Maximum Ride: School's Out--Forever

Author: James Patterson
Year: 2007
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 407
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Action/Fantasy
Series Information: Second of the Maximum Ride series
Location: Eastern United States, especially Virginia, Florida
Time Period: Present Day (2006)

Plot: Maximum Ride and her five friends: Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gassman, and Angel are special. Kidnapped in infancy, they've been raised in a lab where they were genetically altered. Now they are half human, and half bird, and they are trained with military defense tactics. Max and her flock have escaped from the lab, and now they're on the lam. However, they quickly meet trouble when the Erasers (a human/wolf/bird hybrid) catch up to them. Fang is mortally wounded in the fight, and he has to be taken to the hospital. The FBI finds out about Max and her flock, and a head agent offers Max the chance for all of them to stay at her house and recouperate. The next thing Max knows, she and her friends are all enrolled in a private school, and the FBI agent is talking about making the arrangement permanent. This doesn't sit well with Max, who has her own agenda: to find the lost family members of her flock, and to take down the evil power that genetically altered her flock in the first place. Can she convince the others to leave their comfortable new existence? SPOILER! When Max and her flock discover that the FBI agent is actually one of the heads of the lab where they were made into mutants, Max and her flock head off on their own again. They head for Florida for information about their past. Following a lead that points them to the headquarters of a large corporation, Max and her friends break in and are very nearly captured--but not before learning more about their past and their possible future destiny.

Comments: I picked up this book thinking that it looked like one that would appeal to boys. Even though the cover shown here isn't the same as the cover of the book I read, it has the same idea: the silhouette of a winged teenage boy. Surely that boy was the main character, Maximum Ride? It was therefore rather surprising to me to find out that Max is actually a winged teenage girl. Kudos should be sent to James Patterson for writing a very strong female character, but I still think this type of book will appeal to boys more than it will to girls.

All in all, the book was a fun, quick read. Sentences are short and to the point, as are the chapters, which average about two pages in length. Patterson's writing style fits perfectly with this setup. Dialog is quick and witty. The book is filled with one-liners. The action scenes are extremely fast-paced (and a little gruesome). And, impressively, even though Patterson gives hardly any recap of what happened in the first book in the series, the plot is still easy to follow. This is achieved by the fact that most of the book is written from Max's perspective, so you get a lot of her innermost thoughts. Even though Max is "Avian-American," she still has extremely human emotions. And lots of them since she's a fourteen-year-old teenager. This makes Max relatable even though her actions are tough.

Perhaps the biggest downfall of the book is that so much of the book is spent with hardly anything happening. This allows us to get to know Max better, and it's part of why she's as relatable as a genetically enhanced, military trained being can be, but if this series is supposed to be a sci-fi thriller, why are they taking a break to attend school? I wasn't too bothered by this fact while I was reading the book. The fast-paced dialog does help this section move along, but it's something that puzzles me now.

Themes: Evil Corporations, School, Definition of what a Family is, Saving the World

Red Flags: Violence (breaking bones, explosions, etc.) in the fight scenes.

The Manny Files

Author: Christian Burch
Year: 2006
Publisher: Atheneum
Pages: 304
Reading Level: Intermediate (Ages 9-12)

Awards: 2007 Josette Frank Award

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series Information: First of the Manny books
Location: New England (New York area)
Time Period: Present Day (2006)

Plot: Third grader Keats Dalinger is extremely excited about the new nanny his mother just hired--he's a boy just like Keats is! The nanny insists that everyone call him the Manny, but the fun doesn't end there. He puts fun notes in Keats' lunch, reminding him to "be interesting." He meets Keats after school wearing crazy costumes. And when Keats and his sisters are bored, the Manny always has an idea of something fun to do. Keats and his sisters India and Belly love the Manny, but the oldest Dalinger sibling, Lulu, has other ideas. She keeps notes of all of the weird things the Manny does in a notebook named the Manny Files, and Keats is afraid that she's hoping to gain enough ammunition to get the Manny fired. Lulu's done it before. Can the Manny win Lulu over too before it's too late? SPOILER! When Lulu calls a family council to reveal all of the Manny's misdeeds, Keats finally gets over his fear of his older sister and asserts his opinion that the Manny is the best nanny they've ever had. The Manny gets to stay, and Lulu learns to appreciate him as well.

Comments: I'll admit it: I originally picked this book up because it had a guy doing the Mary Poppins pose on the front of it. I love Mary Poppins! It didn't take long, however, to enjoy the book for it's own merits. The book is witty and clever, and I found myself laughing aloud many times. The plot is rather subtle, and not very developed or fast paced, but it seems the point of the book is more to show the Dalinger family and the Manny growing together and learning about each other on a day-to-day basis than it is about deciding whether or not the Manny should stay. Potentially hard issues are brought up in the book, but they're done so gently and light-heartedly that it doesn't get depressing. Keats himself is a fun, quirky character to pick as the narrator of the story. His starry-eyed worship of the Manny is endearing, as is the evidence that the Manny is someone who really encourages Keats to get out of his shell be who he really is. Younger children will enjoy the fun escapades the children have with the Manny, while older readers will enjoy the subtler themes as well.

