Making a Production Out of It

THE TEMPLETON TWINS MAKE A SCENE by Ellis Weiner with illustrations by Jeremy Holmes. Chronicle Books, 2013.

Fraternal twins John and Abigail are back along with their absent-minded professor father and a few other characters who will be familiar to those who read the first book in this series. This time, the professor is employed by a performing arts college to design a close-up lens for stage plays. He has, of course, managed to create just that. However, in steps someone to claim partial credit for the invention. Fortunately, John and Abigail, and their overly-excited dog Cassie are up to the challenge of unmasking this villain. Our narrator is back, snarky as ever, ready to comment on the events, the people, AND the reader. Perfect for reading aloud.

The Usual Suspects

WHO DONE IT? INVESTIGATION OF MURDER MOST FOUL. Edited by Jon Scieszka. Soho Teen, 2013

Eighty, yes 80, of some of the top names in children's and YA literature offer their alibis for "Who done it?" Who killed the Honorable (maybe not so honorable or beloved, come to think of it), Herman Q. Mildew. As it turns out, the suspect pool is Olympic size. Authors and illustrators offer alibis for where they were at the time of the dastardly crime. Where was Libba Bray? Would David Levithan's alibi stand up under close scrutiny? How about Lemony Snicket? John Green? Rebecca Stead? And doesn't Maureen Johnson look suspicious? This book would be ideal for reading aloud a bit at a time over weeks (nay, months). I have already marked my favorite responses. Invite readers to do the same.

on the case

THE CASE OF THE DEADLY DESPERADOS by Caroline Lawrence (Putnam 2012) features the most unlikely of protagonists, P.K., "Pinky" Pinkerton. Pinky returns home to find her foster parents have been murdered. The desperados are apparently looking for something, something that holds great value. All Pinky owns is in one box.What could the murderers want? Lawrence's heroine is wonderfully rounded. Pinky is quick-witted but very poor at recognizing the emotions of others (perhaps a tad autistic?). She is a misfit, partly white, part Sioux, orphaned. The old West comes alive with Pinky's adventures as she pursues the murderers. <310>

Capture the Flag!

Kate Messner provides readers with a fast paced mystery in CAPTURE THE FLAG (Scholastic, July 2012). Three kids are bored at a Washington DC reception attended by their parents. Little do they suspect that they will be embroiled in a mystery the following day as they wait for grounded flights to take off. Nor do they know initially that there is a thread that connects all three. Anna, Jose, and Henry are all children of parents who are members of an elite group known as the Jaguar Society, a group dedicated to the safety of works of art. Now that the first flag has been stolen from the DC museum the three kids attended the evening before, Anna, Jose, and Henry know they must help solve this crime. Interesting, classic mystery complete with red herrings, this is a book that should appeal to lots of readers who love a good mystery. <309>

sleuthing around

Rig (Dad has called him Big Rig for years) lives with his mother. His sister, Karma (yes, their mother is a bit of a hippie), lived with his father after their parents divorced. Now, she is away at college. Rig has not heard from her for a long time. it seems Karma is just too busy with campus life. And then one night, Rig finds a web site devoted to his sister. it is full of photos, some from her teen years at the local high school, but also with photos apparently taken from outside her dorm room window. Rig feels as though something is wrong. He heads to see his Dad unannounced, convinced that someone is stalking his sister. Springer knows how to tell a good story and MY SISTER'S STALKER is no exception (Holiday House, May 2012). Reluctant readers who appreciate this book might also be directed to BLOOD TRAIL and other books by Nancy Springer. <126>

Introducing Precious

Fans of the No. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY will adore this chapter book that introduces readers to Precious Ramotswe. THE GREAT CAKE MYSTERY by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor Books, a division of Random House, April 2012) introduces Precious as a young school girl who hopes to solve a mystery involving purloined pastries. There are many suspects but little evidence until Precious decides to investigate. Short, easy to read, funny, poignant: there is much here to enjoy. The illustrations by Iain McIntosh are also a lovely addition, providing some break in the text and using colors to suggest mood and tone as well. <70>

The return of Mickey Rangel

Fellow Texan, Rene Saldana, created this series featuring Mickey Rangel, boy detective, a couple of years ago. THE LEMON TREE CAPER (Pinata/Arte Publico 2011) gives readers another mystery to solve along with Mickey. Mickey's mouth is watering as his unairconditioned school bus passes Tina's lemonade stand on the way home. Before he can make it to her stand to quench his thirst, though, he hears a blood-curdling scream from his neighbor's house. There he discovers TWO mysteries. One he is able to solve quickly. The other one: who stole Senorita Andrade's lemons straight from her tree, might take some time and maybe assistance from his ghost sidekick or whoever it is who leaves him notes with clues and hints. Mickey is a welcome addition to the sleuths of children's literature. This book is in English; flip it over, and the text is in Spanish as well.
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if you give an illustrator a box...

