Nest Review

I grabbed this book from the shelves because it was newer and I liked the cover art. I didn’t expect to be drawn in to the quiet life of eleven-year-old Naomi “Chirp” Orenstein and the difficulties she faced in 1972 when her mother developed multiple sclerosis.

The writing in the book is wonderful; Chirp’s perspective on life she faces throughout the book seemed so innocent and real compared to the harshness of the situations she faces. The angry boy who lives next door lives in fear of his father’s wrath, and doesn’t like to go home. Chirp’s mom is dying from her disease and progressively becomes more depressed throughout the book. This book has more than it’s fair share of heartbreaking moments, and I would be hesitant to recommend this book to a child for casual reading. This book would make a great window for children who are dealing with similarly tough situations in their own lives.

Flora and Ulysses Review

Continuing with the Ds brings us to Dicamillo, and I have selected Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures!

The concept of this novel is hilarious; self-proclaimed cynic Flora Buckman rescues a squirrel from an out-of-control vacuum cleaner. The squirrel, named Ulysses, gains self-awareness, super-strength, the ability to fly and… can write poetry? Together these two find beauty in the world around them and friends in this cast of unique characters.

Dicamillo is not afraid to bring large vocabulary words into her writing, and this could be either a good or bad thing depending on the level of your reader. Children (and adults like me) will be drawn to the pages filled with comic strips depicting Ulysses’s adventures.

Matilda Review

Ah, Matilda. One of several children’s classics written by Roald Dahl. Overall, I thought this book was far from perfect, especially when I’m reading it for the first time in 2016. But this book has lots of charm, even though some of the wording would be considered outdated and have to be explained for students, I think this book would make a great read-aloud for elementary students.

I was drawn by this book specifically because Matilda is a young reader. She has a passion for learning at her age (since she was 2!)that is rare. Her parents abhor education, and shudder at the thought of reading for fun! Regardless, Matilda deals with her home situation by playing pranks on her awful parents. When she enters Kindergarten she befriends her teacher, Miss Honey, and learns to be wary of the school’s principal, Mrs. Trunchbull. Matilda wants to deal with Mrs. Trunchbull the same way she deals with her parents; by pranking them, and discovers that she has telekinetic abilities.

Unfortunately, this is where the book lost it’s ability to be believable. Telekinetic powers are interesting and all, but I felt as though Matilda would have been more than capable of getting Mrs. Trunchbull to quit and leave without having those powers.

Walk Two Moons Review

I’m back! We’re starting right back where we left off at the end of the C’s with Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. I selected this book because it was awarded a Newbery medal in 1995, and a friend suggested it.

I thought this book was okay. Creech weaves the story of all her characters together in a way that is well done, and tells an excellent story that mixes missing mothers, depression, romance, and metaphors for the unexpected adventures of life together in this book. I do not normally read realistic fiction, and I feel that that is why this book fell flat for me. I felt it took forever to start moving the plot along, the romance between Sal and Ben felt forced, and Sal, a thirteen-year-old, drives four hours down a dangerous road on her own just after her grandmother was admitted to the hospital. I don’t know about you, but if my grandmother was admitted to the hospital and I was worried about her health I do not think my thirteen-year-old self would be able to think straight enough to make that kind of trip.

Lunch Lady Review

Our next column of shelves features most of our graphic novel collection, so for today I selected Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. Because anything featuring evil librarians has to be awesome!

The Lunch Lady series by Jarrett Krosoczka is a unique comic series that is black, white, and oddly enough, yellow! Our hero seems to be an ordinary school lunch lady, but is actually the hero, Lunch Lady! Lunch Lady serves up justice against those who would cause crime, including the school librarians who are bent on world domination! Starting by… Destroying video games? (Because video games rot your mind and stuff.)

While I enjoying picking on the librarian stereotype as much as the next person, some of the jokes/details I loved in this book while others fell totally flat for me. Maybe it’s because I started with the second installment of this series instead of the first, but I did not understand what purpose the main characters, aside from our Lunch Lady, served. Regardless, Lunch Lady will save the day and win the hearts of children from grades 2-3 in a pinch.

NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society Review

When I saw this series on the shelf I couldn’t help but pick it up, because it has the word NERD in large bold text right on the cover. And I am, after all, a nerd. I was also a fan of the show Codename: Kids Next Door when it aired on Cartoon Network, and this book reminded me of my love for it.

Our protagonist, Jackson Jones, starts out as the most popular kid at his elementary school. He is a star athlete on the football team, and adored by all of his peers… Or so he thinks. After a trip to the dentist he discovers that he was born with two rows of teeth, and is required to wear a large head brace indefinitely. Overnight he is kicked off the football team for not being able to wear a helmet, and his friends stop talking to him completely. Left alone to his own devices, Jackson begins to uncover some mysteries about his school. He notices that the biggest group of nerds always sneeze at exactly the same time in class and then leave together, disappearing in one of the school’s hallways. Jackson climbs into a locker, and finds himself transported into an underground laboratory, home to the National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society.

