Grip of the Shadow Plague

First off ... anyone else think that the centaur on the cover of Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull bears a striking resemblance to the author himself? And does it mean anything if it is? Does Mr. Mull identify with the intelligent and wise creatures who are so indifferent to the fate of mortal men? If you could grace the cover of your book as one of the characters ... who would you choose? Just thoughts ...

So I finished this, the 3rd book in the Fablehaven series, in the wee hours of yesterday morning before I got ready for work. I could not put it down. The first two books resided almost entirely on the preserve of Fablehaven with just a little hint of Kendra and Seth at home and at school. The third book takes us on two trips within the States - one to Atlanta, Georgia and the other to Lost Mesa, Arizona. There are concerns both at home, Fablehaven, and abroad, other secret preserves. There is a shadow plague gripping Fablehaven and the Society of the Evening Star are on the move!

Once again, Seth is going where he is not supposed to go, doing what he is not supposed to do - selling batteries to satyrs in exchange for someone else's gold. The child does not learn. While on an excursion with the satrys to retrieve some gold, Seth is introduced to the Seven Kingdoms of the nipsies. Nipsies are like Brownies only even smaller. Like the brownies, they are naturally good-natured creatures. But Seth and the the satyrs discover that some of the kingdoms have become "dark" and are going to war against the regular nipsies. Seth knows he needs to inform his grandparents of the situation, but then they will know that he has not been following the rules.

Kendra, the quiet one, who would prefer to stay home and read the journals of a former Fablehaven guardian than go out adventuring, gets invited to attend a gathering of the Knights of the Dawn. She has been invited to join the group as well. The invitation comes from the Captain him/herself. No one knows who the Captain is. It could be the Sphinx. The Fablehaven group is uncertain as to his intent. Is the Sphinx a traitor or has he been unjustly accused? Kendra agrees to go and her grandfather agrees for her to go as long as she is guarded by Tanu, Coulter and Warren, Dale's restored brother. At the gathering, Kendra is given her first assignment which will take her to another secret preserve - The Lost Mesa. Kendra recognizes their need of her and accepts the mission. Her guardians agree to take her despite the fact that her grandfather will likely kill them for exposing her to danger.

What is at the Lost Mesa? Another of five important, magical artifacts. In the second book, Kendra and Warren were able to retrieve one of these magical artifacts that looked like a teapot, but poured out a healing energy. It had been hidden safely on the grounds of Fablehaven. Another artifact is hidden somewhere on Lost Mesa and is extremely well guarded against discovery. What is the importance of the five artifacts? If the 5 artifacts can be retrieved by the Society of the Evening Star, they will use them to open up Zzyzx. Zzyzx is the demon prison where thousands of the most powerful demons from every age have been locked up. The Knights of the Dawn are rushing to acquire these five artifacts first to prevent this. Unfortunately, not everyone knows where all of the secret preserves are. And even if you know some of them, you don't necessarily know where the artifact is hidden. If you are able to find it, you will have to risk your life to acquire it. And even then, its magical charge may be depleted. Kendra has the power to recharge it and so she is as valuable to both parties as the artifacts themselves.

While Kendra is out saving the world, Seth is at Fablehaven trying to save the preserve from the dark presence that is changing the good creatures into creatures of darkness. If a "dark" creature bites you and you are a magical creature of light, you turn to darkness as well. If a "dark" creature bites you and you are a human, you turn into a shadow. Well, that's what Seth says anyway because he can still see Coulter. Coulter was attacked by dark creatures and can no longer come out in the daytime. The sun burns him. He is invisible to everyone else at Fablehaven. Seth seems to have acquired some powers as well. He can see his friends when they've been turned into shadows and he cannot be controlled by magical fear. Way to go Seth.

I am anxiously waiting to get a hold of book 4!

Rise of the Evening Star

Last month I finished Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull but didn't write about it. That thing I have about reviewing sequels? But I've changed my mind. I just finished the 3rd Fablehaven this morning due to a power outage. I sincerely wish Fablehaven would gather the following that Harry Potter did. There are a wealth of fabulous characters, from the human to the fantastical!

In the first book, we met Kendra and her younger brother Seth. Their grandparents Sorenson are the guardians of a secret preserve for magical creatures known as Fablehaven. When Kendra and Seth spent the summer with them, they were allowed to discover some of the magic and secrets of Fablehaven. They ended up saving the preserve from certain destruction by leading an army of good creatures against the demon Bahumet and the Muriel the Witch.

The second book opens with the kids back home and in school. Kendra has a new student in her class and all of the girls have fallen head over heals for his charm and good looks. Kendra doesn't understand why because when she looks at the new boy, she's sees a filthy, disgusting, smelly, droolings, goblin-like creature. Seth confirms for Kendra what she has come to suspect. Seth also sees a handsome, well-dressed boy. Kendra is able to see magical creatures without drinking the magic milk! But why is a goblin in school? And why is he wreaking havoc and to what end?

In walks smooth-talking, unusually-dressed magician, Errol. He claims to be friends with Grandpa Sorenson and he also claims he can help with the goblin problem, but he will need the kids' help. There is a magical artifact in town that must be stolen from its owner and given to the goblin. The goblin will be forced to return the artifact to its origin. It all works according to plan. Errol is heavy with the flattery and is quick to invite the kids on another adventure that requires secrecy and sneaking! Kendra's intuition is telling her something is amiss and she still cannot get a hold of Grandpa Sorenson to confirm Errol's identity!

In walks attractive and exotic Vanessa to the rescue. Grandpa Sorenson has sent her to rescue the children and bring them to Fablehaven. As the three exit the house to begin their drive, Errol is hard on their heels and there are more golem-like creatures trying to prevent their escape! Yes, the action never slows down in the second book.

Vanessa is a keeper of magical creatures and also a Knight of the Dawn. She has been invited to Fablehaven to assist in the quest for Fablehaven's hidden artifact. She in not the only Knight invited. Coulter is an expert of magical items, relics and talismans. Tanugatoa or Tanu is an expert in potions. Along with Grandma and Grandpa and Dale, the groundskeeper, these Knights of the Dawn must discover where the artifact is hidden and then extract it with as few casualties as possible.

Try as they might, the adults cannot prevent Kendra and Seth from helping them. Seth is always ready for adventure and never wants to be left behind. Kendra would be fine to stay at the mansion where it is safe, but the fairies have changed her with their kisses. She has become Fairykind and daily she is discovering new abilities that make her necessary to the questors. She can understand the fairy language. She can see in the dark. And she can recharge magical artifacts with power.

Seth is jealous of his sister's powers and her opportunities for adventure. Seth really got the short end of the stick this time. He is being chased by a demon frog who will stop at nothing until he eats Seth. And he will get eaten! I said it before and I'll say it again - there is no end to the adventure in this book. The Fablehaven books run close to 500 pages, but they fly by.

In the last book, "And it harm none, do what you will," was the prevalent moral of the book. In the second book, one idea stood blazingly out. I hope I don't massacre this too much, but Vanessa shares with Kendra a standard "setup". In order to get close to someone and earn their trust, it is not unusual for a person of evil intent to create a desperate situation for the person they are trying to get close to. Then, the "evil" person will rush to the aid of the "good" person and help them. Once the trust is gained, the "evil" person will stay in the good graces of the "good" person until the opportunity arises to take advantage of them. It's a setup that works well. It always has. It always will. It does multiple times in this book alone. You never know whom you can trust. Scary.

