to help by rounding up cattle. Unfortunately, he was thrown from his pony and hurt his leg very badly.  Badly enough that he may never walk again. His mother brings him to all sorts of specialists, but Johnny ends up confined to the house in a wheelchair, waiting for his leg to heal, and for his father.

Johnny’s father had been wounded during the war, and ended up serving his remaining tour as a liaison in France. He had contacts that some of the soldiers didn’t, since Johnny’s mother had been born in France, and her brother Paul still lives there.  When he hears about how his son is dealing with the accident, Johnny’s father returns to Wyoming, but only to bring Johnny and his mother back to France for a year. The bonus is that there are excellent Army surgeons over there, and they think they can fix Johnny’s leg.

Once they get to France, the surgeons do fix Johnny’s leg, but he still has a long recovery ahead of him. And unfortunately, his father’s job with the Army is sending him to London for a few months. Johnny’s parents decide that dank and gloomy London wouldn’t be a good recovery spot, so they decide to send Johnny to stay with his Oncle Paul, in St. Chamant.

France isn’t exactly what Johnny would have thought. First of all, there’s the conversation he overhears in the park. Then Albert, the man who is helping his father is seen meeting with the mysterious Monsieur Simonis…who was also in the park. When Johnny confronts the men, they deny what they said and make him look foolish to his parents.  Afterward, they get Johnny alone and threaten him if he tells anyone.  Johnny is sure that the men are up to no good, but it seems to be related to the house his mother and uncle own, and the whole family thinks that the crisis is over.

When Johnny gets to St. Chamant and meets Oncle Paul, he immediately likes the man. Paul is young, in his early 20s, and is building an experimental plane…and he wants Johnny to help. Paul tells Johnny that by the time his parents return in two months, Johnny will be running to greet them.

Building a plane is hard work, as is recovering from surgery to his leg. Moving from a wheelchair to crutches isn’t easy, but Johnny has a goal in mind–riding a bicycle.  His plans are complicated though, by Albert and Msr. Simonis popping up again.  When some of his new friends tell him of the rumors of a Nazi spy still in the area, Johnny wonders if the spy and Msr. Simonis are the same person.

Danger threatens the small town just as Johnny starts to feel at home.  Can he and his new friends manage to figure out the danger and save themselves?

* * *

The Avion My Uncle Flew takes place when in was written…in 1946, just after World War II ended.  It’s an interesting view of  France, since people are still affected by the events they’ve just lived through. It also means that the spy mystery has an immediacy that makes it imperative for Johnny and his friends to solve.

Best of all, throughout the book, Johnny learns French words from his uncle and friends, so that by the time you reach the end, Johnny writes an essay on his year in France–in French–and the reader can understand the whole thing!  As a kid, I found that extremely cool. As an adult, I’m amazed that Cyrus Fisher manages to make it work so well.

The Avion My Uncle Flew fits into a lot of different genres–it’s a mystery, historical fiction, a foreign language book and an adventure.  Johnny builds a plane and recovers from a serious injury.  He makes new friends in a new country.  It’s a reunion between a family who has been through several different traumas. And it’s a great story.  It won a Newbery Honor for one of the best books for children in 1946.

The Avion My Uncle Flew would be great for anyone interested in speaking or learning French, and boys especially should love the story of the airplane. The language is rich, and it is pretty long. I’d recommend it to fifth through seventh grade readers, although it could appeal to kids both older and younger.  I wish it was available as a sound recording, because it would make a great story for family car trips.

So, give it a try, and let me know what you think!

::Kelly::

Happy 2012!

It’s January, and for children’s librarians, that means one thing:  Book Awards!  Right now, librarians all over the country are pouring over their lists of best books of 2011.  We’re all trying to predict what books published in 2011 will win the 2012 awards for distinguished  literature for children and teens in a variety of fields.

Come in and see our Best Books of 2011 displays, and vote for your favorites for the Newbery and Caldecott Awards.  Will you be right?  Find out on January 23rd!  That’s when the American Library Association will announce the official winners!

For now, here are a list of our favorites:

Caldecott Possiblities:

 A Butterfly is Patient, By Dianna Aston, Illustrated by Sylvia Long

Naamah and the Ark at Night, By Susan Bartoletti, Illustrated by Holly Meade

The Adventures of Mark Twain, by Huckleberry Finn, By Robert Burleigh, Illustrated by Barry Blitt

Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic, By Robert Burleigh, Illustrated by Wendell Minor

The Money We’ll Save, Written and Illustrated by Brock Cole

A Dazzling Display of Dogs, By Besty Franco, Illustrated by Michael Wertz

Blue Chicken, Written and Illustrated by Deborah Freedman

Say Hello to Zorro, Written and Illustrated by Carter Goodrich

Perfect Square, Written and Illustrated by Michael Hall

Red Sled, Written and Illustrated by Lita Judge

Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud, By Suzanne Tripp Jurmain, Illustrated by Larry Day

Neville, By Norton Juster, Illustrated by G. Brian Karas

I Want My Hat Back, Written and Illustrated by Jon Klassen

All the Water in the World, By George Ella Lyon, Illustrated by Katherine Tillotson

Me…Jane, Written and Illustrated by Patrick McDonnell

A Ball for Daisy, Written and Illustrated by Chris Raschka

Stars, Written by Mary Lynn Ray, Illustrated by Marla Frazee

Blackout, Written and Illustrated by John Rocco

Where’s Walrus?  Written and Illustrated by Stephen Savage

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature, By Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Beth Krommes

Grandpa Green, Written and Illustrated by Lane Smith

Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat, Written and Illustrated by Philip Stead

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy’s Parade, Written and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

 * * *

Newbery Possibilities:

The Mostly True Story of Jack, By Kelly Barnhill

Chime, By Franny Billingsley

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, By Jeanne Birdsall

Small Persons with Wings, By Ellen Booraem

Jefferson’s Sons, By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Dragon Castle, By Joseph Bruchac

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, By Carren Agra Deedy

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, By Candace Fleming

Dead End in Norvelt, By Jack Gantos

Tuesdays at the Castle, By Jessica Day George

True (…sort of), By Katherine Hannigan

Small as an Elephant, By Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Inside Out & Back Again, By Thanhha Lai

The Friendship Doll, By Kirby Larson

A Monster Calls, By Patrick Ness

The Aviary, By Kathleen O’Dell

Words in the Dust, By Trent Reedy

Bluefish, By Pat Schmatz

Okay for Now, By Gary D. Schmidt

The Emerald Atlas, By John Stephens

Hound Dog True, By Linda Urban

Breadcrumbs, By Anne Ursu

Pie, By Sarah Weeks

 * * *

Remember, any new book published in 2011 in the US is eligible!  Please come by the library to vote, and feel free to add any suggestions you might have.  If you’d like to share here, just let us know which book YOU think might win an Award!

::Kelly::