What I'm Reading: Maybe a Fox, Summerlost, The Goblin's Puzzle

PARCC standardized testing at school means less lesson planning, etc. for me to do at home and more time for reading! (There's got to be some benefit to testing, right?) I read a several great books in the last week.


Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt was a sad yet beautiful read that deals with death and grief. 11-year-old Jules is dealing with too much of both after her sister drowns when she was in an area of the woods she was not supposed to be in. Jules is left asking what happens after you die? "Maybe you turn into wind. Maybe you turn into stars. Maybe a fox."
 People are calling this one a Newbery possibility and saying it is accessible for middle grade readers. This may be unpopular but I am afraid it is going to be a tough sell for some of my students. I had a fifth grade who read it say it got too weird, with its ideas of reincarnation and spirit animals. However, I also know of plenty of readers who ask for a sad, touching story and this could be a touching choice for them.

Another book I read this week also dealt with loss, in a very different way: Summerlost by Ally
Condie. It's been a year since 12-year-old Cedar lost her her father and brother in a car crash. In order to get away from the sadness surrounding their deaths, Cedar, along with her mom and little brother Miles, are spending the summer in their mother's hometown of Iron Creek. Cedar meets a boy named Leo and they both work at a Shakespeare festival for the summer. They connect and by the end of the summer feel they are each other's "person" (in a non-romantic way). There was a lot to the story besides dealing with loss, including a bit of mystery, bullying, kids getting into trouble, yearning to reach goals, and a possible ghost. I loved it!



I also read The Goblin's Puzzle: Being the Adventures of a Boy with No Name and Two Girls Called Alice by Andrew S. Chilton. I will admit this one took me a little bit to get into, for some reason, but once I was hooked, I found this clever, whimsical fantasy story engrossing. Readers looking for an adventure/quest story will find familiar tropes including lowly heroes rising to greatness, tricksy creatures who take delight in confusion and mayhem, and a smart girl who is overlooked. However, it is all done with great voice and  freshness and lightness that I greatly enjoyed.


Last week I had a 5th grader tell me that the Thirteen Treasures series by Michelle Harrison were the best books ever, so I borrowed 13 Treasures and read it over the weekend.  I found it to be an enjoyable read, indeed. For as long as she can remember, Tanya has been able to see fairies. The fairies she sees aren't sweet and beautiful but mean, blackmailing creatures. Tanya's mother is tired of Tanya's strange behavior and sends her to her grandmother's strange old mansion for a few weeks in the summer. There, Tanya begins to uncover several mysteries and learns that she isn't the only one who can see fairies. It was a quick read for me, even with over 400 pages. I'm glad I read it!

Finally, I enjoyed How to Catch a Bogle so much that I gobbled up A Plague of Bogles and just started reading (listening to) The Last Bogler. I don't have these in my physical library collection, just as ebooks/audio books, so I may need to add these next year! I'll miss these characters when I finish the trilogy.


What have you been reading?

Book Bracket Battle Update

We are down to our "Final Four" in our Book Bracket Battle!
It's Amulet: The Stonekeeper vs. Fish in a Tree
and The Unwanteds vs. I Survived the Attacks of September 11!

 Some of the votes have been extremely close, including Milo Speck, Accidental Agent vs. I Survived the Attacks of September 11. 
See here for more about my Book Bracket Battle.

What I'm Reading: The Wild Robot + more

Last week I had the delight to read The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown. I actually listened to this title, and the audiobook was very well done. After I finished listening, I got my hands on the actual book so I was able to see the illustrations, which definitely added to the story (but so did the robot voice in the audiobook!)  It has already gotten a lot of press/blog posts, including getting on the NYT Bestseller's List, plus a NYT Editor's Choice book, an interview on Let's Get Busy with Matthew Winner, and much more.
It is about a robot named Roz, who first powers up to discover that she is on an island. She uses her survival instincts and learns from the animals around her, even as they call her a monster. After much observation, she learns their languages and begins to interact with them, and even begins taking care of an orphaned gosling. There are different layers to this book and I think children and adults would like it. It would make a great read aloud, and I even would consider it as a "One Book, One School" book, although in the end Roz's mysterious origin catches up with her and there is some robot violence, which parents might think is too much for their kindergartener. It was a wonderful read and touches on issues of family, friendship, prejudices, overcoming fear, loneliness, sacrifice, and the interaction between humans and the wilderness.

Other books I just finished include Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu. 11-year old Silly can remember a time with her mother was better, but lately her mother only seems to be getting worse. She sleeps often, drinks frequently, and has unpredictable moods. Silly's family, which includes 3 older sisters and a father who is an absent-minded professor of fairy tales, has moved to New Hampshire to live in their "summer home." The sisters find magical places in the home's closets that help them deal with their dysfunctional family, but is escaping the best way to deal, or should they be fighting for their family? A beautiful and heartbreaking story that is hopeful. I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it for 5th and up.