Stones in Water

There are so many stories to be told in regards to World War II. In the list of twenty 2011 Caudill nominees, there are two very different ones - Yellow Star about a Jewish girl who is one of twelve children who survived the Lodz ghetto and The Boy Who Dared about a German boy who actively fights against the Third Reich and is executed for it. Stones in Water, a young adult novel, by Donna Jo Napoli is yet another World War II story. Chances are you have never heard anything like it.

The main character is Roberto, the son of a gondolier, who lives outside of Venice, Italy. Roberto, his brother and their friends sneak into a theater to watch an American Western. German soldiers raid the theater and take all of the young boys and put them on a train bound for a prisoner of war camp to use them for free forced labor. It just so happens that Roberto's best friend, Samuele, is Jewish, but he is not wearing his required armband because Roberto's brother hid it so Samuele could sneak in too.

The older boys get separated from the younger boys, but Roberto and Samuele stick together. Samuele is going by the name of Enzo which is a more Catholic name and Roberto gives his friend his St. Christopher medal to make him a more convincing Catholic boy. Keeping his identity a secret is of the utmost importance.  The boys realize that "Enzo" cannot be seen without his clothes because he is circumcised. Unfortunately the secret cannot be kept for long. Another boy discovers Enzo's secret and takes his ration of food as a payment to keep silent.

The boys are forced to move from place to place. They go where the work is. They move away from the warm Mediteranean climate towards the wintery Ukraine, but they are still wearing the clothes they were stolen in. As those around them die, the boys are forced to steal and fight over the dead's clothes. They wear their shoes out, but have no guaranteed way to replace them. In an important scene, drunk German soldiers pass out and freeze to death. Roberto and Enzo steal their boots.

Those boots. Roberto will never forget them. One night, other boys slit open his sleeping sack to steal both his boots and his old shoes. Enzo comes to the rescue and fights to get them back for his best friend. Enzo is beaten to death in the process. Roberto has the boots back, but he has lost his companion. When Enzo is stripped by others for his clothes, Roberto defends his body. He won't allow his underwear to be taken and he covers him with his blanket for added protection.

Upon burying his best friend in the hard, cold ground, Roberto walks away from the camp into hiding and freedom. But his struggle is far from over. We are halfway through the book and a new journey begins - Roberto's journey to return home. Living in trees and feeding off of the land, Roberto eventually finds a river, a boat and a new companion. The gondolier's son is on his way home, but the reader will not have the satisfaction of seeing that happy ending.

This is an amazing and emotional piece. It is one of those historical novels that is so very hard to read. But I believe those are the ones that we must read so that we will never forget.

The Butterfly Lion

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo is a lovely little story of 90 pages. It can be read in a sitting and would be an excellent read-aloud. There are actually two stories present. The framing story is written in the first-person as if by Morpurgo when he was a young, runaway schoolboy. It's a ghost story. The second story is the tale told to him by a lonely old woman. It is the tale of another runaway schoolboy and his White Lion, The White Prince, The Butterfly Lion, all one and the same.

Something out through the window had caught my eye. The lion on the hillside was still there, but now he was blue and shimmering in the sunlight. It was as if he were breathing, as if he were alive. It wasn't a shadow any more. No shadow is blue. "No, you're not seeing things," the old lady whispered. "It's not magic. He's real enough. He's our lion, Bertie's and mine. He's our butterfly lion."

For me, this is one of the more memorable 2000 Caudill Nominees. It is both magical and ghostly. It is fantastical - definitely unbelievable. But, boy do you want to believe! If you love animals. If you are fascinated with the animals of Africa, you will most certainly enjoy this book. It is both sad and joyous. Guaranteed smiles and maybe some tears. The language is as beautiful as the settings described.

I'd also like to share the author's foreward:

"The Butterfly Lion grew from several magical roots: the memories of a small boy who tried to runaway from school a long time ago; a book about a pride of white lions discovered by Chris McBride; a chance meeting in a lift with Virginia McKenna, actress and champion of lions and all creatures born free; the true story of a soldier of the First World War who rescued some circus animals in France from certain death; and the sighting from a train of a white horse carved out on a chalky hillside near Westbury in Wiltshire, England."

You still need to know what it is about? A young boy, Bertie, is born and raised in South Africa on a wildlife preserve. He wants nothing more than to see the wild animals up close for himself, but his father wants him safe in their home's enclosure. Bertie decides to hide up in a tree one day to watch the preserve's water hole and is rewarded with a glimpse of a lioness and her cub who happens to be a ghostly white. His parents don't believe him and Bertie begins to think it is a dream when they don't return to the water hole.

Then comes the awful day when Bertie finds out that his father has killed the lioness to protect his cattle. Not long after, Bertie and his mother save the white lion cub from a cackle of hyenas and they stand up together in opposition to Bertie's father so that they can keep the white lion. The white lion is allowed to live with the family in their house. This means that the lion never learns to live in the wild and hunt for itself.

Eventually, Bertie's father decides to send him away to England to boarding school. The lion, who continues to grow in size, will be sold to a French circus. Bertie is both angry and heartbroken and vows to find the lion again someday. He just never could have realized how long he would have to wait or where he would end up finding the lion again.

Check this book out to discover how the White Lion becomes the Butterfly Lion.

Losers, Inc.

Losers, Inc. by Claudia Mills is a book I truly love because it gets it right! Who hasn't felt like a loser even when others would argue that you are not. Who hasn't fallen for a person or a cause so fully that they would go out of their way to improve themselves for the idea or dream. And who hasn't been knocked to the ground when their intentions are criticized or a change of heart is not widely believed or accepted? Brain, jock, nerd, tomboy, popular, untouchable, goody-goody - the list continues - all struggle to find their place and be accepted.

Ethan has an older brother who is perfect. He gets straight A's AND stars on the sports field. When he cannot compete, and everyone compares them anyway, Ethan decides to aspire to be the ultimate loser. His best friend, Julius, a self-described loser, invites Ethan to join the club and they call themselves Losers, Inc. The club will stick together and read the shortest books possible for their book reports. The club will work as a team to come up with the Science Fair Project least likely to succeed. They will excel in mediocrity and hence become the best at Something. Anything.

Neither boy saw her coming - Grace, student teacher. She is beautiful beyond words and smart and wise and kind and gentle and ... And both boys are in love. Julius sticks to the club rules. Ethan decides to set himself apart by striving to be better than ever before! He picks the longest book he has ever read for his next book report and even looks forward to presenting it. He comes up with a science project that could actually WIN the science fair. He aims to be perfect and neat and organized and smart and ... well anything that will attract the attention of the new student teacher.

In the process of improvement, Ethan gains some popularity, but also attracts the attention of the least popular girl in school. UGH! Lizzie Archer is different. Way different. She writes poetry. She's trying to form a science project around her love of poetry, but cannot figure out how to test her ideas. When the student teacher, Ms. Gunderson, asks for suggestions from the class, the tendency is for the class to mock her. But Ethan offers a sincere as well as workable solution to Lizzie's problem. He does this to call Ms. Gunderson's attention to himself. But it backfires.