Themes: Nannies, Bullies, Family, Death, Finding out who you really are

Red Flags: Keats' grandma dies; there are subtle comments about the growing relationship between the Manny and Uncle Max, but it's handled very gently and younger children probably won't even pick up on it.

Mr. Lincoln's Boys

Sub-Title: Being the MOSTLY True Adventures of Abraham Lincoln's Trouble-Making Sons, TAD and WILLIE
Author: Staton Rabin
Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline
Year: 2008
Publisher: Viking Press
Pages: 36
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Picture Book/Historical Fiction
Location: White House, Washington, D.C.
Time Period: Civil War (1860's)

Plot: Tad and Willie live with their parents, Martha and Abraham Lincoln, in the White House in Washington, D.C. Even though their father is a very busy man, the President of the United States always makes time for his sons. The boys are also mischievous, and they often get into trouble. They have a toy soldier that they frequently charge for some violation or another, then they come up with a different way to execute and bury the doll. SPOILER! During one of these execution plays, The gardener finds Tad and Willie digging in the flower bed to bury the toy soldier. Furious, the gardener chases Tad and Willie away. Unable to carry out the execution, Tad and Willie must figure out what to do with their doomed doll. They take the problem to their father, who is the middle of a meeting, and ask for a pardon. The President awards the doll a pardon, and it is shown that the President's stressful life is made easier by watching his son's antics.

Comments: When you're writing about events that really happened in world history, it's easy to stick to facts and take all of the emotion and story out of it. Staton Rabin does an excellent job focusing on that emotion and story, and successfully creates a tale not just about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, but about fathers and sons and the importance of making time for family. Rabin is open about the fact that he changed the way things happened in order to help children relate with the story, and it's possible that he helped them understand a little more about the Civil War because of it. Despite all of this, I appreciated the notes found in the back of the book explaining exactly what the author changed, and why. With this, an explanation about who the characters in the story are, and a list of further reading, this book makes a good way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

Of course I have to mention the artwork of Bagram Ibatoulline, who illustrated one of my favorite children's books of all time, found here. Ibatoulline succeeds again in capturing the mood just right. The pictures are warm and golden and very lifelike, and I laughed at the realistic look on the boys' face as they solemnly walked into the President's Office to ask for a pardon. Both the pictures and the prose work well together in telling the story of an amusing thing that happened during a very somber period of American history.

Themes: Civil War, Soldiers, Abraham Lincoln, Importance of Family, Fathers and Sons

Red Flags: Willie and Tad imagine different ways to execute their toy soldier.

The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave Mckean
Year: 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 320
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 2009 Newbery Medal, 2009 ALA Notable Books for Children, 2009 ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008 Horn Book Fanfare Award

Genre: Gothic fantasy
Location: A forgotten graveyard in Britain
Time Period: Present Day (2008)

Plot: When a baby boy hides in a graveyard while a man named Jack murders the rest of his family, the inhabitants of the graveyard agree to adopt him. They name him Nobody (Bod) Owens, and bestow on him the power of the graveyard, which allows him to fade from sight, walk through walls, and see in the dark. Bod spends the next fourteen years in the graveyard. He makes friends with the inhabitants, learns to read by deciphering gravestones, and learns English history from people who lived it. While Bod wants to learn all he can about the world, his not-quite-dead and not-quite-living guardian, Silas, warns him that the man Jack is still out there, searching for him. SPOILER! When Jack discovers where Bod is, he and his band, the Jacks of All Trades, infiltrate the graveyard. It will take all that Bod has learned and the help of all of his friends in the graveyard to defeat this mighty foe. However, when this is done Bod no longer needs the protection of the graveyard, and he is allowed to leave the graveyard and seek his fortune in the world.

Comments: I did something I don't normally do when I read—instead of actually reading the book, I listened to the book on CD, which is narrated by the author. Gaiman is a great storyteller, and it was fun to hear the story come to life in his telling of it. He gave different inflections to most of the characters in the book, sounding young and youthful whenever Bod spoke, ghostly and ethereal when a character from the graveyard spoke, and deep and harsh whenever the man Jack spoke. My favorite voice, however, what the Scottish accent Gaiman used whenever Bod's only living friend, Scarlet, was on the scene.

The story itself is interesting, and it grabs your attention from the very first sentence: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." Although the wording and the setting are both dark and tense, Gaiman keeps this book light, allowing the reader to experience Bod's wonder and pleasure in the world around him. The book follows Bod's adventures as he grows up, and for awhile I wondered if the tense scene at the beginning with the man Jack would ever be referred to again. The time Gaiman takes in telling the story pays off, however, when Bod uses the knowledge he gained from almost every chapter before when the man Jack finally makes another appearance.