Jackson is offered the chance to join NERDS, but can he get along with the same group of people that he once tormented for being nerds?

This book offers a unique perspective in that there are also chapters told from the Hyena’s point of view, these were also my favorite chapters in the book. The Hyena is an assassin for hire, even though she’s eleven years old and has yet to kill anybody. She works for the antagonist of the story, but grows to question his motives as the story continues. I would highly suggest this book for children in grades 2-5.

The Penderwicks Review

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is a heartwarming tale that reminded me of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I loved the author’s ability to give each sister their own personality, and each girl shone in her own way, from responsible Rosalind, spunky Skye, imaginative Jane, and four year old Batty. The girls spend part of their summer on a family vacation at a cottage located on the Arundel estate, owned by a rather mean-spirited woman named Mrs. Tifton. The girls explore the lush gardens, make friends with the gardener Cagney, the cook, and young Jeffery Tifton, who develops strongly as an important character throughout the novel. Together they do their best to uphold the Penderwick family honor and stay out of trouble. Only one thing is for sure; this is a summer vacation they will never forget.

So much can be said as to how much I enjoyed this book, it definitely deserved the National Book Award it earned.  I think boys and girls from grades 2-6 would enjoy this story on their own, or read together.

The Witch’s Boy Review

Kelly Barnhill’s The Witch’s Boy drew me in with it’s dark cover and intriguing title. I also knew this title was a newer addition to the library, but I never saw it leave it’s prime spot on our new shelf, which made me even more curious to read it.

This tale is about two twin brothers, Ned and Tam, who attempt to build a raft together and sail into the dangerous river beside their village. When the raft breaks down and the two boys are near drowning, their father only manages to save one, the wrong boy. The boy who is too slow, and too weak to do anything. Their mother guards an ancient magic that must not (or should not) be used for evil, and she uses it to sew the soul from the twin who drowned into the twin that lived, so that she does not lose either of her children.

This tale is about a strong and resourceful girl named Aine, who dreams of living on the sea as her mother did. After her mother passes on due to illness, she watches her father slowly regress into who he was before he met her mother. A bandit.

This tale is about loss, unlikely friendships, and that words are what truly have power in this fairy-tale world.

I would recommend this story to more middle-aged children because the story is very in-depth, but also because the word “damn” was used a few times and I know some parents would be uncomfortable with younger children reading that kind of language. I personally felt the author’s use of the word damn was used in a clever way, to further emphasize how malicious one of the side characters were. This story was enjoyable to read, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves fairy-tales.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Review

Here we are at the end of the As! There were several books that caught my attention on this shelf (Animorphs!), but I really wanted to read something by Avi, since I’ve heard so much about this author. I wanted to read Poppy, the first novel in the Dimwood Forest series, but it was checked out! Instead I picked up The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

I really enjoyed this book! Avi is a fantastic storyteller and I felt truly immersed in the story. The content was geared more for a middle level audience, as it does get a bit violent with two deaths and a whipping. I found Charlotte Doyle to be an interesting character caught in a peculiar circumstance. In the beginning she is an obedient schoolgirl on her way back home to America to return to her family, but by the end she becomes independent and no longer feels as though she should confine herself to society’s expectations of what she should be. A positive message I think young minds today need to see. The ending was a major surprise, and I’m honestly not sure how I would have reacted had I been in a similar situation.

While reading this book I felt it was somewhat similar to Paula Fox’s The Slave Dancer. Anyone interested in historical fiction or living while at sea would enjoy both of these novels.

American Girl – Meet Kit Review

Today’s book was easy to select because this entire column is dedicated to American Girl novels. Growing up, I never quite understood  why so many girls were obsessed with these dolls, but I always found myself drawn to Kit, the short-haired blonde who seemed to have a spunky personality. I thought it would appropriate for me to learn more about who Kit really is by choosing Meet Kit as my book for this column.

Kit Kittredge is a tomboy. She likes playing baseball, writing newspaper stories on her typewriter, and loves the story of Robin Hood. She lives with her ideal family during the time of the Great Depression. Her family hasn’t really been affected by all the changes the Depression caused, but when one of the members of her mother’s garden club is no longer able to afford to stay in their home, Kit’s mother offers to let them stay with the Kittredge family. Kit must now adjust to having two new members of the household, including sickly Stirling. Halfway through the book, her father looses his job as a car salesman, and Kit’s family must adjust to the changes and figure out how to make money when there are no jobs.

This book is a great starting point for entering the historical fiction genre for 2-5th graders. The story itself is well-written and I loved that they included pictures in the margins to show objects that children may be unfamiliar with, such as when phlox flowers are mentioned. The book also includes an informational section in the back of the book to provide additional facts about the time period, which would be perfect to use as discussion at home and in the classroom.

My only gripe about this story is that I’m not sure it does justice to what families faced during this time period. The Great Depression was a difficult experience to live through, many people were homeless and went hungry. This book briefly touches on these issues, but Kit probably will not be experiencing them herself any time soon. The biggest problem Kit seems to face in the book is that she has to move into the attic to make room for strangers to live in her room.