In Ethan's pursuit of Ms. Gunderson's affection, he manages to alienate his best friend. But that is not the worst thing he does. He also hurts Lizzie in an attempt to distance himself from her weirdness and admiration. There is nothing worse than putting others down in an effort to boost yourself up. Fortunately, Ethan has more heart than attitude and he is able to recognize his mistake and grow from it.

Last night, my daughters' dance instructor was so excited to share that this year's senior class is/was marvelous. The girls, more importantly, were sweet (translated "nice"). Then the instructor lamented that there was one girl, yet only a sophomore, who was downright bratty (translated "mean"). I commiserated with her and shared that I really don't care how good my children are as dancers as long as they are "good" girls. I would much rather people say that my girls are sweet or polite or caring or loving, than they tell me that they are very talented. I want to see more Ethans in this world.

Julius has his own book. If you didn't get enough of him in Losers, Inc. try You're a Brave Man, Julius Zimmerman.

Stranded

While the main character of this story is a girl named Koby, I would think that any child, boys included, who loves the ocean or wildlife would love Stranded by Ben Mikaelsen. This is a book for kids who aspire to be marine biologists.This is also a book for kids that have a disability. Koby lost her foot in an accident when she was eight. Now she is twelve and still suffers from the stigma of an artificial limb.

Koby is a seventh-grader with no friends. People regard her and her artificial leg from a distance. It is no surprise that she has become a loner. It is also unusual that Koby lives on a houseboat with her parents. She is more comfortable in the water than on land. It is in the water that she makes a new kind of friend. Koby finds a sick pilot whale who is in labor. Koby helps it to deliver her baby. Koby continues to return to the ocean in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the whale and her child.

Because of Koby's vigilance, it is she who finds the pilot whale and her child beached on land. And it is perserverant Koby who spends the night with them, holding them up so they can breathe through their blowholes until the Coast Guard arrive. They do arrive in large part because Koby's mom has called them when she can't find her daughter.

Koby has established a level of trust with the pilot whales that the veternarians and whale specialists cannot. She offers to stay with the whales to soothe them and help the doctors and her offer is accepted. Now Koby gets to stay where she is most comfortable, in the water, and with people who accept her regardless of her disability. In fact, they are impressed by her courage and loyalty and welcome her into the group. Her thoughts and ideas are given consideration.

You cannot save and rehabilitate a beached whale without a little bit of publicity. Koby and the plight of her whales draw the attention of the media and then the attention of her peers. Koby has never been accepted with the artificial limb. How much more will her peers look down on her if they see her without a limb at all? Koby must decide if it is worth it to take the leg off so she can swim with her whales even with an audience of peers looking on. Her freedom is worth it. It's amazing, but without the fake leg, the other kids find her more approachable. She can do many things better than they can with two legs!

There is a lot of action, adventure and suspense in these pages. To add to the mix, Koby's parents decide to separate in the midst of the action. Koby's mother leaves the houseboat.

Scat shoved environmentalism in the readers face with the worst of greedy villains and the best of well-meaning, but sometimes violent, good guys. Stranded is much more subtle in introducing the plight of animals in nature. It even shows how we can be a catalyst for change a person at a time.

Any child who has ever felt different from the pack can identify with Koby. They will celebrate her accomplishments with her. Perhaps she will spur them on to find their own adventure. Their own passion.

As Long as There Are Mountains

Today we are halfway through the 2000 Rebecca Caudill Nominees. Sometimes I wonder if twenty nominees is too many. I am curious if the committee could narrow it down further to the ten best books in recent years. The fourth through eighth graders who are allowed to vote on the winner are only required to read five of them anyway. I might choose to just pick the ones with the best cover in which case I certainly would have missed As Long as There Are Mountains by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock.

I can quickly place this book in a category along with Calpurnia Tate and Our Only May Amelia. Here we have another female character, Iris, who works as hard as a boy and plays as hard as a boy and wants the same things that the men of the family generally get. But instead, is expected to be more lady-like; act more lady-like; and dress more lady-like. What does Iris really want? The family farm in the Vermont mountains.

Iris is not the one who will inherit the farm. She has a much older brother, Lucien, who is expected to take over the family farm and work the land as their father and grandfather did. Lucien wants something else entirely, much to his father's disappointment. Lucien wants to go to college and become a writer. He loves the land where he grew up and worked alongside his father, but his dreams involve writing.

There may be no farm to inherit. First, there is a fire in the barn and livestock, along with the building, are lost. Then a tree falls on Iris' father and he loses his leg and his ability to work. Even with Lucien home to help with the farm work, it is not enough to save the farm and it must be put up for auction. It is through these struggles that Iris, Lucien and their father are forced to compromise.

At one time, Lucien was considering running away rather than standing up to his father and explaining his dreams at the risk of hurting his father's own dreams. It was Iris who stopped him. Up until that point, Lucien was not a very kind brother. He never called her by name. He only called her Kid when he gave her orders. He even hit her and pelted her with rocks. But Iris stood up to him and said "Lucien, you can hit me as much as you want if you just won't run away." Things were different from that day forward and Lucien bided his time.

With the loss of the family farm, Iris is now the one planning to make a run for it. She cannot sit around and watch the family's life be sold to neighbors piece by piece. But there is hope. There is a guilty cousin. And there is an Uncle who has finally "found his mind," even if his wife thinks he has lost it. I had to reread the ending. I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed this particular happy ending.

The View from Saturday

Since it is Saturday, I find it appropriate to review 1996 Newbery Medal winner and 2000 Caudill nominee The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg, a Newbery winner that I can support. As I scan through the pages to remember why I loved it so much, I find my answer on the first page. This a not a book that talks down to the kids reading it. It acknowledges the intelligence of children.

Within Saturday, you will find four short stories about four six-graders on an Academic Bowl Team. They call themselves "The Souls." These stories are pulled together by the all-encompassing, yet strangely smaller plot of the Championship Bowl as told by the kids' coach and teacher, Mrs. Olinski. Mrs. Olinski's team not only wins the sixth-grade Academic Bowl contest, but they beat the seventh-grade and eighth-grade teams as well. So four six-graders find themselves facing four eighth-graders for the Championship. How did Mrs. Olinski put together such a terrific team?

"The fact was that Mrs. Olinski did not know how she had chosen her team, and the further fact was that she didn't know that she didn't know until she did know. Of course, that is true of most things: you do not know up to and including the very last second before you do." Very much like: you find your missing keys in the very last place you look. I love the language in this book. I struggle not to include quote after awesome quote.

What I find fun about this book is that each child seems to be chosen for their ability to answer an important question at the Championship Bowl. The short stories include how they happen to know the answer to the question amid a much larger story. It seems this way because the story is told in flashbacks. Mrs. Olinski is currently experiencing the Championship while the short stories occur the summer prior to the sixth-grade school year.

Reviewers have commented that the book is written for the more mature kids. Let's see, puberty is mentioned; bra straps; and grandparents' sex life. There is nothing graphic and certainly not anything that everyday kids don't overhear in the adult conversations around them. Imagine, "Damn it! I dropped the fork down the disposal!" and the response, "Honey, watch your language in front of the kids!" Another reason might be that the story is rich in symbolism and there are multiple levels of understanding. I would say that it is a book that can be read multiple times. Each time you read it, you will gain more insight. As a child grows, they can revisit this classic and be surprised by what they missed the first time.

