Animal fare take 4

HOPPER AND WILSON FETCH A STAR by Maria Van Lieshout. Penguin, 2014.

Hopper and Wilson
Want a star for a nightlight
So head into space.

One Came Home

ONE CAME HOME by Amy Timberlake. Knopf, 2013.

Agatha, dead? No
Georgia is convinced that's false
And so off she goes.


When her old sister, Agatha, disappears and is presumed dead, 13 year old Georgia sets off convinced her sister is still alive. Newbery Honor winner.

Mister Max sets out

MISTER MAX: THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS by Cynthia Voigt. Knopf, 2013.

A mysterious message offers to take Max and his family to a faraway land where riches await them. However, circumstances end up with Max left behind while his parents seem to have disappeared. And so the mystery, actually the mysteries, begin. As Max and his grandmother search for clues about his parents, Max stumbles into some mysteries of his own. Before long, he is better known as Mister Max, a solutioneer. Will Max be able to find his parents? Can he survive on his own? An amiable cast of eccentric characters will draw readers in and have them guessing along with Max.

Doll Bones

DOLL BONES by Holly Black. Audio by BOT/Listening Library. Narrated by Nick Podehl. .

Even though I am not serving on an audio committee, I still enjoy listening to audio on my commutes. Nick Podehl's narration of DOLL BONES achieves just the right level of creepiness as the tale of a doll that is more than simply a be china doll. As Zach and Poppy, and Alice undertake their quest, their friendship is teetering on the brink of extinction. Perhaps this journey will pull them back together to the friends they once were. The story is a mystery adventure combined with elements of a ghost story and perhaps even a touch of peculiar possession. This would be a terrific read aloud (or you could play a chapter a day as well). It is certainly one that deserves a booktalk early in the school year.

Bath time fun

THE GREEN BATH by Margaret Mahy with illustrations by Steven Kellogg. AAL/Scholastic, 2013.

No ordinary
Bath time with a magic tub
Adventures galore.

The Other Normals

THE OTHER NORMALS by Ned Vizzini. Balzer and Bray, September 2012.

Perry (short for Peregrine) has been exiled to summer camp. His parents are concerned about his lack of friends and his seeming obsession with an RPG (role playing game) called Creatures and Caverns. At first, camp seems to be everything Perry has feared: bullies, cliques, threats. However, Perry soon discovers there is much more to this camp than meets the eyes. When he is transported to the World of the Other Normals, he meets Mortin Enaw, one of the creators of his favorite RPG. Now Peregrine is involved in an ultimate battle of good versus evil. He must help rescue the proverbial damsel in distress from villains who heretofore have exited only in his fantasy. As he has done in previous works (BE MORE CHILL, IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY), Vizzini knows how to create eccentric characters who are self deprecating but, ultimately, come to find their own way in life. Kids who are fans of RPGs will find this book. Help other readers, those kids who feel that they do not fit in (and is that not most adolescents) find this funny, fast moving, other normal novel. <468>

Carking Good Read: Order it Now!

One way to guarantee that you will get the flight attendant's attention on a long plane trip is to be reading a book like INVISIBLE SUN by David Macinnis Gill (Greenwillow, April 2012). No one that saw me reading the ARC passed by without a comment on the hunky guy and gal who glare from the cover. However, we all know better than to judge a book by its cover, right? This companion to BLACK HOLE SUN delivers on the promise of the cover beautifully. Jacob, aka Durango, is back. So are Mimi and Vienne. Durango's father has died; Durango is determined to discover secrets his father kept even from him. So, the dauntless duo plan to tap into some of the files kept hidden. It seems a rather simple plan, but it sets into motion something that neither could have anticipated fully. Non-stop action and some seriously funny moments amid the explosions, gunfire, and narrow escapes are certainly emblematic of Gill's novel (and its predecessors including SOUL ENCHILADA). However, this is not simply an romp on Mars. Carefully crafted characters and a well designed universe are also present. This is sci-fi (not Syfy) with bite. Be sure to look for the homages to other works as Durango pursues Vienne and his own (sometimes uncertain) future. <205>

time time time

CHRONAL ENGINE by Greg Leitich Smith (Clarion, March 2012) will transport readers back in time along with four young teens to the era of dinosaurs in Texas. Dinosaurs in Texas, you ask? Yep, there are plenty of fossils here to demonstrate their presence. Max, Kyle, and Emma know that already as their reclusive grandfather lives on land where dino tracks are clearly in evidence. When they are sent to spend the summer with their grandfather, they are excited to have the chance to see the Loblolly Dinosaur Tracks. What they do not expect, though, is an even greater adventure. The three siblings along with Petra, the daughter of their grandfather's housekeeper discover the time machine in their grandfather's workroom. Soon, Emma is kidnapped and her brothers Max and Kyle, along with Petra, use the time machine to travel back to the Cretaceous period. Lots of narrow escapes from foes both human and saurapod await these kids in this fast paced novel. <31>

