It's Monday! What are you Reading? 1/25/16

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

Graphic novels are hugely popular amongst my upper elementary students.  I love them for the way that they equalize voracious and struggling readers and give all kids access to wonderful stories.  This past week I read a graphic novel that is really unlike any other that I've seen.  

Child Solder: When Boys and Girls are Used in War by Michel Chikwanine, Jessica Dee Humphreys, and Claudia Davila is the very powerful and personal story of Michel, who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  I had been hearing about this book, and read reviews that suggested it was appropriate for elementary-aged readers, but I was skeptical.  The title alone, Child Solider, was a little bit off-putting for me, as a children's librarian.  But, I'm so glad I received a copy from NetGalley and gave this book a read anyway.

Child Soldier is a powerful, but surprisingly kid-appropriate look at a horrible reality. This book will not be for everyone - sensitive readers will be impacted by both the text and the illustrations, but the story is told gently and I think that for many kids it will be eye-opening but not traumatizing. 

Chikwanine was five years old when he was kidnapped by a rebel army and forced to become a child soldier.  There is no sugarcoating his horrific experience, which included being forced to use cocaine and commit murder, but neither the text nor the illustrations in this book are gratuitous.  The illustrations often show the expressions on Michel's face, rather than the atrocities he witnesses, which softens the blow for readers a bit.  The book includes extensive back matter which provides additional information and context about the plight of child soldiers globally.

This is not an easy read, but it is an important one and I think there is a large audience for it.  I would hesitate to hand it to some children to read on their own without the opportunity to follow up with questions and discussions, but hopefully Chikwanine's story will lead to just that - greater understanding, and greater dialogue about one of our world's most shameful realities. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/1/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

I have been a huge fan of Matt Tavares since he visited my library back in 2006.  I love baseball and many of Tavares' books, both fiction and nonfiction, highlight and reflect the beauty of the game.  I didn't think he could get any better, but his latest effort is my favorite.  

Growing Up Pedro tells the story of Pedro Martinez, one of the greatest pitchers ever (and my personal favorite).  This is a big, oversize book, as befitting the subject who often seems larger than life.  What I especially love about Growing Up Pedro, though, is the way that Tavares frames Pedro's life in relation to his brother, Ramon.  Pedro is clearly the star of the show, the masterful pitcher who can be both goofy and fearsome, but Ramon is the hero.  

The illustrations in this book are truly stunning.  From Pedro's childhood in the Dominican Republic to his game face on the mound, Tavares has perfectly captured the essence of "Ramon's little brother."

Growing Up Pedro is a wonderful book for baseball fans of all ages!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/10/14

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

Here are some highlights from my last week or so of reading:

Recommended for gr. 6-12

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander: 
What a wonderful voice for middle school readers!  Josh Bell plays basketball and the words on the pages of this book express the lyricism of the game.  It's not just about basketball, though.  I was impressed by how deftly Alexander wove themes of family and friendship into this poetic narrative, and all does not end happily, to my surprise.  I appreciate it when authors have the nerve to inject sorrow into the end of their books - it's rare and I know that not everyone likes it, but to me it feels true to life.  Alexander manages to do sorrow without being depressing, which is a feat!





Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana:

Recommended for gr. 5-8

It's interesting that 2014 brought more than one exceptional Hurricane Katrina book to the world of children's literature.  I loved Rodman Philbrick's Zane and the Hurricane and I thought it was going to be hard to top it in terms of emotional impact, but Lamana's story is both brutal and realistic.  Readers who felt that Philbrick's treatment of the subject contained a few too many coincidences and and an unrealistic happy ending might appreciate Lamana's hopeful yet honest conclusion.  The characters in Upside Down and in the Middle of Nowhere will stay with readers for a very long time. 

Recommended for gr. 5-8

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell:
Mending magic, curses, saints and princesses - this is a rich fantasy with both fairy tale and dystopian elements.  The two main characters, children from very different backgrounds who are stuck together in a castle guarded by malevolent thorns, are both sympathetic and realistically flawed.  The world that they create behind the castle walls is lovely and magical.  Fantasy readers will delight in this beautifully written and well imagined tale.