I've also heard it said that students who were forced to read this book or listen to their teacher read this book, hated it. When it is read for pleasure, it is adored. I would agree with the same for almost any book.

I don't think it would surprise you to find out that all four of the members of the Academic Bowl team are strangely connected in more ways than one. They say that they called themselves "The Souls" before they became the Epiphany Middle School team known as "The Souls." But they will admit that it is an argument not unlike the age old - which came first? The chicken or the egg?

If you were here with me, I would read to you an excerpt that I love that I think gives a good picture of the level of humor within. But you're not so ...

So, when [Dr. Rohmer] asked her how she had chosen the four members of her academic team, Mrs. Olinski knitted her brow and answered with hushed seriousness. "In the interest of diversity," she said, "I chose a brunette, a redhead, a blond, and a kid with hair as black as newsprint."

Dr. Rohmer was not amused. he gave Mrs. Olinski a capsule lecture on what multiculturalism really means.

"Oh," she said, "then we're still safe, Dr. Rohmer. You can tell the taxpayers that the Epiphany Middle School team has one Jew, one half-Jew, a WASP, and an Indian."

"Jews, half-Jews, and WASPs have nothing to do with diversity, Mrs. Olinski. The Indian does. But we don't call them Indians anymore. We call them Native Americans."

"Not this one," she replied.

"Mrs. Olinski," Dr. Rohmer asked, "would you like it if people called you a cripple?"

Mrs. Olinski gave up. Everyone believed that she could be wounded by the word cripple. She could never explain to Dr. Rohmer, nor would she try to, that the word itself does not hurt, but the manner of its delivery can. For all of his training, Dr. Rohmer would never believe that cripples themselves are a diverse group, and some make jokes.

Some people are intelligent, but they just have no common sense. And they are the people who usually take themselves WAY TOO seriously! I hope you enjoyed!

Earthquake Terror

I really have no idea why any publisher would allow a book to get published with such a corny title, Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret. I just cringe when I see those titles. At least you have a very good idea about what might happen in the book. And there are certainly those kids who are WAY into earthquakes and hurricanes and anything tornadic or volcanic! Those kids won't have to search too far. I just prefer titles like Hatchet where there is some mystery.

Earthquake Terror is a contemporary realistic fiction novel and 2000 Caudill Nominee with more adventure than it knows what to do with. Jonathan Palmer and his family are camping on Magpie Island on a Tuesday when the trails and beaches are free from other campers. The reason that the Palmers do this is because they have a six-year-old, Abby, whose legs are partially paralyzed. She uses a walker to help strengthen her legs, but it slows her, and hence the family, way down.

Jonathan loves his little sister, but everyone's life changed when she suffered an accident that left her disabled. Jonathan still wants to run free and play and be wild, but that's hard to do when your only playmate on a camping trip is your paralyzed little sister. He's a great, big brother. He's extremely patient for his age. He has dealt with the difficulties and rewards of being the brother of a disabled girl for four years, but the camping trip is a whole new ball game.

Jonathan's mother breaks her ankle at the end of a hike to the beach. And it was a long hike due to Abby. Had they been at home, they could have called an ambulance or drove her to the hospital. Because they are on an island, camping, and far from the campsite, they have no vehicle, no phone, and no easy way back to the camper. In order to get Mrs. Palmer to an emergency room as quickly as possible, the two adults leave Jonathan to help get Abby back to the camper at her own pace. They trust him to take care of his sister because he does such a fine job at home.

This might be enough of a struggle for the kids, but not enough for an adventure story. You can guess from the title what happens next ... EARTHQUAKE! In the ensuing chaos, Abby's walker gets destroyed, the family's camper gets smashed, and they lose their supplies. Not only that, but it appears that the island is sinking into the water and the bridge that connects the island to the mainland has also been taken out by the earthquake. To make matters worse, Jonathan and Abby have no proof that their parents made it back to safety, are aware of the situation, and can send for help as quickly as the children need.

The story seems rather predictable and a tad unbelievable, but the younger kids seem to love its action-packed suspense. If Abby is a bit of a whiner, we can forgive her because she is young and scared. I would recommend this to 3rd & 4th graders who love to read and older reluctant readers as well.

Sent

I am having mixed feelings about writing a review for a sequel, but I just finished Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix, second book in The Missing series; it is fresh in my mind; so here it goes. I personally think that Haddix is brilliant. I manage to always fit her books into my "lists" which is rarely difficult since her books tend to make those very lists. This is no different. As you  may remember, the first book, Found was on this year's Caudill list.

You may also remember how excited I was to read this series and couldn't wait to get a hold of the second book. Well ... it took me FOREVER to get into this book. I just couldn't get wrapped up in the story and get lost. Reasons?

First, generally, the beginning book in such a series is the set up for what is to follow. Once you know what to expect, it is easy to get cozy with a book. It's like taking up with a good friend you haven't seen in years. You pick up where you left off. Many books pull that off even with years in between publications. I didn't read Found all that long ago, I guess I thought it would be easy to pick up where I left off.

Wrong! Sent spent an awful lot of time "setting up" more. Book one presented the premise. Book two presented the "how". Book one explains about who the Missing are and where they came from in general, although we didn't get to know many of the missing children, just two. Book two explains how two of the missing are returned to their time period and saved from certain death to live in the twenty-first century. The process is new to everyone, and not just to the reader. So it feels like we are all floundering ...

Second, the book presents a lot of discussion on time travel. Yikes. And it is necessary to some extent because the characters have to understand what can and cannot be done. But we're talking about multiple times simultaneously. We have the present; the future from which the "time travel agents" come; and the time period to which the missing children must be returned. In addition, there is a cave that is outside of time where the missing children are currently being held. If you're still following, during this book, most of the characters experience no time whatsoever. Jonah and his sister, the main characters, feel days pass. The children who are returned to their time period, Chip and Alex, live TWO YEARS in this book.

Third, I think the first half of the book occurs in a room in the Tower of London. Boring! A lot of talk and very little action. No forward movement despite the threat of danger. (I hate to write in sentence fragments. I apologize.)

Fourth, Jonah is being deliberately, vaguely described. Haddix has said that she is unsure of who he is in history just yet. She's already changed her mind once. The more she leaves open, the more freedom she will have to make that decision before book seven. So that is both an advantage and a disadvantage that I hope will pay off.

What I offer, third book unpublished, is that this could be a really awesome series. I just think that book two is the weak link. If you plug through it, the last 100 pages were much better. I have confidence that Haddix will pull this off. She's tackling a HUGE topic and it could be fabulous. I can see the potential.

Sun & Spoon

Today's book is by one of my favorite picture book authors, Kevin Henkes. If you haven't read his early works, Chrysanthemum, Wemberly Worried, Owen, Weekend with Wendell, Lily's Plastic Purse, you simply MUST. You might be more familiar with Kitten's First Full Moon, or A Good Day. He's got tons! But Chrysanthemum is, by far and away, my favorite! Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum.

I am, however, not especially fond of his chapter books. I only read them when they make an awards list. Sun and Spoon was a 2000 Caudill Nominee. I really hesitated to read it. The title's strange. The cover picture is too ... blah. I guess, I just love MICE!