It's the small touches Gaiman adds to this book that really make it great. With every new character introduced, the epitaph on their gravestone is read. Bod is a precocious main character, and he learns life lessons that even adults will find interesting and applicable. Even though Bod is in a situation that would never really happen, it seems completely natural that a boy in this situation wouldn't find death scary or frightening at all, which makes the book more believable. Oddly enough, despite all that happens in this book, the scenario I had the most trouble accepting was that fact that Bod was allowed to leave the graveyard and seek his fortune at the young age of 15. This is a fact that will be appealing to younger readers, however, and it's not a hinderance to the story.

I really enjoyed this book. My only regret from having listened to the book instead of reading it is that I missed Mckean's dark, jagged drawings, a few of which I have seen and which I think would add just as much character and life as Gaiman's inflections added. I'll just have to read the book again, won't I?

Themes: Murder, Family, Definition of Home, Seeking one's Fortune, Destiny, Standing up for what you believe in.

Red Flags: Bod deals with bullies, Silas gets run over by a car (but that's okay, because he's not alive), the book contains (good) werewolves, goblins, ghouls, murderers, and other creepy things that go bump in the night.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Author/Illustrator: J.K. Rowling
Year: 2008
Publisher: Children's High Level Group
Pages: 111
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Fairy Tale
Location: England
Time Period: Long Ago with Present Day (2008) Commentary

Plot: A collection of five popular "wizard" fairy tales, including The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump, and The Tale of the Three Brothers (which was also told in the last book of the Harry Potter series). Each story is accompanied with commentary written by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Comments: J.K. Rowling has a gift of being able to craft a story that combines the myth and morals of a fairy tale with humor. That's why I enjoyed the Harry Potter series, and that's why I enjoyed this book. I could imagine being told these stories as a young child, just as I was told fairy tales like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk, and others. Like most fairy tales, each story ends with a moral. Even though the characters in these stories are magic, they still have to rely on their head and on their heart to solve their problems. The commentary by Albus Dumbledore points out these morals and expounds on them, and adds an extra bit of humor. For example, his note about the retold tales of Mrs. Beatrix Bloxom was especially funny. I also liked Rowling's pictures—I was impressed that she wrote the story and did the illustrations.

Themes: Fairy Tales, Charity, Service, Being Happy with what you have, Making your own Future, Importance of Love, Trickster Tale, Mortality

Red Flags: The Warlock's Hairy Heart is rather gruesome—SPOILER! It ends with the warlock cutting out a maiden's heart, and trying to switch it with his own.

11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System

Author/Illustrator: David A. Aguilar
Year: 2008
Publisher: National Geographic Society
Pages: 48
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Non-Fiction/Science
Location: the Solar System
Time Period: Present (2008)

Book Summary: Discusses the different objects that make up our solar system according to the new standards written by the International Astronomical Union. Covers objects from the sun to the planets, to the new dwarf planets, to comets, and more.

Comments: I've been wanting to read this book for awhile, because the title was so intriguing to me. Eleven planets?! I thought we only had eight now! How did we gain three? Upon reading the book, it all became clear: this book includes the three newly-defined dwarf planets (one of them being Pluto) in its list of planets. It even includes a little mnemonic device for memorizing them all: My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants.

The facts in the book seemed accurate, labeling each object as a planet or a dwarf planet, although it didn't really go into the explanation of what makes one thing a planet, and what makes another a dwarf planet. I'm actually still confused on that point, but it kind of seems like the scientific community is still confused about it as well.

Despite my confusion, this is a nice brief overview of the solar system that I think children will enjoy. Most of the pictures in the book are photographs or realistic-looking illustrations, and many pictures are labeled. A glossary, index, and other fun facts are included at the back of the book.

Themes: Science, Solar System, Planets, Exploration

Red Flags: None

These Happy Golden Years

Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Year: 1943
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 288
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 1944 Newbery Honor

Genre: Historical Fiction/Western
Series Information: Eighth book in the Little House series
Location: De Smet, North Dakota
Time Period: Mid 1880's

Plot: Laura is growing up, and she is experiencing many firsts. She now has the opportunity to help earn money to send her older sister Mary to a school for the blind. Even though she's only fifteen, and hasn't officially graduated, she passes a teacher's exam, and takes a teaching job. The job is far away from home, and Laura is lonely until Almanzo Wilder is willing to make the long journey through the snow to let her come home for the weekend. In the summer, Laura helps Almanzo break horses by going on Sunday buggy rides with him. SPOILER! When Almanzo proposes, Laura embraces the chance to go on the biggest first of them all, and the two get married.