Recommended for gr. 8-12

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and the Fall of Imperial Russia 
by Candace Fleming:
Another winner by Fleming!  This is a very fascinating account of the end of the Romanov family rule in Russia.  While it is ostensibly a family biography, Fleming provides a vast backstory, including information about the Russian society, politics, religion, history and economy.  I was captivated and now have a few other Romanov books on my "to read" list.


 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/29/14

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

I read a bit from a variety of genres this week and was once again reminded how much I've grown as a reader as a result of working with kids.  I really don't get the argument that children's literature is somehow limiting for adults - in my case it has been entirely expanding!



After reading Jacqueline Woodson's brown girl dreaming, I really wanted to experience Andrea Davis Pinkney's The Red Pencil.  Like Woodson's book, it is a novel in verse.  Set in the Sudan in 2003-2004, it tells the story of Amira who is twelve and dreams of going to school in the city like her best friend. All dreams are dashed when her village is attacked by the Janjaweed and her father is killed. Amira then goes to a displaced persons camp with what remains of her family. The poetic text and illustrations combine to read almost like a diary - a very poignant and heartbreaking one.  Like brown girl dreaming, I almost think this is better appreciated as an adult reader.  That said, though, I'm curious to see how my students in Maine react to this story set in a place so far away and so different from their home.  I hope that it resonates with them as much as it did with me.



Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald is an art heist mystery with a Holocaust connection. Theodora’s grandfather dies leaving her with a mysterious request about a painting, a crumbling old house and a mother who is at minimum unstable (and possibly mentally ill). Together with her friend Bodhi, Theo attempts to discover the provenance of the painting and along the way meets some amazing people (including a truly fabulous tattooed librarian named Eddie) who help her. The ending felt a little bit too tidy for me, but that same tidiness gave the story a sense of having come full circle.  For art-appreciating readers and those who love a good mystery, this will be a hit.





I've had Cleopatra in Space in my library since August, but until now I couldn't wrestle it away from the kids long enough to read it.  That alone should serve as highest praise for this graphic novel!  What I especially appreciate about it (and the similar Zita the Spacegirl series) is that there is a smart and strong female heroine and readers of both genders can't get enough!  I have one 4th grade student who literally asks me every single week if the sequel to Cleopatra has come out yet.  He's a "reluctant" reader, but Cleopatra speaks to him.  So, I am hoping that Mike Maihack writes many, many more!






Finally, if you've read more than just a few of my blog posts, you know that I am a sucker for nonfiction dog stories (and cat stories, for that matter, although they are fewer and far between).  Super Sniffers: Dog Detectives on the Job is a stellar example of informative and engaging nonfiction for middle grade readers.  Author Dorothy Hindshaw Patent goes above and beyond the standard jobs that dogs have typically done and includes an array of examples of dogs working in medicine and environmental science.  I was fascinated and I am sure my students will be too!



Here's to another great week of reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/8/14

 Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.


It was a week of nonfiction reading for me, which made me happy.  I guess I am just an information geek, because it's hard for me to think of a topic that I don't want to read a book about.

For grades 5-8

The White House is Burning: August 28, 1814 by Jane Sutcliffe takes a remarkable moment in history (which most of us know little about) and presents it from a variety of perspectives, including that of the first lady, a slave, and the commanders of both armies.  With great use of primary sources, an excellent source list and bibliography, this is narrative nonfiction at its finest.

For grades 5-9

Combining forensic science, archaeology and history, At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui (by first time author Christine Liu-Perkins) brings to light an extraordinary find that was buried deep in the earth in China.  Lady Dai lived in the Han Dynasty and her tomb was discovered in the 1970s.  When it was excavated, her body was found in remarkable shape, along with a variety of treasures that were buried with her.  I was astonished by how well preserved everything was, and by how much scientists and historians were able to discover as a result of the find.  Budding historians will be fascinated by Lady Dai and her tomb!

For grades 8+

Inspired by historical events, Lies in the Dust: A Tale of Remorse from the Salem Witch Trials is a graphic novel about Ann Putnam, one of the Salem witch accusers. Rendered in black and white, with sharp text boxes and almost emotion-less illustrations, I was initially put off by the design of this book.  As I stuck with it, though, I realized that Timothy Decker (the illustrator) was actually quite brilliant in capturing the nuances of this historical episode. For sophisticated middle grade readers, this would be perfect to read and discuss within the context of a broader unit on the witch trials.