BUT! sometimes a book is placed in your hand at the right time and right place. And to review it this week ... Well, let me tell you about my weekend. On Saturday, my two girls and I drove to Vandalia, Illinois to join my mom, her sister, her brother, my sister and her family and two of our cousins. Our task - finish cleaning out my grandmother's house so it can be sold. My grandmother died unexpectedly last October. As you can imagine, we keep finding little treasures as we meticulously dig into drawers and closets.

My sister and I tackled the linen closet together. I had forgotten that we used to play cards when I was little. My grandparents taught me all the card games they played. I had forgotten that the cards were stored in the linen closet. Imagine my surprise when I found card deck after card deck - a dozen sets if there weren't two dozen! Big, small, Uno, Skip-Bo, Pinochle ...

My grandmother's jewelry was spread out on her bed. My aunt suggested that I pick something of hers to keep. Wow! Where to begin. Something to treasure, to remember her by. As well as something that I would use and wouldn't get lost in another drawer. This was a very time-consuming task. I chose a silver, pearl and rhinestone set. I had never seen her wear it, but they looked like me. I desperately wanted to find something that I remembered her wearing ...

Sun and Spoon is about a young boy who has recently lost his grandmother. Time has passed, but he is still grieving. He decides he needs something of his grandmother's to remind him of her. He chooses a deck of cards. She taught him how to play Solitaire and their time together is fondly remembered.

Well, Spoon, which is the boys name - no kidding! - chooses to steal the deck of cards from his grandparents house instead of asking for them. What he doesn't realize is that his grandfather has been playing with the card deck himself in order comfort himself over the loss of his beloved wife. When the cards disappear, Grandpa is lost.

In the end, Spoon and his grandpa discover that they can enjoy their memories of Grandma together. In fact, it even helps ease the pain. I need to make sure this brief novel is on our "death of a grandparent" bibliography we keep at the desk. I think I need to share it with my own mother and sister. It is bittersweet that the family must get together in order to do something none of us would choose to do. Keep, sell, trash our beloved's things. But the beauty is that we can do it together and that relieves some of the burden.

Lily's Crossing

There are some books that you read and they stay with you forever. There are others that you read over and over again. Then there are the books that you read that you enjoy while you are reading them, but they are not particularly memorable. Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff is one of those books. Giff has written quite a few books, most notably Nory Ryan's Song and Pictures of Hollis Woods.

Here's a book that if you like Giff's work and missed this one when it first came out, you certainly should read it. It's a 2000 Caudill Nominee and it earned Newbery Honors in 1998 along with Ella Enchanted which won the Caudill award in 2000 against Lily's Crossing. One, quite memorable and the other, not so much.

My problem with Lily's Crossing is that it is the type of book that a teacher will read to her class or require her class to read in conjunction with a study of World War II. They will use it to teach about the Nazi atrocities. They will use it to teach about Jewish refugees. They will use it to teach how families suffered at home when their loved ones were called to serve in the military. This particular book will be used to teach why lying is wrong. The kids will be force-fed and they will HATE it.

But there are kids, primarily girls that gravitate to historical fiction, who will be allowed to read it for pleasure and they will love it. The young heroine is safe on American soil. The war is far away. She is affected by the war in various ways, but nothing life-threatening. She is introduced to the idea of living through a war and surviving it by a young boy named Albert, a Hungarian refugee.

The heroine, Lily, would argue with me there. Her life is tough and now it's tougher. Lily's mother died and now she lives with her father and grandmother in New York. Every summer to escape the dirt and grime and busyness of the city, the family escapes to Rockaway Beach where Lily gets to swim and play with her best friend Margaret. And she does NOT have to practice the piano.

This year is different. Her father has joined the army. They need engineers in France now that the Allies have landed there. And Margaret must move away with her family to Detroit. Her father is going to work in a factory building bombers. Lily is left with Gram who knows how to spoil all of the fun. Not to mention, father paid to move her piano to Rockaway so she would not miss practice!

Enter Albert, the nephew of a neighbor. Albert's family fled Hungary and the Nazis. Albert's parents were killed by the Nazi's, but Albert and his sister Ruth escaped to France. Albert was allowed to come to America to join his Aunt and Uncle in Rockaway, but an illness prevented Ruth from joining him. And this depressed child is who Lily has left to play with?

The number one strike against Lily is her penchant for lying. She lies to her grandmother on a daily basis mainly to get out of work or procrastinate a little longer. She lies to the postman out of impatience to get a letter from her father. And she lies to Albert. She tells him she can teach him how to swim so he can swim the Atlantic to reach Ruth. Unfortunately, he believes her and Lily must risk her life to save him from her lie.

Albert has secrets too. And perhaps that is what draws the two together. Either that or their combined efforts to save a drowning kitten. The book is wrapped up very neatly and has a very happy ending. Like I said, it is very good while you're absorbed in it, but if historical fiction is not your thing, you probably aren't missing anything.

Seedfolks

Yesterday, I reviewed an epistolary novel. I have another novel with a unique format today - Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, a Caudill nominee in 2000. Written in only 69 pages and 13 chapters, Seedfolks shows how an urban community slowly comes together as they work on an unstructured and unorganized community project.

Even more unusual, each of the 13 chapters represents a new and unique voice and a story. One chapter is only three pages long, while the longest two are a mere seven pages! This is nice because it keeps the novel short and sweet. But it is a little annoying because you only get a glimpse of a character and in some cases you really would like more of the story!

The characters are rich and diverse. There is a Haitian, a Vietnamese, a Mexican, a Puerto Rican. There are also the young as well as the old. There are the professionals, a teacher for instance, and the tradesmen. Some you cannot help but like and others you cannot help but dislike.

It starts when a young girl who never knew her father because of his untimely death decides to make him recognize her from Heaven. He was a farmer. So young Kim sneaks out to plant some beans in a vacant lot in the middle of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Little by little, other characters join her. Some plant lettuce. Some plant radishes. Some plant tomatoes. Each plants for a different reason as you learn through their individual chapter. The book shows how a diverse group of people can come to work together for the common good.

One character, Curtis, cheated on his girlfriend. There is very little detail about that, but now he wants the love of his life back and he seeks to win her over by planting a garden for her right outside her window.

Another character, Marciela, is young and pregnant. She chose to avoid both adoption and abortion, and yet she prays for a miscarriage. She hates what her body has become and she hates what her life will be like. But through a friendship begun at the community garden, she finally stops hating her baby and wishing for its death.

There are rough lives here. And while the book is short, it is probably not for the younger elementary kids without proper guidance. Very grown up and REAL lives are pictured here. And this is what makes it a beautiful, if unusual, piece of art. It takes community - something we are moving more and more away from in focusing on ourselves and our own problems.

P.S. Longer Letter Later

I love the idea of looking at a group of books that were recognized during a specific time period, say 2000, and comparing them. For instance, the twenty Caudill nominees will represent multiple genres and reading levels. The nominating committee will strive to include a book for the reluctant reader as well as one for an advanced and avid reader. You can be sure to find a ghost story, some historical fiction, some fantasy, and definitely some contemporary realistic fiction. And I've found it hard to guess which books will win although I have a theory that books whose covers are blue have an advantage! So I am continuing with notable books from 2000 (not necessarily the publication date.)