Comments: I grew up loving these books, as you may be able to tell, so when I picked up and skimmed through a non-fiction book about Laura Ingalls Wilder's life, I suddenly felt the compulsion to re-read a few of the stories again. I skimmed through The Long Winter and Little Town on the Prairie, but I just had to read this one all the way through.

As I read the books, I came to realize that perhaps the reason why these books are so popular is that even though Laura led a life completely different from my own, I could still relate to her. Her characters are believable, and I could see my family in hers. Laura also makes learning about an earlier time interesting.

One thing I wasn't expecting was to feel sorry for Nellie Oleson. I don't remember feeling sorry for Nellie when I was younger, but her story is such a pathetic one that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her now.

Themes: Growing Up, Prairie Life, School Teachers

Red Flags: Weather-related danger, including the stories of a boy being killed by a tornado and Laura and Almanzo almost freezing to death.

All in Just One Cookie

Author: Susan E. Goodman
Illustrator: Timothy Bush
Year: 2006
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 2007 ALA Notable Book

Genre: Picture Book/Non-Fiction
Location: Grandma's Kitchen/All over the World
Time Period: Present Day (2006)

Plot: While Grandma gathers and mixes each of the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, the cat and the dog research how each ingredient is made and how it all mixes together to create a delicious treat.

Comments: This book pulls out all the stops in trying to teach children where their food comes from in an interesting and entertaining way. The pictures are bright and attractive, and the hungry dog and curious cat are fun to watch. Little jokes are made on each page. My favorite joke comes from the chickens who state, "I'm not crossing that road!" when they see the cat driving the eggs to the store.

The information in the book seems solid, and it goes into more detail than I thought a picture book would. For example, children get a small food chain lesson when they learn about the ecosystem surrounding saltwater ponds. The book ends with a map of the world depicting where each ingredient comes from. A recipe for chocolate chip cookies is found on the very last page of the book. This book may be used for information for young children's reports, but more information would probably be needed for older audiences.

Themes: Baking, History of Ingredients, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Red Flags: None

Kensuke's Kingdom

Author: Michael Morpurgo
Year: 1999
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 164
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Adventure/Survival
Location: An island somewhere in the Indian Ocean
Time Period: 1988

Plot: When eleven year-old Michael's parents decide to leave their home in England to pursue their dreams by sailing around the world for eighteen months, Michael is ecstatic. One stormy night halfway through the voyage Michael and his dog Stella are thrown overboard. Michael and Stella are miraculously saved by a seventy-four year-old Japanese man who lives on a nearby island. Even though the Japanese man provides Michael with food every day, he does nothing else with Michael, dividing the island into two separate parts and refusing to allow Michael to build a signal fire. Months go by. Frustrated with his imprisonment on the island, Michael avoids the man's warning not to swim in the ocean, and is attacked by a deadly jellyfish. The man rescues Michael, and the two finally bond as the man, named Kensuke, cares for Michael's wounds. SPOILER! Michael learns that Kensuke was washed up on the island during the World War II when the ship he was serving on was attacked by American bombers. Kensuke has had some contact with the outside world—enough to know that his home, Nagasaki, was destroyed by an atomic bomb, which most likely also killed his family. He also hid on the island when men came to the island on a hunting trip. Left alone for years and years, Kensuke has come to the conclusion that man is innately cruel. This is why he avoided Michael at first. As they get to know each other, Michael encourages Kensuke to learn to hope again and to consider going back to Japan. When Michael's parents finally find the island, Kensuke refuses to come with Michael, convinced that he needs to stay with his new family, a group of orangutans. Kensuke makes Michael promise that he won't share his story for ten years. When Michael finally speaks out about his experience, he learns that Kensuke's family is still alive.

Comments: As I was writing the outline of this story, I realized how depressing it sounds. Michael meets a man who has decided that man will always want to kill one another, and he doesn't want to live in that kind of society any more. This, however, is not the point of the story. Although the book does have a somewhat sad tone, it also has a stronger hopeful one. Kensuke has worthwhile goals in life. He takes pride in beauty, and he does everything with care. He has come to learn to love his neighbors the orangutans, and he stays on the island out of a want to protect them instead of out of fear of the unknown. This story has many different elements that should appeal to a wide range of readers. This book reads a lot like a modern day Robinson Crusoe. There's the adventure aspect, with details of a life at sea and the courage it takes to life a life of survival on a deserted island. The book also has a philosophical side, discussing the need of man to stop and reflect and learn to love his surroundings. I also liked how some harder issues such as the bombing of Nagasaki and man's cruelty to animals was brought up. It was a very well-written book and I enjoyed reading it.

Themes: Life at Sea, Shipwreck, Survival, Leaving the world a better place than you found it.

Red Flags: Men come on the island to kill the adult monkeys and steal the babies. Seagulls trying to eat baby turtles, Jellyfish attack, Michael is thrown overboard and separated from his parents.