The geek shall inherit the earth

Trying my best to catch up on posting all of the books read this month has been daunting to say the least. But I hope to finish out November with a handful of new YA like GEEK FANTASY NOVEL by E. Archer (pseudonym) (Scholastic 2011). Ralph is spending the summer with his cousins in England ostensibly to set up a wi-fi network in their rather strange home. Ralph discovers that there is more to life than meets the eye. He also comes to understand why his parents have been a tad overprotective when it comes to making wishes and meeting the relatives. Quick as a wink he is involved in an action packed quest to assist his cousins and defeat the "monsters" that would make mincemeat of the family. Metafiction at its finest, this story is hilarious and unpredictable. Pair this with A TALE DARK AND GRIMM.
<620>

Adventure? No thanks!

Oliver and Celia Navel should love a good adventure. Their parents are famed explorers. They live with their Dad at the Exclusive Explorer's Club. Their mother disappeared while searching for the lost library of Alexandria. These two should be primed for action, right? Not so. In WE ARE NOT EATEN BY YAKS by C. Alexander London (Philomel 2011), readers will meet the 11 year old twins who would rather sit and stare at the TV and enjoy reality TV than set foot outside of their residence. But events conspire to send them into the mountains of Tibet in search of their mother. Of course, they manage somehow to survive and even partly solve a mystery about the lost library and other artifacts explorers desire to find. <437>

The adventure, reluctant as it is in the eyes of our protagonists, has elements of Snicket and Dahl which makes for some funny moments, some tall tale telling, and some snide villains to say the least. Short chapters make this appealing to reluctant readers and also make it excellent for short read aloud bursts daily. An open ending promises more adventures to come for Celia and Oliver.

Be Nimble and Be Quick to Read this Book...

PETER NIMBLE AND HIS FANTASTIC EYES by Jonathan Auxier (Amulet 2011) takes readers on a journey with a thieving young blind boy and his sidekick, an enchanted knight who now resembles a horse-cat or a cat-horse. Peter begins this journey with a box that contains three pairs of eyes, one golden, one onyx, and one jade green. These eyes will assist him as he sets off on a quest. The voyage will end with Peter and Sir Tode on a desert island where Peter must fulfill a prophecy. <400>

This book begs to be read aloud a chapter at a time over the course of a few weeks. The chapters are wonderfully complete scenes in and of themselves. Ultimately, though, together they will transport the reader alongside Peter and Sir Tode as they battle all manner of danger. Action, adventure, and humor make this a terrific choice for sharing with middle grades.

chilling out

Even though it has been in the triple digits outside this past week, I have been chilled through and through as I read Mike Mullins' ASHFALL (Tanglewood, October 2011). When a supervolcano erupts in Yellowstone, ash spews far and wide turning daylight into darkness. Alex is home alone when this happens: his parents and younger sister have gone off to visit family in Illinois while he stayed home in Iowa. Without electricity, running water, and food supplies things turn nasty quite quickly. Alex decides to leave his neighborhood and travel to Illinois to find his family. It is a journey fraught with many dangers. First, there is the ash which is caustic to breathe and hard to traverse. Marauders looking to prey on innocent travelers pose any even bigger threat. Readers who loved Susan Beth Pfeffer's trio of books beginning with LIFE AS WE KNEW IT, will definitely want to read this novel. Chapters are short (3-5 pp.) making this ideal for a quick read aloud every day; it should also appeal to reluctant readers because of the action-packed scenes where Alex must defend himself and others. <370>

There will be a sequel to ASHFALL in 2012, ASHEN WINTER. You can read an excerpt on the author's web site: www.mikemullinauthor.com

Spy Games

Hosting a foreign exchange student does not turn out quite the way Perry had envisioned. Gobi from Lithuania, is not interested in much having to do with the family. She is not the hot chick Perry anticipated either. All that changes when Perry's father persuades (forces) him to take Gobi to the prom on the same night his bad was to perform in New York. After a confrontation with some bullies, Gobi persuades (forces, at gunpoint) Perry to take her into the city. She has a score to settle, a score that involves murder and mayhem. <354>

Each chapter opens with a question ostensibly posed on a college admissions form. That question forms a frame of sorts for the events of the chapter. This is a darkly funny work that seems at times to be a fantasy and at other times is a chilling realistic story. Lots of chases, car thefts, violence, and a little romance, this book should appeal to readers who enjoy an action packed tale.