Kazu Kibuishi, creator of the AMULET series of GNs, has edited a collection entitled EXPLORER: THE MYSTERY BOXES (Amulet, March 2012). Seven graphic novelists provide their answer to the question: what's in the box? Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, and Kibuishi himself are among the talented artists and illustrators whose stories are a part of this collection. Sometimes the boxes contain wondrous gifts; other times there are more sinister things that rise from the box. Students will enjoy exploring the different stories as well as the different artistic approaches. Teachers might easily use this book to demonstrate mood and tone since the scaffolding of the visuals makes it readily apparent which stories are more lighthearted than others. <666>

psycho-drama

In CHOKER by Elizabeth Woods (Simon and Schuster 2011), main character Cara Lange feels invisible in her school even though she is on the track team. She sits with others at lunch, but no one really talks to her. The only attention she receives is unwanted as mean girl Alexis manages to bully her even calling her "choker" when Cara chokes on a piece of carrot one day at lunch and is rescued by Ethan, Alexis' on-again off-again boyfriend. To make matters worse, Alexis' best friend lives next door. The torment never seems to end. And then one particularly nad day, Cara arrives home to see her old friend Zoe from the old neighborhood perched on her bed asking Cara to let her hide out there for a while. Cara is thrilled to have her best friend back, especially when Zoe helps her out with a cool new haircut and some fashio advice. Then, there are two accidents and Alexis and one of her friends are foud dead. Has Zoe gone too far to help her friend> <372>

Kids will love this psychological thriller. What has really happened to Alexis and her friend? Is Zoe to blame? Lots of twists and turns here to satisfy readers.

Great for the Middle

I try to read a wide range of books for children and young adults. In the past, that has meant I might have missed some good middle grade novels. All that ended when I decided to write NAKED READING about 5 years ago. Now, I scour the shelves, the listservs, Twitter and Facebook for good recommendations of books for tweens. Here are two great choices for intermediate readers. By the way, for those of you who do not follow my blog on LiveJournal, the number in parentheses after each book is how many books I have read thus far this year. The first year I set a goal, it was for 100 books. Last year I read over 500. I am simply trying to keep myself motivated to read even on those days I would rather veg out in front of the TV. And, I count picture books in this total as well.



I heard Sarah Weeks talk about PIE (Scholastic, October 2011) at the ALA Conference in New Orleans. The cover is right up my alley, the topic is one I can get into quite readily as well. PIE is the story of Alice and her Aunt Polly. Polly is a pie maker extraordinaire. Her store is always a popular place for the town residents to visit and, of course, walk away with pie. But Polly does not sell her pies; she gives them away. When Polly dies, Alice is disconsolate. Aunt Polly understood her better than her own parents (who could never understand how Polly could give away things she could make money with). Polly left her award winning (she won more Blueberry Awards than anyone else ever) to Lardo, her cat. Now, the rest of the townspeople feel compelled to try their hands at making pies with predictably disastrous results. There is also a mystery afoot when Lardo disappears and Aunt Polly's pie shop is ransacked. <350>

This quick reading, funny, and delicious novel is about more than pies obviously. There is some lovely tongue in cheek humor for the grown ups surrounding the Blueberry Award (too much fun). Tweens will find this novel tasty. Recipes included.



I loved the first book in The Deadlies series. Now Kathryn Lasky offers readers, SPIDERS ON THE CASE. A family of brown recluse spiders have taken up residence at the public library with the blessings of one of the librarians who encourages them to feed on the book lice and silverfish that destroy the books in his care. Jo Bell Deadly observes a patron using a razor blade to cut pages out of a rare book. How can she communicate this theft to the librarian? <351>

Not only are the books fun to read, there is a great deal of information to be had here, too. Jo Bell and her family love a variety of books and learn all manner of facts to share with one another and with readers.