Multicultural Elements: Kensuke is Japanese

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Author/Illustrator: Dav Pilkey
Year: 1997
Publisher: Blue Sky Press
Pages: 121
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Comedy/Graphic Novel
Series Information: First Book in the Captain Underpants series
Location: Jerome Horwitz Elementary School
Time Period: Present Day (1997)

Plot: George Beard and Harold Hutchins are best friends who attend fourth grade at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. They love to play practical jokes and they love to create a comic book series called Captain Underpants ("Fighting for truth, justise, and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony"). When the school principal, Mr. Krupp, catches George and Harold playing a practical joke, he punishes them by making them his servants. In order to get out of their punishment, George and Harold order a hypno-ring, hoping to hypnotize Mr. Krupp so he will do their bidding instead. When they jokingly use the hypno-ring to make Mr. Krupp become Captain Underpants, Mr. Krupp takes off most of his clothes, uses the red curtains as a cape, and runs out of the school, looking for someone to save. George and Harold follow Mr. Krupp, and the three find themselves in the middle of a plot by Dr. Diaper to take over the world. SPOILER! George, Harold, and Captain Underpants work together to thwart Dr. Diaper and his evil robot henchmen, and they head back to school. George and Harold figure they should probably undo the hypnosis on Mr. Krupp, but they can't find the hypno-ring's instructions, and they end up throwing water on Mr. Krupp to wake him up. Since Mr. Krupp was awakened from his hypnosis the wrong way, any time someone snaps their fingers he becomes Captain Underpants again, setting up the premise for the rest of the series.

Comments: I can certainly see why Captain Underpants is so popular. The story has a lot of things in it that young boys find appealing: superheroes, practical jokers, jokes about bowel movements, and more. Pilkey tells a fun story, and he keeps readers' attention with his sense of humor, cartoon drawings, and one can never forget the Flip-O-Rama, which allows children to make the pictures on the pages move in actions scenes. Some parents might not want to let their children read these books because of some of the jokes, but most of the jokes stay on the clean side and are harmless. A good suggestion for reluctant male readers.

Themes: Superheroes, Practical Jokes

Red Flags: Jokes about bowel movements, Adults dressed only in underwear or diapers.

Multicultural Elements: Although very much a cartoon, George is also an African-American

The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse

Author/Illustrator: Bruce Hale
Year: 2000
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.
Pages: 95
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Mystery/Detective
Series Information: First of the Chet Gecko series
Location: Emerson Hicky Elementary
Time Period: Present Day (2000)

Plot: Chet Gecko is a fourth grade private eye at Emerson Hicky Elementary. When Shirley Chameleon tells Chet that her brother Billy is missing and that she will give Chet a stinkbug pie if he can find Billy before the school football game, Chet is on the case. In order to figure out where Billy is, Chet must outsmart his teachers, deal with bullies, perform many and various hijinks, and dodge detention. Although he doesn't originally want the help, he pairs up with Shirley Mockingbird to solve the case. But the school bully, Herman Gila Monster, is on the trail too, and he's out to stop Chet before he uncovers too much. SPOILER! After Herman and his gang catch Chet and Shirley and tie them to the school diving board, dangling precariously over the school swimming pool, Chet and Shirley finally figure out the last clue to the puzzle. The two manage to untie themselves and race out to the football field just in time to find Billy Chameleon (who was off willingly helping Herman with his pranks) and thwart Herman in a plot to undermine the school football game.

Comments: Children may read this book for the mystery, but they are more likely to enjoy it for the satire. Almost every line in the entire book is a pun or a joke or a farce of some kind. Chet isn't a very good detective, but children probably won't worry about that. Another fun aspect of the book is the fact that all of the characters are animals, so they do animal things. For example, since Chet is a gecko, he can climb walls, stick out his tongue to trip bullies, and detach his tail or use it to pick a lock at will. The text is broken up with fun ink and pencil drawings, which will be welcome to reluctant readers. Because of the drawings, this book may look like it's meant for younger readers, but the satire may make it more appropriate for older children who will better understand the jokes.

Themes: Detectives, Bullies, Football, Mystery, School, Missing People

Red Flags: Although these animals talk, they still eat worms and flies and whatnot.

Harriet the Spy

Author/Illustrator: Louise Fitzhugh
Year: 1964
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 300
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series Information: First book in the Harriet the Spy series. There are a few other authors who have written Harriet the Spy novels inspired by Fitzhugh's character
Location: Manhattan, NY
Time Period: Present Day (1964)

Plot: Eleven year-old Harriet M. Welsch is determined to become a writer someday. In the meantime, she practices by spying on her neighbors and writing down what she thinks of them in a notebook that she keeps with her at all times. When Harriet's nurse, Ole Golly, leaves to get married, Harriet fells like a very close friend has gone away. Soon after, the children at school find Harriet's notebook and they read all of the mean things Harriet has written about them. The children form a club excluding Harriet and try to find ways to pay her back for all of the mean things she has said. Feeling exiled, Harriet begins to revolt. She refuses to do her school work and she writes in her journal more and more. However, instead of helping Harriet feel better, it just makes her more lonely and more rejected by her classmates. SPOILER! When Harriet's parents find out about her odd behavior, they try a number of things including banning Harriet from writing and forcing her to see a psychologist. Nothing works until they talk to the principal and get Harriet put in charge of writing the sixth grade newsletter. Harriet finally has a constructive place where she can write without alienating others. Harriet asks for forgiveness from her friends and learns more about what it takes to be a good writer.