The next book on my list is P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin. This is the kind of book that you can sit down and savor like a warm mug of hot cocoa. It doesn't require a lot of thinking or problem solving. It's not too much of a roller coaster ride. And there is definitely a time and place for these books. I don't think my heart or my stomach could survive a diet of pure Harry Potter/Lightning Thief/Inkheart. You have to come up and breathe sometimes. I lost a few months when I dove into the Twilight series. I hope I've been forgiven.

P.S is called an epistolary novel. It is written in letters from twelve-year-old pen pals. One of the girls is shy and reserved Elizabeth. The other is self-named Tara*Starr who is a bit on the quirky side. Elizabeth comes from a wealthy and stable family. Tara*Starr's parents are hippies and still children themselves. The girls used to be best friends at school until Tara*Starr's family moved out of state. It is too expensive to phone back and forth and so they take up pen and paper and write.

Tara*Starr must cope with going to a new school and being the new girl and starting from scratch, but her extroverted and perky attitude help her survive. Elizabeth had relied on Tara*Starr to get her through the aches and pains of school life and now must learn to function on her own. While Tara*Starr's home situation increasingly improves, Elizabeth's starts to fall apart. Tara*Starr's parents begin to act like grownups and start earning enough money to get off of food stamps. Elizabeth's father loses his job, falls into depression, starts drinking and eventually leaves the family.

It is so hard to help a friend through difficult times without feeling guilty about celebrating your own achievements. It is also hard to watch your best friend succeed when you are struggling - even harder to congratulate them. As the two girls attempt to maintain a long distance friendship, the length of time between their letters increases. They are rewarded with the lesson of the benefits of true friendship.

You might have noticed that this book has two authors. Danziger who gave us Amber Brown and Martin who created The Babysitter's Club collaborated on this work. Danziger provides the eccentric voice of Tara*Starr. Martin writes on behalf of the introverted Elizabeth. The authors have admitted that their own personalities are evident in these two characters. How beautiful that two real-life friends could write this lovely story and let their teenage selves shine again.

If you need a vacation like I occasionally do, and you need a book that you can cozy up with in a big warm blanket on a cold rainy day, try P.S.

A Different Kind of Hero

Going to take it easy tonight with one of the 2000 Caudill nominees, A Different Kind of Hero by Ann R. Blackslee. This is nice little piece of historical fiction set in 1881 in Colorado in the gold mines. The mines are primarily worked by Irish immigrants who have moved west to make a better life for themselves and their children. Chinese immigrants have begun to move in and the Irish feel threatened. The Chinese are hard workers and will work for a lesser wage.

Renny is a twelve-year-old boy born to Irish immigrants. He is not your stereotypical Irish hot head. Rather, he has a tender heart. His father would like to toughen him up a bit because he thinks he won't be able to survive in the real world.

Enter Wong Gum Zi, the son of Chinese immigrants. His father works as a servant for the owner of the mine, the widow, Mrs. Maynard. Mrs. Maynard would like to see Zi get an education and so enrolls him into Renny's class. Even the teacher shows outright prejudice from the beginning, but Renny agrees to share his seat with the new boy. Zi is beat up after the first day of school and Renny's friends turn on Renny for befriending the Chinese boy.

The title reflects the moral of the story. Renny is a courageous and strong hero for standing up for Zi and against his peers and even his father. This is a different kind of courage than Renny's father knows, but he recognizes it and comes to respect it.

This is a quick and easy read. It gives a good picture of the times. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't run out and rave about it. If you like historical fiction, or if you are studying American immigrants or racial prejudice, this would be a book you might come across. Personally, I always feel a little pity for the books that don't jump out and grab you. They don't get movies made of them. They don't grow a cult following. They tend to be the books that teachers force you to read in the middle grades to teach about right and wrong. It's a shame that many will not remember this book. So I'm throwing it out there for maybe a little attention ... We only have one copy and I hate for it to be lonely.

The Brotherhood of the Conch

Here is a series that I'm incredibly excited about and enthusiastic in recommending to everyone. The Brotherhood of the Conch is a series that currently claims three books, but having just finished the third, I'm thrilled to believe that more are forthcoming. The Conch Bearer by Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni is the first.

I picked up The Conch Bearer of my own accord and not based upon recommendation. I'm guessing it was the jacket summary that intrigued me. I also admit that I'm jealous of the author's long and exotic name. And I have always been fascinated by the Indian culture: the food, the colorful saries, the tales. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is beautifully written. Although the main character is a boy, the author is a woman and her writing has a very feminine and flowing feel to it.

Anand is a poor boy on the streets of modern day Kolkata. His father has moved to America to work and shows no signs of returning. To make ends meet, Anand and his sister are no longer allowed to attend school and Anand must work as a lowly street vendor's boy to help make ends meet. Anand shows kindness to an old man, Abhaydatta, claiming to be a member of the Brotherhood of Healing who wishes Anand to join him on a quest to find the stolen Conch.

The Conch is an Object of Power. It protects and sustains the nirvana-like city of the healers in the Silver Valley and must be recovered. Joining the two on this adventure is Nisha, an orphaned street-sweeper girl, who doesn't ask, but insists on coming along. Abhaydatta recognizes the magical potential in the two children and realizes that they are not only needed, but advantageous companions because of their honesty, loyalty, and compassion.

The Conch Bearer had a definite beginning and a satisfactory ending. So it stands alone and well on its own. I was not only surprised, but ecstatic to discover the second book The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. I'm always slightly concerned that I will be disappointed in the sequel and that the author should have left well enough alone especially when the book is as great the first one was. Wow is what I will say.

Anand and Nisha are both now living in the Himalayan Silver Valley with the Brotherhood and learning to be healers themselves. Anand's master, Abhaydatta, must go on a new quest because of Anand's terrifying vision of a wise woman pleading for help. Abhaydatta intends to go alone. Anand and Nisha have another idea. Not wishing to be left behind, Anand retrieves the Conch, of whom Anand has become the Bearer, and he and Nisha ask it to take them to Abhaydatta's side. Unfortunately, Anand gets separated from both Nisha and the Conch and gets sent back into the past.

Another Object of Power is required for the situation. Anand discovers the Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. It is a teleportation device among other things. Step into it and you are tranported to where you want to be, need to be OR where the Mirror says you should be. Divakaruni continues to be original and does not disappoint in this second book.

I think I was completely unprepared for Shadowland, the third book in this series. I'm one of those people who likes to reread the previous books in a series so that they are fresh upon reading the newest edition. But in this day and age, that simply isn't feasible for me. Too many books and not enough time. But Divakaruni is a master. She eased me right back into the tale. I daresay, as original as ever.

Once again, the Conch is stolen from Silver Valley and the Valley is destroyed and all of the Brotherhood have been thrown into the Abyss. Fortunately, both Anand and Nisha weren't in the Valley. They call upon the Mirror of Fire and Dreaming with the help of an ancient and powerful hermit who guides and instructs them in this new quest to the Shadowland.

The people of the Shadowland have stolen the Conch to use as a source of energy. Their world is on the brink of destruction. The scientists are at war against the magicians, each faction wanting to save the world in their own way. The air is brown with pollution. There is famine and drought. And a whole class of people that are considered vermin and used as a workforce, but slavery might be a better word. Anand and Nisha get captured and labeled as Illegals and so are put in a kind of prison.