For grades 5+

I had to have a little bit of fiction thrown into the week for good measure, so I read one fantasy and one YA(ish) novel.  The Fog of Forgetting by G.A Morgan is the start of a new trilogy that begins on the Maine coast and ends up in the fantastical land of Ayda. Three siblings and their two new friends of Haiti get lost in the fog when they are out boating; the island that they are washed up on is in another land, and a dangerous one. I loved the concept and the start of their adventure but my attention waned a bit in the middle before deepening again at the end. Strong middle grade fantasy readers will find much to appreciate about this one.

For grades 7+

Finally, I am mystified as to why Devin Rhodes is Dead received the Children's Book of the Year Award, given by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, as the subject matter is decidedly for readers older than elementary school. That said, I loved this book. Cass clearly feels guilty about her best friend’s death - more than guilty - and we slowly learn about what happened the night of the death through a series of flashbacks. Author Jennifer Wolf Kam captures early teen friendship so well, and the torment that Cass feels is palpable. This is a page turner and the ending, while not a complete shocker, will surprise many readers.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/1/14

 Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

Well, I have been a blogging slacker over the summer, but I have been reading just about everything I can get my hands on.  The thought of trying to review everything I've read is entirely too daunting, so I decided to jump back into blogging by just highlighting some of my favorite summer reads:

Picture Book:

One of my greatest warm weather pleasures is sitting out on my screened porch with a stack of new picture books.  My favorite of this summer is also going to be a first day read aloud in my library: Flight School by Lita Judge.  Penguin wants to fly, so he heads to flight school.  Although he has "the soul of an eagle," he was not, of course, built to fly.  With a great deal of perseverance and tons of help from his friends, Penguin is able to experience the joy of flight, but most importantly, he discovers that dreams can come true in ways that we don't always imagine.

Middle Grade Chapter Books:

Two middle grade chapter books stand out for me this summer.  The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill is a rich, dark, complex and classic-feeling fantasy.  Three different threads intertwine to tell the story of nine stone giants and the magic they hold.  When Ned unexpectedly becomes the caretaker of the last remaining magic on earth, he also becomes the target of a group of bandits. The daughter of the bandit leader befriends him and together they strive to do the right thing with the magic (which is difficult because the magic has desires of its own). This is beautifully written and I'm curious to see what kids think of it, as I loved it, but wonder if it might appeal more to adults than children.  






My other favorite middle grade chapter book of the summer was something of a surprise to me.  I expected The Time of the Fireflies by Kimberely Griffiths Little to be a bit fluffy (given the title and cover), but found instead a page-turning, spooky, intriguing time travel mystery.  Larissa is recovering from a horrific accident when she receives a phone call on an antique phone, telling her to trust the fireflies, as a matter of life and death.  The fireflies guide her across a broken down bridge, back in time.  Throw in a creepy doll and you’ve got a winner!





Middle Grade Nonfiction:

Hands down, my favorite middle grade nonfiction book this summer was Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone by Rebecca L. Johnson (geez, she just keeps cranking out amazing material!).  I have been fascinated by Chernobyl since I lived in Eastern Europe in the mid 1990s, and this book provides an extraordinary look at the “Dead Zone” from the perspective of scientists who are studying wildlife there.  There are two pretty radically different perspectives on the impact the nuclear disaster has had on the area and Johnson presents both of them without choosing sides.  She also makes a compelling argument as to why Chernobyl is still relevant today and includes superb photos and source notes.  This is a winner on all fronts!




Adult fiction:

I am still thinking about the puzzle that is The Rise and Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman.  Tooly Zylderberg is living quietly in the Welsh countryside, just barely keeping her eccentric little bookstore afloat.  She spends much of her time reading, but her mysterious and inexplicable past comes blazing to the forefront when she receives a phone call from New York telling her that her father is dying.  The trouble is, she doesn't really know who her father is.  Told in a series of flashbacks in the 1980s and late 1990s, it turns out that Tooly was stolen as a child, and raised by a bizarre cohort of adults who had many secrets of their own.  I was slowly sucked into Tooly's past, completely absorbed by the strange adult caretakers in her life (especially Humphrey, the mysterious Russian who is grumpy with everyone but Tooly).  I won't give it away, but the end of the book delighted me in a way that is rare and memorable.  I loved this thick, meandering book!