Comments: This book is different from what I thought it would be. For some reason, I imagined that it would mostly be about the funny characters Harriet sees on a day-to-day basis. Although this is an aspect of the story, this book is more than that, and I can see why this book is a classic. Although this book takes place in the 1960s, I can imagine something like this happening today. This book explores how a child might feel at the loss of a loved one or at the loss of friends. It also discusses how everyone should treat each other with respect, and how one should ask for forgiveness when they are wrong. Harriet is a precocious child, and even though she deserved a lot of the trouble she got into, she was still a sympathetic character. Children who have dealt with loneliness or the loss of loved ones might identify with Harriet.

Themes: Loss of Loved Ones, Keeping Secrets, Telling Secrets, Getting Revenge, Asking Forgiveness

Red Flags: Harriet says some rude things in her journal, but nothing too offensive.

The London Eye Mystery

Author: Siobhan Dowd
Year: 2007
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Pages: 323
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Mystery/ Children as Detectives/Locked Room Mystery
Location: London, England
Time Period: Present Day (2007)

Plot: When a mysterious stranger walks up to Ted, Kat, and their cousin Salim as they are waiting in line to buy tickets for the London Eye, the three are conflicted. The stranger is offering a free ticket for one of them with no strings attached, but they know they shouldn't accept gifts from strangers. After they accept the ticket, Ted and Kat are extremely confused and worried when they see Salim get on the London Eye, but they never see him get off. The police are called to investigate Salim's disappearance, but no one will listen to the children's theories. Not content with waiting for the police to find Salim, Ted and Kat make up a list of theories of what could have happened to their cousin, and they set out to investigate each one. SPOILER! Ted eventually figures out that Salim must have staged his own disappearance by changing his clothes while he was on the London Eye. Although Ted's parents, his aunt and uncle, and even Kat won't listen to him, the police pick up his tip, which leads them on the correct trail. They find out that Salim had thought about running away from home so he wouldn't have to move to New York with his mother, but he changed his mind and got lost on the way back home. Ted and Kat figure out where Salim must have gotten lost, and Salim is reunited with his family.

Comments: The London Eye Mystery is proof that good classic mysteries are still being written. Dowd does a good job of slowly giving out clues that will keep the reader guessing what happened until the very last pages. SPOILER! I was very impressed with Dowd's version of how Salim got off of the London Eye without getting the attention of Kat and Ted, but the end clue of Salim happening to slip into a condemned building without getting caught right when Ted's father was locking up the building was a little thin to me. I don't think this will be a detraction for most young readers, however. end spoiler One thing that makes this book different from most classic mysteries is Dowd's narrator, Ted. Ted is a very smart person, but there is an air of mystery about him since his family always talks about his unnamed brain disorder that makes him very good with facts, but not so good at reading people. This gives an edge to the story, but it isn't creepy. In fact, it makes the reader want to root for Ted more. Children will like trying to figure out this mystery along with Ted and Kat, and will enjoy the surprise ending.

Themes: London Eye, Missing People, Mysteries, Divorced Parents, Moving

Red Flags: A dead body is discovered that Ted's dad has to identify, but it isn't accompanied by any sort of description.

Multicultural Elements: Salim is half Pakistani, and his father is Pakistani, but this doesn't play into the story at all.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Authors: Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden
Year: 2007
Publisher: Collins (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
Pages: 270
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Non-Fiction
Series Information: The Daring Book for Girls is not written by the same authors, but is put out by the same publisher.

Book Summary: A guide containing fun facts and information that every boy should know, this book covers many different topics from knot tying to dinosaurs to morse code to descriptions of famous battles to lists of famous things that every boy should know (even including poetry and Shakespeare!) and much more. Intended for "every boy from eight to eighty."

Comments: I really like the concept of this book—a handy reference source of not only boring facts and figures, but of things that every boy should know, but could never find in one location. Conn and Hal Iggulden write in an easy-to-read, engaging style that should help keep boys' attention. Text is broken up by the use of pictures and by breaking up intensive chapters into multiple sections.