They must escape and get into the stronghold to rescue the Conch with the help of the Mirror and they must do it in seven days or the Silver Valley will not be recoverable. Who can they trust? A prisoner? A scientist? A magician? A garbage man that resembles an old friend? A chef that resembles Abhaydatta? And is it possible to do all of this and save the Shadowland too?

Anand must learn to trust the power and direction of the Conch. You can almost see a connection to the Christian God. Imagine the Conch as an all-powerful entity that knows all and sees all and has a purpose for you, but you are not always allowed to see the big picture. It leads you, but you have the free will to follow or choose not to. Anand often chooses not to because of little faith in the power of the Conch. The Conch will also come when you call upon it unless it doesn't suit its purpose. The Conch will give you strength when called upon.

Please, don't miss this series! There is nothing like it! A mixture of fantasy and science fiction that is seamless and mesmerizing and exotic. After I read The Conch Bearer I was excited to see it put on the 2006 Caudill list of nominees! Well-deserved and more original than the winner that year - Eragon.

Our Only May Amelia

Will you still visit if I recommend another sad story where a baby dies? Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm is the other 2000 Newbery Honor book. It is set in the still wild west at the turn of the twentieth century. It is about a family of Finnish immigrants. The title character is the youngest of seven siblings and the only girl, but you wouldn't know it! She's a tom boy through and through!

In a little town on the river, May is one of the few girls. Folk joke that there was something in the water because all of the babies born were boys. May's mother considers May her little MIRACLE. But how is one supposed to grow up to be a proper lady when surrounded by all those brothers! May's mother is expecting again and May's wish is that she will have a little sister.

May's mother is so busy cooking and feeding and providing for such a large family that she has little time to devote to her daughter and so May runs wild. May's father yells at her for running wild and the older boys don't want her hanging around. The youngest brother is her best friend and she isn't going to complain. She enjoys her life, but she doesn't want her freedom taken away.

Then father's mother, Grandmother Patience, moves in with the family. She is abusive both physically and mentally. May cannot do right by her. Grandmother calls her evil and a little brat and says that nothing good will come of her. Grandmother even strikes her with a cane. With so much going on, May really needs an ally, however, everyone has their own little world they are trying to navigate.

May's second oldest brother isn't really her brother. He's her cousin, but he doesn't know this until an explosive event in this book when he's nearly 18. May's best brother, Wilbert, takes ill and almost dies. And of course, after the new baby is born, Amy, the girl May always wanted, May's mother becomes too ill to care for the infant. That task falls to May.

I would have called Getting Near to Baby a sweet tragedy. Our Only May Amelia might be described as a violent tragedy. Baby Amy dies on May's watch and Grandmother Patience openly blames the death on May. There is physical abuse. And there is even a murder along with a murderer on the loose. The dead bodies are described graphically. I know I cried when I read this book. There are some adults that complained that this should be a young adult book. But there are more kids that loved this book.

This book is presented unusually. No quotations are used. And capitalization is used in abundance instead. I remember it taking a little while to get into the rhythm of the conversations. The dialect of the Finnish immigrants is also used.

It was not a book I would have chosen. It can be depressing. However, such things happen everyday. They are not that unusual. I'm sure there are many library patrons that can identify with May and may find hope in her story.

Getting Near to Baby

When you read books the way I do - because they are recommended by a committee of people who have read hundreds of books and narrowed down the field to what they consider the best of the best - and not because a book looks or sounds good to you, you're bound to find yourself reading books you would never even pick up. Such is the case with Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis. It received Newbery Honors in 2000 along with another work of fiction and one non-fiction.

Right away you find out that it is a sad story - a story about death, tragic death. The cover is extremely subdued with overcast skies covering two little girls huddling on a roof and looking lost. If you know the title and have discovered the subject matter, it doesn't take much to realize that these two girls have lost their baby sister. And they have lost their mother due to overwhelming grief.

Do you want to read this book yet? It is a beautiful book that covers the course of a day from sunrise to sunset. Big Sister, Willa Jo, has climbed onto her Aunt's roof to escape her overbearing Aunt and Little Sister has followed her. Now that Willa Jo is on the roof, she doesn't feel any better and yet she is scared to come down to what awaits her. Whatever was wrong before has been made worse by climbing onto the roof. Throughout the course of the day, her aunt and various neighbors come to stare up at the two girls. They try to coax them down. They check on their safety. They try to force them down. They threaten the girls with calling the authorities to get them down. The sisters choose to ignore them.

And all the while, sitting on the roof, Willa Jo reminisces over what led them to be at Aunt Patty's house and eventually on the roof. The girls' baby sister died from tainted water at a carnival. Their artist mother who paints pictures for greeting cards has told the girls that Baby wanted to join the angels and the angels let Baby come to them. But they loved Baby so much, they didn't want to part from her. So now Baby has the angels and Mother, Willa Jo and Little Sister have each other. Someday they will be rejoined and they have that to look forward to. Until then they just have to get by.

If mother wants to curl up and sleep the day away with her daughters, she does. If she wants to go out on the doorstep and watch the sun paint the sky at sunrise, they do. If they are hungry, they snack. Organization has fallen to the wayside in their grief. In steps Aunt Patty who believes naps are for children and not for adults. Women iron clothes and watch soaps. There is work to be done. Someone must care for the children. Aunt Patty decides she will take over the child care while Mother recovers. But Aunt Patty doesn't have children. She can take care of them, but has trouble showing love.

The girls are desperate to go back to their mother. Not only do they need her, but they KNOW that she needs them as well. Aunt Patty may be trying to take care of them, but who is taking care of Mother. Who is making sure that she eats and sleeps?

If I were left to my own devices, I would never have been able to enjoy such a book as this. It's a gorgeous story, but hard for me to recommend. It's cathartic and great for a good cry. And maybe, just maybe, living through their pain, can help you to enjoy your life more or ease the pain you're going through yourself.

Ella Enchanted

I thought I'd stay in 2000 for the moment and talk a little about another children's lit winner Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. This novel won the Caudill Award in 2000 which means Illinois' kids' choice. If you were to look over the other nineteen nominees, I would guess that maybe only three of them would be familiar. One of them, View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsberg was the 1997 Newbery Medal winner. But Ella is much more popular. For those who missed Ella the first time around, a little movie starring Anne Hatheway as Ella of Frell brought the book a second round of attention.

I'll address that now. In my opinion, the book is fabulous and the movie strayed too far from the original. Surprise! Oh, I enjoyed the movie at home on DVD. It was sweet and funny and I do adore Ms. Hatheway, but it was too quirky and funny. I wished it would have been called something else so the two would be distanced. So many watch the movie first and are disappointed when the find it so unlike the book. Unfortunately, more and more children's novels are being turned into movies. 3D no less. Does everything have to be a movie? Movies turned into novelizations rarely (never) rate high as literature.
 
I confess it has been several years since I read Ella. I started reading the first page to remember Levine's style and I ended up reading almost two chapters. It is really that mesmerizing. I remember finishing Ella and rushing to the shelves to gobble up the rest of her work. I would suggest that if anyone else were to decide to do the same, don't read them all at once. Levine's work should really be savored. Tender morsels in between bites of meat and potatoes. Yes, I think I'm calling Levine's fractured fairy tales the dessert that you want to devour all at once. Just warning you that too much sweet will give you a tummy ache.
 