I also just finished listening to How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks. It is a historical fantasy with a Dickens-like feel. The main character Birdie is a brave and sassy bogler's girl, which means she is an apprentice who sings sweetly to lure the bogles out of the hiding places. Bogles are nasty creatures who live in dark, damp places and prey on children. Not everyone wants the bogles to be vanquished, however, and so Birdie and her master Alfred must pit themselves against a human foe as well.
The story left me wanting to read/hear more! I just downloaded the audio of book two, A Plague of Bogles, and am hoping it is the same narrator.

Book Bracket Battle

I know many librarians do a March Madness book bracket, and I am also doing one, for the second year. Last year, I did it in March, but with our Bluestem State Award voting in March, it was a little confusing. So this year, I decided to do it in April. This actually works out well because unfortunately, I am not seeing a lot of classes in April due to testing (MAP and PARCC, both computer-based tests that I am the technology coordinator for). So, doing the book bracket in the hallway is kind of a passive program that students can participate in and it gets them to talk with their friends about books, even if I'm not talking with them. 

I simply picked fiction middle grade books that have been very popular this year, besides the Bluestem Nominees, and pitted them against each other. Each book of the sixteen pairs do have a similarity to their opponent (such as both graphic novels, fantasy, etc.) Kids can vote for all the pairs or only the ones they have read. They can vote with paper, which is in the hallway right below the display, or electronically. I emailed the electronic form to all the third, fourth, and fifth graders.
Here's what it looks like:

I'll keep you updated with the results and would love to hear how anyone one else runs their brackets!

What I'm Reading: Twenty Yawns, Saving Wonder, The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.

I was lucky enough to win a copy of the picture book Twenty Yawns, written by Jane Smiley and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. First, can I just say I love any thing that Lauren Castillo does? If you haven't read Nana in the City, The Troublemaker, or Yard Sale (by Eve Bunting), what are you waiting for? Twenty Yawns does not disappoint at all. I LOVE the detailed illustrations and the rich, soft colors: a sunset with pastel blues, reds, and oranges; a cozy beach house by a big palm tree. It would make a great bedtime story. 

In chapter books/middle grade fiction I've been reading Saving Wonder by Mary Knight. Curley lives in Kentucky with his Papaw (grandfather), who is raising him to appreciate words. Every week they learn about a new word.  Curley's father died in the coal mines and his mother and younger brother died in a freak accident caused by the runoff from the mines. Twelve-year old Curley resents the local mining company but when it's bought out, his world is upended in several unexpected ways. Without shoving a moral down readers' throat, the book will help readers think about the impacts humans have on the land and the earth's finite resources, which impacts animals and other people. 

Finally, I've also been reading The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., by Kate Messner. I love everything I've read by Kate Messner, although I haven't read everything she's written. This one is from 2009. It is a nominee for our state student choice award for grades 3-5, the Bluestem Award.  Kate Messner manages to pack a lot in

this book around the major plot points of a family dealing with a grandmother who is starting to forget more and more, and an important school leaf project. Family relationships, grief, bullies, friendship, procrastination, and a sometimes awkward boy-girl friendship all provide for a thoughtful and intelligent look at a difficult time for a middle school girl. This book is a possibility for my district Battle of the Books, and I will be recommending it for our Battle to the other librarians. 

What I'm Reading

I read quite a few books over my spring break, which made it a nice "stay-cation."
One of the most enjoyable books I read was The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd, which is about a girl named Emma.
Emma, like all of the women in her family, is a Wildflower. The women in the family are visited with special dreams (Destiny Dreams) that predict/foreshadow the accomplishments that follow. Before Emma's mother died, she told Emma that she thought Emma's dream would come early. So, Emma waits every evening in the hope that she'll have her Destiny Dream and that she'll be able to fulfill its promise when it comes. Meanwhile she helps out at Boneyard Cafe, the family business situated on the edge of a cemetery, and gives tours of the cemetery to tourists. The café has fallen on hard times, and when it looks like Granny Blue, her tough, tattooed, ex-boxer grandmother, might sell the place to a developer, Emma looks for answers within the local folklore about a hidden treasure and a ghost. The voice reminds me of Mo LoBeau in the books by Sheila Turnage. Natalie Lloyd also wrote A Snicker of Magic, which I am ready to re-read.

Another book I read was Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - definitely more of a Young Adult book than one for my students but it was fabulous! It is a historical fiction novel based on one of the biggest maritime disasters in history, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff.  This was a disaster that not many people actually know about - I certainly did not.  The story follows four main characters, each from different countries in Europe, as they make their way towards the Wilhelm Gustloff  in order to escape the advancing Soviet army. The characters really made this story and I would highly recommend it. I previously read Ruta Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray, which I also enjoyed by I liked this one even better.

Other books I read include some that are possibilities for my district's Battle of the Books next year.
The Genius Files by Dan Gutman is a fast-paced adventure story that I think my 4th and 5th graders would enjoy.
I also read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Technically this is a re-read but I didn't remember much! I believe I last read it in college, over ten years ago. I'm trying to decide if it will appeal to a wide range of students. I'll let you know what we decide. :)

Happy reading!