These points make the book easy to use, but from a reference standpoint, this book isn't a good one to use as a source for a paper or a school project. The information in the book seems accurate enough, but the sources of information can't be found anywhere in the book—not even in a bibliography stuck in the back of the book. Also, I mentioned earlier that intensive chapters are broken up into sections. What I didn't mention was that these sections are sprinkled throughout the book instead of being placed in the vicinity of each other. Since the book isn't broken into subject-specific sections, the book may be somewhat hard to navigate, even with the use of the Table of Contents. If you're a parent, get this book for its entertainment value rather than as a reference resource.

Themes: Boys, Definition of Boyhood, Fun Facts

Red Flags: Some of the projects found in the book require adult supervision, or may be, as the title suggests: dangerous (ex: shooting a gun, skinning a rabbit)

The Hidden Children

Author: Howard Greenfeld
Year: 1993
Publisher: Ticknor & Fields
Pages: 118
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 1994 Horn Book Fanfare Award

Genre: Non-Fiction/Memoirs
Location: Europe
Time Period: World War II

Book Summary: What would it be like to be a Jewish child during World War II? This book tries to answer this question by giving the accounts of people who survived the Holocaust as children. Some were taken in by non-Jewish families and given new names and identitites, some were hidden in convents and orphanages, and others spent much of their childhood years on the run. Includes information on the causes of the war, memories of the children interviewed, and discussion of the aftereffects of the War.

Comments: Greenfeld does a good job painting the scenery. His description of what was happening, combined with photographs of Jewish children and their accounts of what happened to before, during, and after the War, creates a seamless work. Although this book can be rather depressing, one good thing about this book is that Greenfeld is interviewing survivors of the war. This work does not spend time talking about the concentration camps, but instead focuses on those who managed to keep away from the camps. This is still a sobering tale, and even though the text is easy enough to read, I wouldn't recommend this book to younger age range of children that it's written for.

Themes: Holocaust, Anti-Semitism, Survival, Being in Hiding

Red Flags: Descriptions of poor living conditions, health problems, and light discussion of people who were caught and killed both in and out of the concentration camps

Victory

Author: Susan Cooper
Year: 2007
Publisher: Aladdin
Pages: 224
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 2007 National Social Studies Trade Book

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Historical Fiction
Location: Connecticut, England, H.M.S. Victory
Time Period: 1803-1806/Present Day (2006)

Plot: Molly Jennings is an English girl who lives in 2006, while Sam Robbins is a farm boy who was pressed into service on H.M.S. Victory back in 1803. Their stories are told simultaneously, and each character has a different yet similar problem to face. While Sam has to learn about the perils of life on the sea and is involved in the famous battle of Trafalgar, Molly also has to deal with homesickness and loneliness when she moves to Connecticut, where her new father's job is located. Molly and Sam's lives are connected when Molly finds Robert Southey's book Life of Nelson at a nautical souvenir shop. Pasted inside the cover of the book is a scrap of the flag that covered Lord Nelson's body after he died. Sam had been given that piece of flag, and passed it on to his children, who pasted it into the book. SPOILER! Molly and Sam's lives truly converge when Molly goes back to England for a week in an attempt to get over her homesickness. While there, her grandfather takes her to Portsmouth, where they take a tour of H.M.S. Victory. There, Molly reconnects with Sam and experiences through Sam's eyes the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Lord Nelson. Molly later discovers that the reason she had such a vivid experience is because she is actually a descendant of Sam's.

Comments: The idea of two people being connected through time is an interesting one, and Cooper does a good job of helping you feel the connection between these two individuals. I think this story would have worked just as well if Cooper had focused solely on Sam's experience aboard H.M.S. Victory, but the addition of Molly's story adds depth of feeling to the plot. The hard issues of death, war, and Molly's depression over her homesickness and her father's death, make this a book I wouldn't recommend to younger readers, but it might be an interesting way for older readers to learn about one of England's most famous battles.

Themes: Battle of Trafalgar, Sea Voyages, Homesickness, Separation from Loved Ones, Coping with Trauma

Red Flags: Description of Battle Scenes, Death, Description of Poverty in the 1800s, Extreme Homesickness

Eyewitness Invention

Author: Lionel Bender
Year: 2005
Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.
Pages:72
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Non-Fiction/Reference
Series Information: DK Eyewitness Books
Location: Planet Earth
Time Period: Covers almost every time period

Book Summary: A reference resource designed to help children understand what an invention is ("something that is devised by human effort and that did not exist before. . . . They usually result from the bringing together of existing technologies in a new way." pg. 6) and how it has evolved through time. Each topic is covered in two-page chapters. Topics covered include inventions starting from tools and the wheel to current inventions like the silicon chip. The format of each chapter is unique: a generic summary of the topic is found in the upper left hand corner, and the rest of the page is filled with photographs that are prime examples of the topic. The latest and newest version of the invention is not always mentioned, but the major versions of the invention that changed history are. Labels and text surrounding the photograph explain why that object is important in the field. Also includes a Did you Know section, a timeline of important inventions, a Find Out More section, a glossary, and an index.