There are a whole series of Princess Tales. I think there are six total. They are quick reads. There is The Two Princesses of Bamarre which is similar to Ella. Something different is Dave at Night which is historical fiction with a boy as a main character. It is so well-written that I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't fantasy. There are the newer books, Fairest and Ever which are on my list, but I haven't had time for yet. I know, who skips dessert! I almost forgot The Wish which combines fantasy and reality. What I really want to tell you about though are the two Tinker Bell books. Yes! Disney commissioned Levine to write stories about the fairies of Neverland and they are just as enchanting! Great read alouds: Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg and Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand. Both of my girls enjoyed them and that was 2 or 3 years ago so we're talking a 3 and 7-year-old.
 
As for Ella, if you've honestly never read it ... It is a retelling of the fairy tale Cinderella, but throw in a ditzy fairy godmother - not even her own godmother. Fairy Lucinda gives Baby Ella the gift of obedience. So you tell the baby to stop crying and she does immediately. Tell her to eat and she will. But she will continue to eat until you tell her to stop. Tell her to hop on one foot for a day and a half and she will. She would even cut off her own head if you told her to. Ella resists the curse of obedience in her own rebellious way. Tell her to hold a bowl while you stir and she will - but she will walk around with it so that you can't actually stir the ingredients. Tell her to go get eggs and she will bring you two when you need twelve. The book is her quest to find Lucinda and have the gift/curse removed. Throw in ogres, fairies, step-sisters, a glass slipper and a Prince Charming and there you go!

All Shook Up

And now, without further ado, I present the last of the twenty 2011 Rebecca Caudill Nominees, All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall. Take a gander at that cover over there to the left. Hoping not to offend, but that would be the "old Elvis". Army Elvis or just young and innocent Elvis or slim Elvis might have sold the book to me. Nah, it's late and I'm just kidding. But seriously. I just don't get rhinestone and leather with porkchops Elvis.

Thirteen-year-old Josh lives with his mother in Boston where they moved when his parents divorced when he was five. Usually, he spends a week here, a week there with his father in good old Chicago, Illinois where his father works as a shoe salesman. But then his grandmother, who lives in Florida, falls and breaks her hip. (Didn't another grandma by the name of Rain also fall and break her leg in another nominee? Schooled.) So his mom flies down to take care of his grandma while she rehabilitates and Josh is shipped off to Chicago where it is anticipated that he will be the next few ... several months.

It's bad enough that Josh has to register at a new school. That he has to leave all of his friends behind. That he has to start over in sports. That he has to find his niche in the cliques. But good ole Josh always manages. That is what a divorced kid does. He gets along. That, of course, would make for a pretty boring book. Josh has a surprise waiting for him in Chicago. His father lost his job when Murphy's Shoes was forced to go out of business. In the meantime, Jerry Denny, aka Dad, is trying to find himself by being someone else. He has become a singing, wiggling, jiggling, gyrating Elvis impersonator for hire. Josh just wants to know where the bullet is aimed so he can stand in its way.

Can you imagine waiting for your father to pick you up at the airport only to be confronted by a stranger in a bad Hawaiin shirt with a bad dye job and, could that be, eyeliner?!?!? There are many ways to mortify a teenager, but I think this one tops the list. The first night Josh is in Chicago, his dad ditches him for a gig. Add makeup and a black leather jacket to the mix. And don't forget the hairy chest revealed beneath the jacket. The reader is begging Jerry to zip that jacket up!

Jerry as the King also has a new girlfriend, Viv, with her own teenage daughter, Ivory, who thinks "the King" is cool. But then Ivory's a hippie with her own issues. Ivory seems intent on letting the cat out of the bag at school. Nothing like being the new kid at school who happens to be the son of the guy who thinks he's Elvis. I can feel for Josh, I really can, but that doesn't mean he's allowed to take matters into his own hands when his dad is invited to perform at his school!

Quick chapters are divided up into sections headed by lyrics from Elvis' songs. For instance "All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me." - "A Little Less Conversation," 1968. I think it would have been fun to include a CD to go along with the novel. I confess that I know some of the songs, but not all of them. Might be interesting to rent some Elvis' movies to go along with the book. While we're at it - road trip to Graceland!! This late, I dream big!

Bud, Not Buddy

One 2011 Caudill nominee to go and not quite halfway done with it. I'm going to take you back ten years instead. To an adult like myself and some of you, ten years is not a very long time, but considering children, it opens up an opportunity to share some books that they may have never experienced before. In 2000, I was Corporate Librarian and had very little to do with children's literature. In fact, I wasn't even a mother yet, so I hadn't invested any of my time in children's books since I had graduated from Library School in 1994 where I had "majored," as it were, in children's literature. I am so glad I was able to go back and catch up!

The Newbery Medal winner AND Coretta Scott King Author Award winner was Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. It was his second novel and it was the first and only book to this day to win both of these awards. I would like to share a quote from the author. "To me the highest accolade comes when a young reader tells me, ‘I really liked your book.’ The young seem to be able to say ‘really’ with a clarity, a faith, and an honesty that we as adults have long forgotten. That is why I write." I have been trying to say this myself for years, but have yet to find that eloquence.

I am relatively certain, coming from the best Library School in the world, that I had read quality literature written by an African American before. Unfortunately, I must say that it obviously wasn't memorable. It was with a certain trepidation that I "made" myself check Bud, Not Buddy out. One reason I love children's chapter books so much is that I readily and easily identify with the characters. I guess I'm a child at heart. But I really didn't expect to identify with a young African American character, and especially NOT a boy! Was I really that naive?

Bud, Not Buddy is a story about about a ten-year-old orphan. Since his mother died, he has been passed from shelter to foster home, finally ending up with the worse-than-nasty Amoses who lock him in the shed with the hornets. The only clue Bud has about the identity of his father, is a jazz band flyer that his mother had once gotten upset about. So Bud believes that Herman E. Calloway, jazz musician and club owner, might be his father. On this flimsy piece of information, Bud decides to run away and find his way to Grand Rapids, Michigan during the stressful times of the Depression era.

What I found most amazing was the amount of humor young Bud provided for the reader despite desperate circumstances. Sometimes it is the comic relief that gets us through the roughest times. For instance, Bud has "Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself." Rule Number 3 states that “if you got to tell a lie, make sure it’s simple and easy to remember." Rule Number 39 is “The older you get, the worse something has to be to make you cry.” How does a ten-year-old know this? One thing I've found out about books by Curtis, be prepared to laugh out loud.

When Bud finally finds the man he believes to be his father, he is disappointed to find a grumpy, bitter old man. But Bud finds a special home among the other musicians and employees of the club. Bud is given his own job. He cleans the floors, sleeps with the instruments to guard them and travels with the band when they go on. His imagination makes every task enjoyable. While mopping the floor, he is actually swabbing the deck of the ship just like in the book his mother read to him, 20,000 Leaks Under the Sea. Bud may not find his father, but he will discover the truth.

Bud Not Buddy is a book that was written by an African American who was disappointed by the lack of books that were written for a boy like himself. I am so glad that it was recommended so widely to me. It is a winner when recommending books to reluctant young African American boys. But what I have found is that a well-written book, regardless of the ethnicity of the author, will be enjoyed by many across all boundaries. It is a powerful writer who can make a white, adult female, live the life of a young, orphaned African American boy for the period of 19 chapters!