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Bewitching Season Persephone and Penelope Leland are twins who are about to “come out” during their first season in London in 1837. Daughters of a viscount, more familiar with the country than the city, they rely on Ally, Miss Allardyce, their governess, to guide them through unfamiliar experiences. Oh, yes, and Ally also trains their magic skills. In this alternate history, one of the girls is excited about their debut and growing up, and the other is reluctant. The object of the “season” is, after all, to find a suitable husband, and Persy is not ready for that. She’s far more intrigued by exploring her magical powers. This is a top-notch mystery, for Ally is kidnapped and is forced to become part of a plot to kidnap Princess Victoria. The twins do their best to find Ally and foil the plot, with plenty of help from their parents, Ally’s family, and friends the girls meet in the ballrooms and libraries they visit. It is also a satisfying romance novel because in spite of Persy’s reluctance, romance finds her. For a first novel, this one’s a charmer. It’s a well-written novel with a fully drawn cast of characters and a complex plot that will keep readers turning pages into the wee hours of the night. |
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Box Out Written by John Coy Scholastic, 2008 ISBN 9780439870320 John Coy returns to the sports genre for his second young adult novel. Sophomore Liam Bergstrom is both thrilled and nervous about being called up to the boy’s varsity basketball team. Coach Kloss wants to utilize Liam’s height to grab rebounds. Liam becomes concerned first when Darius, a quality player, abruptly quits the team, and then when he learns that Coach and then other players lead prayers in practice and games. Liam is pressured to join a morning Christian group along with every other member of the team. Part of the book examines the issues of religion in public school, but Coy does a masterful job of plotting and moves the novel’s main focus away from this conflict. Liam and Darius are asked to help the girls’ basketball team, which opens up a new world for our protagonist. The girls and their coach – “Call me Jack” - have a totally different approach to teamwork, including sharing philosophy and literature. My favorite passage is when Liam’s father recognizes his son quoting Walt Whitman. “‘I’ve got my own road, Dad. I travel it myself.’ Dad smiles. ‘Whitman. You’ve been reading Whitman?... ‘ He’s one of my favorites,’ Dad says. ‘Mrs. Stabenow is having you read Whitman for English?’ ‘No.’ Liam shakes his head. ‘I’m reading him for basketball.’” The heavy dialogue and subject matter makes this a good choice for both reluctant readers and strong readers who love sports and finding oneself. Chris Crutcher fans will also gravitate towards this book; both Crutcher and Coy are masters at putting the focus on the characters and drawing non-sports fans into the sports genre. |
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Two Moon Princess
Written by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban Tanglewood Press, 2007 ISBN 9781933718125 Andrea lives the life of a princess, but she feels suffocated. She is confident that there is more to life than sewing fancy stitches and polite conversation. Her sisters seem content, but she is not. She wants to explore the world around her freely – and she often does so, much to the King and Queen’s frustration. Her uncle is her confidant, and although he is often gone for long periods of time he always returns with unusual gifts and a warm and understanding heart. Reminiscent of Tamora Pierce’s "Lioness" series, first time author Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban takes the reader on a journey in time and space as we travel with Princess Andrea from her kingdom of knights and castles to the modern world of southern California. The reader quickly discovers that things and people are not always what they seem, and side-by-side with Andrea come to understand the power of choice. Two Moon Princess was inspired by the author’s own transition from the “old world” traditions of Spain to the fast paced life style of California. Two Moon Princess “gives readers the interesting perspective of life in the US through the lens of an outsider,” the publisher writes. This is a book that is hard to put down and will quickly ignite the imaginations of middle grade readers, especially girls seeking adventures of their own. |