Back to school... back to book talks!  Happy reading to all.  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/9/14

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee
for inspiring and hosting this meme.

I am definitely more of a cat person than a dog person, but dogs undeniably have a special place in the world of children's literature, and this past week I read a couple of wonderful exemplars.



There are quite a few books out there about dogs who have played a role in wars, but Stubby the War Dog: The True Story of World War I's Bravest Dog is exceptional.  Written by Ann Bausum, this nonfiction narrative uses primary sources (including some incredible photographs) to tell the story of one "war dog" and his soldier.  Meticulously researched and cited, Stubby the War Dog is a fascinating read and will appeal to animal lovers and war buffs, reluctant and voracious readers.






Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson is a riveting fictional account of the Alaskan wilderness, a girl striving to find her place in it, and the dogs who help her survive. Victoria lives for her sled dogs, especially after her father is killed in an accident.  Over confident about her navigational abilities, she makes a rash decision to go out with her dogs alone and gets stuck in a blizzard; along the way she rescues a boy who has been in a snowmobile accident. Together they fight the elements and try to keep themselves and the dogs alive. This is fast paced with riveting action and I loved the strong female protagonist.





I loved both of these books… and now I'm ready for a cat hero story!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/25/13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/18/13

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting this meme.


I am looking forward to a little time off for Thanksgiving, so I can dive into my to-be-read pile of books!  In the meantime, I read some good ones this past week:

For all ages

Caroline Kennedy's collection of poetry, Poems to Learn by Heart, strikes me as one that should be in everyone's home and library.  Jon J. Muth's illustrations perfectly capture the moods of the poems that Kennedy hand selected and together, the poetry and illustrations are just beautiful.

For elementary

Tracking Tyrannosaurs: Meet T. Rex's Fascinating Family, from Tiny Terrors to Feathered Giants is indeed fascinating.  This book includes some excellent big, bold illustrations and infographics,  as well as quite a bit of informational text.  The visuals will make this appealing to younger students who aren't quite ready for the dense text, while the information will intrigue middle grade readers who already know a bit about dinosaurs.

Rec. for grades 5+

The most powerful read of my week was The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible...on Schindler's List: a Memoir by Leon Leyson.  Leyson was just a boy when World War II began and the Nazis invaded his Polish hometown; most of his family was saved because of Leon's father's association with Oskar Schindler.  This is a surprisingly positive look at humanity and the Holocaust.  Leyson doesn’t gloss over the horror, but neither does he dwell on it - instead he focuses on the amazing good that Schindler did.  As a result, this is a rare book about the Holocaust that I think can have a place in an elementary school library.  

For adults

Finally, I got somewhat bogged down reading The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier, a book that both annoyed and intrigued me.  It is based on the premise that there was indeed an ancient civilization of warrior women (the Amazons) and the narrative thread goes back and forth, telling the story of Myrina, the leader of the Amazons and Diana, a present-day philologist who is hunting for proof of the Amazons existence.  I liked the back and forth nature of the narrative, but in both the Amazon story and Diana's story, I could barely get through the romantic entanglements that the women were involved in.  There were a number of times when I wanted to abandon this book, but the mystery of how Diana's grandmother was involved with the Amazons kept me reading, somewhat to my chagrin.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/28/13

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee 
for inspiring and hosting this meme.

Well, I am, along with the Red Sox, deep into the World Series.  My blogging is most definitely suffering.  So, here's a quick summary of this past week's reads:


Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine
Read my review









The Secret Pool by Kimberly Ridley
Read my review










The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Read my review











Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner
 Read my review












Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
Read my review 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/21/13

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting this meme.