Comments: This is a very thorough series, and it manages to convey a lot of information in a way that I think will appeal to both eager and reluctant readers. Inventions shown sometimes include cut-away panels to allow readers to see how the invention works. The labels in the Eyewitness series were not as helpful as they were in the Inside & Out Guide series, but more information is given on each object, which means the Eyewitness series gives more information than the Inside & Out Guide series does. The additional sections at the back were also interesting and helpful.

Themes: Inventions, History of Inventions, Reference

Red Flags: None

First Ladies

Author: Amy Pastan, in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Year: 2001
Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.
Pages: 64
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Non-Fiction/Reference
Series Information: DK Eyewitness Books
Location: Washington, DC; United States
Time Period: 1775-Present (2001)

Book Summary: Gives a unique history of the United States by focusing on the various First Ladies, up through Laura Bush. Some first ladies are covered in half a page, while others are covered in multiple pages. Most entries include a picture of the first lady, a brief biography including critical dates, and pictures of general artifacts that were associated with that president and that time period. Also includes an index.

Comments: Because the setup of this book is so different from the other two books I analyzed in the series, I had to double check that this book really does belong with the others. However, the idea behind all of the books in the series is the same: to give a general history and timeline of that subject. Readers should know that the subject of this book is actually American History through the angle of the First Ladies, and the subject is not necessarily the First Ladies themselves. Although this book discusses each of the wives of the past presidents of the United States, the information is given in a way that also gives the reader a vague idea of the history of the United States and of the political problems that arose while that woman’s husband was in office. This is especially noticeable in a few entries that did not discuss the president’s wife in detail because she had died either before or during the president’s term in office, but still contained a lot of detail because of the events that happened while the president was in office. (Like Thomas Jefferson's wife, who died before he came to office, but still somehow managed to have two pages devoted to her.)

Themes: First Ladies, American History, Reference

Red Flags: None

Eyewitness Chemistry

Author: Dr. Ann Newmark
Year: 2005
Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.
Pages:72
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Non-Fiction/Reference
Series Information: DK Eyewitness Books
Location: Planet Earth
Time Period: Covers almost every time period

Book Summary: A reference resource designed to help children understand what chemistry is ("the science of change")and how it has evolved through time. Each topic is covered in two-page chapters. Topics covered include things like the first chemists, atoms and molecules, the periodic table, chemical reactions, acids and bases, the chemistry of life, the first plastics, and the chemical industry. The format of each chapter is unique: a generic summary of the topic is found in the upper left hand corner, and the rest of the page is filled with photographs that are prime examples of the topic. Labels and text surrounding the photograph explain why that object is important in the field. Also includes a Did you Know section, a timeline of important events, a find out more section, a glossary, and an index.

Comments: This is a very thorough series, and it manages to convey a lot of information in a way that I think will appeal to both eager and reluctant readers. The additional sections at the back were also helpful. This series presents more information than the Inside and Out Guide series does, and it seems to focus on a slightly older audience.

Themes: Chemistry, History of Science, Reference

Red Flags: None

The Inside & Out Guide to Mighty Machines

Author: Clint Twist
Illustrator: Alex Pang
Year: 2006
Publisher: Heinemann Library
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Non-Fiction/Reference
Series Information: Part of the Inside & Out Guide series

Book Summary: A reference resource designed to help children understand how some of the most famous high-powered machines work. Each topic is covered in two-page chapters. Topics covered include the Sea King helicopter, the Super Airbus A380, the Hercules aircraft, the B2 Bomber, the Saturn V Rocket, the monster truck, the giant dump truck, the bulldozer, the Big Boy locomotive, the Abrams tank, the Nimitz Carrier, and the tugboat. Each chapter gives a short description of the history of the machine, but most of the chapter is dedicated to a diagram of the machine in question, complete with labeled parts and cut-away or see-through areas to help children better understand how the machine works. Also includes an index and glossary.

Comments: One thing I failed to mention in the other two posts, but that applies to them as well is that many of the labels on the graphics not only state what the different parts of the machine is, but they also explain how that specific part works. Detailed labels aren't included in each instance, but they are used to help clear up misunderstanings about what a part does. Labels are especially noticeable in the Mighty Machines book, and they are greatly appreciated.

To quote the paper I had to write comparing this series with the Eyewitness series, the Inside & Out Guide series "may be a good choice for those who don’t necessarily care about the history of an invention, but they want to know about how current technology works. The larger font, open spacing, and simpler wording of The Inside and Out Guide to Inventions (2006) also suggests that this book will appeal to a younger audience than the Eyewitness Invention (2005) book will." In other words, this series doesn't give enough information for a chid to write a research paper on the subjects covered, but it is a good source to use for inquisitive children who want to know how the world works.

Themes: Machines, Technology, Reference Resources

Red Flags: None