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Home of the Brave Written by Katherine Applegate Feiwel & Friends, 2007 ISBN 9780312367657 From the moment the flying boat (airplane) lands in Minnesota, Kek is mystified by this strange place where he must wear a fat shirt (winter jacket) and “soft things like hands” (gloves). In his homeland of Sudan, the horizon stretches, and he can “watch the sun put on his bright pajamas and sink into bed.” There, he helped his father herd their cattle, listened to his father’s songs, and savored moments with his mother and brother, Lual. War and destruction ravaged the life he loved. Kek witnessed the killing of his father and brother, and with his mother, he fled to refugee camps. Separated from her in an attack, he cherishes a piece of her blue and yellow dress as helping people bring him to America where he lives with his aunt and cousin. It is the small farm amidst the suburban hubbub that first catches Kek’s attention, and he begs Dave, the refugee relocation agent, to stop the car. An unlikely sagging, scarred cow bonds immediately with the boy, and he feels a piece of home in this strange land. As he scratches her ears and leans into her, he says, “I stroke her cold, wet coat, and for a moment, I hold all I’ve lost and all I want right there in my hand.” In an effort to earn money (after accidentally using a washing machine to clean his aunt’s dishes), Kek returns to the farm and asks the widowed owner if he can work for her. The lone cow becomes Gol, a word meaning family in Kek’s language, and he cares for her with dedicated kindness. Kek’s worldview and incredible use of language are captivating! Filled with lovely similes and interesting insights into everyday idioms and objects, his words and observations reshaped my thinking about the common things I encounter each day. The foreign season of winter is constantly challenging him. “Much snow makes a home in my boots,” he says one day. To show his manners to Lou, the farm owner, he takes five of the cookies with chocolate pieces that “tease like jewels in sand.” The free-verse delivery of his story makes it perfect for savoring independently or reading aloud. Kek’s experience is not simply that of an immigrant boy looking to be brave in a new situation. He teaches much, of course, of the things challenging a person recently introduced to a place and culture. He also teaches about preserving the valuable parts of one’s own history and culture. But most important, his universal longing to be part of a family, to display bravery and courage, to be accepted, make him just like any young person. His poignant story communicates the shared longings of all young people. |
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Tall Tales Written by Karen Day Wendy Lamb Books, 2007 ISBN 9780375837739 Meg’s family keeps moving because her father is a drunk. Not all the time. When he isn’t drinking he is the father every child wants – but it never stays that way. Now the family is in a new town and Meg craves friendship. She tells elaborate stories to paint a different life for herself. Perhaps others will like her better if she came from an exotic land or had famous relatives; she would. Keeping the stories straight gets tricky, and Meg soon finds herself trying to find a way out of her conflicting tales. It doesn’t take long before she and Grace find a connection that draws Meg even further into her fantasy life of a stress free family. She has found her friend, but that is not enough to erase her fear of the truth. Her brother, Teddy, is beginning to confront their father and things begin to fall apart. Tall Tales is a novel about more than a dysfunctional family. It is about more than a girl who hides from the truth, even to her best friend. It is about friendship and a family’s journey of discovery. Karen Day’s debut novel deals with sensitive issues in a very conversational and non-threatening way, and is very accessible to its target audience (9-12 year old readers). |
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They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths Written by Ray A. Williamson and Jean Guard Monroe Illus by Edgar Stewart Houghton Mifflin, 2007 (reprint) ISBN 9780618809127 Where do the stars come from and why are they there? From the beginning of time, in every part of the world, people have told stories about the stars in an attempt to explain what it means to be human or to personify nature and teach their children how to live in harmony with it. To some stars were sacred spirits or people who once lived on earth. Stars were wives running away from husbands because their breath smelled like onions. Stars were the memory of children who danced too much. Using original notes and manuscripts, Jean Guard Monroe and Ray A. Williamson have compiled a very accessible collection of Native American Star myths in their book They Dance in the Sky. Each star myth comes from a different Native American tribe and includes a brief background of the myth’s history. Universal themes of punishment for wrong doings, ramifications for simple disobedience or escaping to the sky to avoid some earthly trouble are common in these myths, many of which have not been published for the general reader before. Also included are a glossary with the Native American star names and descriptions (and where possible the European star name with the pronunciation), a page of suggested reading, an index with easy access to the stories, and a bibliography for each chapter. They Dance In the Sky is a wonderful way to begin to understand the connection between Native American stories and their relationship to the natural world. This book is a must for any classroom or anyone interested in Native American star myths. |
