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.

At Night

Author/Illustrator: Jonathan Bean
Year: 2007
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)

Awards: 2007 Horn Book Fanfare award, 2008 Charlotte Zolotow Award

Genre: Picture Book/Realistic Fiction
Location: New York City at Night
Time Period: Present Day (2007)

Plot: A young girl who cannot sleep feels a breeze coming from her bedroom window. She picks up her pillow and blankets and follows the breeze upstairs to the roof of their house in New York City, where she makes a bed out of two garden chairs. She then falls asleep after watching the stars. The last page shows the mother sitting next to the little girl, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Comments: The soothing, rhythmic text and the calm, muted pictures make this book an excellent choice for bedtime reading. It was obvious to me that the author is an artist rather than a storyteller because sometimes the text is interrupted at an odd place for the insertion of another picture, but this doesn't really matter that much since it is in the pictures that the story is truly told. This book makes me wish I had a rooftop garden to sleep in during the summer months.

Themes: Having Trouble Sleeping, New York at Night, Enjoying the world around you.

Red Flags: None

Black? White! Day? Night!

Author/Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Year: 2006
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pages: 24
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)

Awards: 2007 ALA Notable Children's Book

Genre: Picture Book/Movable Book
Location: Anywhere
Time Period: Present Day (2007)

Plot: This book discusses opposites in a question and answer format. Each page is a lift-the-flap with holes cut so the reader can see a section of what is on the inside of the page. What seems like one thing on the top of the flap is revealed to be its exact opposite when the flap is lifted.

Comments: This book was very entertaining and educational. It not only contains flaps that children will love to lift, but the illustrations are bold and bright. The opposites used are sometimes unexpected, and will keep even older children guessing. My favorite page was the Sad? Happy! page.

Themes: Opposites

Red Flags: None

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 Secret Olivia Told Me

Author: N. Joy
Illustrator: Nancy Devard
Year: 2007
Publisher: Just Us Books Inc.
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)

Awards: 2008 ALA Coretta Scott King Award

Genre: Picture Book/Realistic Fiction/Christian Fiction
Location: A schoolyard in urban America
Time Period: Present Day (2007)

Plot: When Olivia tells her best friend a secret, the secret gets spread around the schoolyard, getting bigger and stranger with each telling. SPOILER! Olivia's friend must confess that she told the secret in order to keep their friendship intact.

Comments: Joy, a popular urban Christian fiction writer, addresses the issue of being trustworthy with a simple, catchy rhyme that children should enjoy. However, it is the pictures that are the most interesting part of this book. Most of the pictures are black and white, showing silhouettes of each child. The secret is depicted in the form of a bright red balloon, with a string trailing from the mouth of the child who told it. As the secret is spread, the balloon gets bigger and bigger. The balloon pops when Olivia's friend confesses that she told the secret.

Another interesting part of this book was the list of questions provided at the end of the book. The questions are designed to help parents open up a discussion with their children as to why it is wrong to tell secrets about other people. This could be a heavy topic for some parents and children, but it may be useful for those parents who are having trouble explaining to their children why one should not tell lies and secrets.

Themes: Lies, Friendship, Urban Christian Fiction

Red Flags: None

Multicultural Elements: The book includes children of many races, but most of the children are African-American.

The Chocolate War

Author: Robert Cormier
Year: 1974
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 253
Reading Level: Young Adult

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series Information: Sequel: Beyond the Chocolate War
Location: Trinity High School
Time Period: Present (1970's)

Plot: Jerry Renault is a new freshman at Trinity High School, a Catholic private school. The unofficial leader of the school is a gang called the Vigils. Headed by Archie Costello, the Vigils terrorize the underclassmen by forcing them to complete "assignments." When the school fundraiser comes up, Jerry is given his first assignment by the Vigils: refuse to sell chocolate for the first ten days of the fund raiser. Bristling under being forced to act a certain way, Jerry decides to take a stand for himself, and refuses to sell the chocolates at all, even after the ten day deadline is up. SPOILER! The Vigils (and Brother Leon, the unofficial head of the school) are not happy with Jerry's display of defiance, and they set out to break him. It all culminates in a scene where the entire school has turned out for a fight between Jerry and Emile, a pawn of the Vigils. Jerry loses the fight right as the teachers come and intervene. The Vigils have made their point that no one should cross them.