As I look back over my reading this week, I realize that the Red Sox took over quite a bit of my reading time!  There was time spent actually watching the games and then, of course, time spent recovering from staying up too late to watch.  This is a good problem to have (which I'm happy to have in the coming week as well) and I still, I found some interesting reads, most notably an exciting (and true!) tale of the gold rush in the Klondike:

Call of the Klondike: A True Gold Rush Adventure by David Meissner and Kim Richardson is a stellar example of a nonfiction narrative.  Meissner and Richardson collected a wide array of primary source materials, including diary entries, photographs and newspaper articles and wove together a fascinating tale of adventure and lust for gold.  What I found most intriguing about this book is that the two men that it highlights had absolutely no success in the gold rush and yet their stories are utterly compelling.  Rarely is middle grade nonfiction so breath-takingly page turning!  

Lately I've been revisiting a topic that I studied extensively in the early 1990's:  the Romanian Revolution of 1989.  I lived in Romania not long after the end of communism when the Revolution was still a rather fresh and tender subject and I was interested to learn how time has clarified the events of that dramatic era.  To that end, I read The Romanian Revolution of 1989 by Peter Siani-Davies.  I was hoping that the many mysteries of 1989 would be cleared up by this book and perhaps by no fault of the author, I was disappointed to discover that historians still don't have answers to many questions.  This is a very academic treatment of the Revolution and I learned a great deal, but I finished it still wondering exactly what had happened and why.

Finally, Anita Shreve has a new book coming out in November which I enjoyed called Stella Bain.  In this slender historical fiction, a woman awakens in a field hospital in France in 1916.  She has no idea how she got there or who she is.  Generally I love a good tale of amnesia and this one has some strengths, but once the protagonist figures out who she is and how she got there, I found myself less interested in her story.  Nevertheless, fans of Anita Shreve's will enjoy this psychological exploration, as I did.  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/2/13

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting this meme.

I read some "big" books this week - Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things was massive in scope and heft and Elizabeth Wein's Rose Under Fire tackles some of the most difficult human experiences and emotions imaginable. I love books that ask questions that I can't easily answer.

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles by Tanya Lee Stone is a stunning nonfiction narrative about the first African American paratroopers who fought in World War II.  Stone combines photographs, primary sources and interviews with members of the Triple Nickles to tell a pretty incredible story that has not been told in its entirety before. I was riveted from start to finish. Detailed endnotes and a fascinating foreward by Ashley Bryan round out this unique offering.

Sally Gardner's Maggot Moon is startling, disturbing and beautifully written.  At first it feels a lot like The Hunger Games - Standish Treadwell lives in Zone 7 in a world that is tightly controlled by the "Motherland."  His parents and best friend have been disappeared and it seems that he will be the next to go.  Standish has dyslexia and two different colored eyes, making him an outcast and extremely vulnerable in this harsh society.  When he discovers a deeply troubling secret behind a concrete wall, he must make a decision that will forever alter (or perhaps end) his life.  What's unusual and genre-defying about this book is that it reads like dystopia, but actually takes place in the 1950s.  Standish is no Katniss - he is not powerful or heroic in the traditional sense, but the choices he makes are heartbreaking in their altruism.  This is a very thought provoking read and would make for a great book discussion title.

Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity was one of my favorite books last year, so I was beyond thrilled when I scored an advanced reader copy of the companion novel, Rose Under Fire, through NetGalley.   Although Rose Under Fire isn't as shocking and surprising as Code Name Verity from a literary standpoint, it is equally (or perhaps more so) affecting.  The narrator, Rose, is an American pilot who has been captured in German territory.  Sent to Ravensbrück, she survives because of the friendships she forges with other prisoners.  The concentration camp scenes are truly horrific and one is left with a deep sense of sorrow at the close of this book.  

Finally, I'll keep it brief about the two adult books I read this week.  Thanks to my friend Sally for the loan of Margaret from Maine, a modern-day home front war story with a moral question (which was surprisingly easy for me to answer) and Elizabeth Gilbert's new, sweeping saga The Signature of All Things.  I never would have guessed that this was written by the author of Eat, Pray, Love, but in retrospect, both books transported me completely to their settings.  If you love massive, all encompassing historical fiction, The Signature of All Things is for you!

Happy reading to all!