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The Right before Evie’s mother dies, she tells her daughter a story of an amazingly beautiful garden. But with her death, storytelling and magic disappear. Evie’s dad decides to move to When Evie learns that Alex had a twin brother Adam, a twin who’s still alive, she starts wondering if someone is playing tricks on her. The plot plays some tricks too, interweaving religious allegories to Adam and Eve and the tree of life with fairytale magic. Going’s writing is strongest in the book’s opening, describing Evie and her dad’s journey to, and exploration of, their chilly, desolate new home. Readers will be reminded of another garden in disrepair in The |
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The Castle The Castle Corona moans, sighs, and gurgles through the night as its inhabitants dream and ponder their positions in the kingdom. The King broods over the possibility of thieves in the castle and other things that cause him grief. The Queen muses about the larger issues of life and wonders why people come to her with trivialities. Prince Gianni fantasizes about words and how he can string them together into beautiful phrases. Princess Fabrizia dreams of the lovely fabrics she might wear and the regal things she might do. Prince Vito imagines himself in battle, slashing the air with his sword and accosting any potential intruders. The Royal Family was never content with their position or their possessions. Outside the castle, two orphan peasants, Pia and Enzio, work long hours at difficult tasks for the nasty Master Pangini. Their malevolent master calls them “dirty beetles” and warns them against dreaming about “If only” situations. When the two find a leather pouch marked with the King’s seal in the autumn leaves, its peculiar contents raise their curiosity level, especially when one of the King’s Men calls it “significant.” What is so important about two pieces of red coral, gold medallions, a lock of black hair, and a small piece of parchment (which they could not read)? Their lives become intertwined with the royal family when they are abducted by the King’s Men and taken to the Castle Corona to be the Royal Tasters, tasting the King’s food before he does so that he will not be poisoned. Jumbled amongst the royalty, the peasant children, and the Castle are Ministers of Inventory too numerous to be inventoried, a delightful Wordsmith who entertains with his freshly created stories, and a supporting cast worthy of their own stories. This multi-faceted story does not fit into a genre and lends itself well to being read aloud. It challenges the reader (or listener) to define contentment and wisdom and their sources in life through the minds of numerous engaging characters. |
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Fire, Bed & Bone “We were not, nor would ever be, truly wild. I had known fireside, bed, and bone, Rufus’s pat and his soft look. All of my life up till then had been lived in the village. But still I was no hand-fed house dog. I knew what to do and how to do it.” The year was 1381 and Old Dog quickly carried her pups to the safety of the barn. Then she returned to the cottage, lifted baby Alice from her cradle and hid with her and the two older boys in the pig’s stall. When she knew the soldiers were gone, she ran for help. Once the children were safe, she returned to the barn to find two of her pups missing, killed by a wildcat. Heartbroken, Old Dog took her surviving pup, fled from the village and sought refuge in the woods. Fire, Bed & Bone is so cleverly crafted that the reader will be swept away to another time. The struggles of this heroic dog bring understanding to a momentous time in history. Filled with triumph, tragedy and hope, Branford’s book brings history to life. Written in a mere 116 pages, teachers can assign it without overwhelming their young readers. This is a book for late elementary and early middle school readers. But hey, I loved it and I’m much older than that--- |
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Jabberwocky One of the few assignments I remember in high school was to write a nonsense poem in the style of Lewis Carroll’s classic poem, “Jabberwocky.” It was so much fun to make up words and test their rightness by sound alone! Christopher Myers seeks to engage kids in a flight of fancy as he re-imagines Jabberwocky. Through extensive research, Myers created a theory that Carroll was aware of an ancient game curiously like basketball. The object of this game, played by the Olmecs and the Aztecs, was to send a rubber ball through a stone hoop attached high up on a wall. Myers read Jabberwocky again and again and began to see curious connections to the modern day game of hoops. So the Jabberwock becomes a fierce opponent on the court, challenging the main player to face off in true David and Goliath style. “And, as in uffish thought he stood, the Jabberwock with eyes of flame, came whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came! “ There is so much fun to be had with this book. Given Myers’ delightful illustrations, kids can write the definitions of the nonsense words; they can take the favorite pastime: football, double dutch, and make up their own nonsense poem about a big showdown. Jabberwocky is about the playful love of language. Let your students dig in and play. |
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