Comments: The Chocolate War is sexually explicit, contains offensive language, and is violent. No wonder the ALA Banned Books site lists The Chocolate War as the second most-contested book in the year 2007, and it is frequently high up on other frequently contested book lists as well! (You might have to scroll down a bit to see this). Oddly enough, of all of the complaints against the book, the thing that bothered me most about it was that the adults were condoning the Vigils' behavior. Brother Leon not only stood by and allowed the Vigils to terrorize Jerry, he actually encouraged it. Another upsetting part of the book was the ending, wherein SPOILER! the bad guys win. Instead of Jerry triumphing over evil, the book focuses on a theme written on a poster in Jerry's locker: "Do I dare disturb the universe?" Some teenagers might like this book for its psychological battle with this question. The book definitely did hold my attention through to the very end. Although they are nowhere near the same, this book reminded me of Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in both voice and theme, but The Absolutely True Diary succeeds for me where this one fails because of its hopeful outlook on life.

Themes: Dealing with Loss, Gangs, School Fundraisers, Competitions

Red Flags: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

The Lemonade Club

Author/Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Year: 2007
Publisher: Philomel Books
Pages: 48
Reading Level: Beginning Reader (ages 4-8)

Genre: Picture Book/Realistic Fiction
Location: Miss Wichelman's fifth grade class (Anytown, USA)
Time Period: 1970s?

Plot: Tells the true story of Polacco's daughter, Traci, her best friend, Marilyn, and their teacher, Miss Wichelman. Traci and Marilyn love being part of Miss Wichelman's fifth grade class. Every day Miss Wichelman ends class by reciting the adage, "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." One day Marilyn discovers that she has leukemia, and she has to undergo radiation treatment, which takes away all of her hair. Traci and Miss Wichelman come to Marilyn's aid, encouraging the entire class to support Marilyn by shaving their heads. SPOILER! While Marilyn recovers and everyone's hair is growing in again, Miss Wichelman stays bald. Miss Wichelman confides to Traci and Marilyn that she has breast cancer and is also going through radiation treatments. Traci and Marilyn rally behind their teacher, encouraging her to "make lemonade" out of the situation. Five years later, Traci and Marilyn are bridesmaids at Miss Wichelman's wedding, and the three are still close friends.

Comments: It's always encouraging to see other people supporting each other, and that's what this book is all about. Because it's a true story, it may be one enjoyed by adults as well. In fact, for this reason I almost listed the book as an intermediate reader instead of as the beginning reader that Amazon.com says it is. Polacco's marker and colored pencil drawings go well with the story because they look like something Traci or Marilyn would probably draw to help explain what is going on. I also appreciated the pictures of the real-life Traci, Marilyn, and Miss Wichelman included in the back of the book, along with the note about where the three are now and what they are doing with their lives.

Themes: Cancer, Friendship, Baldness, Sickness, Dreams

Red Flags: None

Multicultural Elements: Kids of different races are in Miss Wichelman's class, but the main characters are Caucasian

Kira-Kira

Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Year: 2004
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Pages: 244
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 2005 Newbery Medal

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Location: Chesterfield, Georgia
Time Period: 1950s or 1960s

Plot: Five year-old Katie is upset when she discovers that she and her Japanese-American family are moving from their home in a Japanese community in Iowa to a small, grungy apartment in Georgia. Her family is a close-knit one, however, so they weather the storms together. Katie's parents work long hours at a chicken processing plant in an attempt to make ends meet, so Katie and her younger brother Sammy must look to their older sister Lynn for care and guidance. When Lynn falls ill, Katie must take up her sister's role as psychological head of the family in order to keep the family together. SPOILER! When Lynn dies, the family almost falls apart. Katie, her brother Sammy, and her parents must each realize that Lynn would want them to move on in life and enjoy the beauties of the world instead of mourning.

Comments: I think I would have been very depressed if this was an adult novel instead of a story written for older children. Katie's family goes through a lot, and I kept thinking to myself, "what else is going to happen to this family?!" As it is, Kadohata glosses over some of the more depressing aspects of the story, and tries to focus on the one good thing this family has: each other. The family's unity was actually one of the most relatable parts of the book for me, and one of the parts I could appreciate the most. This isn't a story about the trials this family goes through, instead it's a story about how they stick together through it all.

I have one small complaint about this novel: Glossing over some important issues may make this book more appropriate for children, but it also made it harder to follow in some instances. The best example of this I have is that I know time was passing in the novel, but I wasn't sure how fast. I spent much of the book thinking that Katie was a little older than five, when she was actually around ten. This was especially confusing when Katie was talking about making dinner for the family and taking care of both Lynn and Sammy. I guess this vagueness gives a more accurate view of how children are presented with the world when their parents are trying to protect them from something, but it was still frustrating.

Themes: Cancer, Unions, Racism, Death, Unfair Working Conditions, Mourning, Illness, Family Unity, Sisters

Red Flags: Death, Sammy's leg gets caught in a bear trap, Katie's father crashes a windshield

Multicultural Elements: Japanese-Americans

Criss Cross

Author/Illustrator: Lynne Rae Perkins
Year: 2005
Publisher: Greenwillow/Harper Trophy
Pages: 337
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 2006 Newbery Medal

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Coming of Age
Series Information: Sequel to All Alone in the Universe
Location: Seldem, a small town somewhere in America
Time Period: 1970s?

Plot: At the beginning of her summer vacation, Debbie wishes for something good to happen. At the same time, Hector is learning to pursue the goals and ambitions in his life. As the summer progresses, Debbie helps an old arthritic woman and discovers what love might be. Hector learns to express himself through music. Hector and Debbie's friends also go through experiences, and together they get closer to discovering their true selves and their place in the world.

Comments: I had a hard time defining what the purpose of this novel was. There isn't a solid plot that ever gets resolved. In fact, the premise of the novel (and the title) is that we're all just wandering around, trying to find ourselves.

The lack of solid plot wasn't as annoying to me as it usually is because Perkins' writing style is a lot of fun and explores different ways of communicating ideas. There's a chapter written from the perspectives of two different people, written in columns placed side by side. Another chapter is written in haiku. Sometimes pictures are used to explain parts of the text. My favorite chapter had Debbie following instructions written by someone whose first language was not English. For example, "Easy Basin Wrench . . . is favored with the patronages of common sense and wisdom." If only I was blessed with those patronages!

All in all, I liked the book, I liked the writing style, and I liked the characters, I'm just still confused as to what the point of it was.

Themes: Coming of Age, Relationships, Discovering your place in the world

Red Flags: A woman has a heart attack

The Higher Power of Lucky

Author: Susan Patron
Illustrator: Matt Phelan
Year: 2006
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Pages: 144
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Awards: 2007 Newbery Medal

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Location: Hard Pan, California, a small town on the Mojave Desert.
Time Period: Present (2006)

Plot: Ten year-old Lucky worries about the future. Her mother has died, her father doesn't want her, and her guardian, Brigitte, is homesick for her native France. Lucky is sure that one day Brigitte will get tired of being Lucky's guardian, and will hop a plane back to France, leaving Lucky in the care of the Los Angeles welfare system. In a desperate attempt to convince Brigitte how much Lucky means to her, Lucky decides to run away for a week. Things do not go as planned when a dust storm hits the day Lucky decides to run away. SPOILER! The entire town sets out to find Lucky and her neighbor Miles, who has gotten lost in the dust storm. Lucky and Miles are found hiding in an abandoned mining dugout. Lucky learns that contrary to her suspicions, Brigitte has actually been trying to get the paperwork approved to officially adopt Lucky so they can be a real family.

Comments: Patron does a good job with giving each of the characters in this story a personality. There's ten year-old Lincoln, who loves tying knots; five year-old Miles, who loves to mimic sounds, eat cookies, and read Are You My Mother?; Short Sammy, whose captivating story told at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting makes Lucky decide to search for her Higher Power; there's Lucky herself, who longs for a permanent place in the world and carries around a survival pack so she can survive in any situation, and there are many other well-drawn characters.

Although I enjoyed reading about such well-rounded characters. this book has so many back stories that it takes a long time to get to the point. When the plot does pick up it is very engaging, but the resolution comes very quickly and as a slightly jarring surprise which doesn't really fit with the rest of the plot. This makes this a book I wouldn't willingly recommend to reluctant readers. The pencil drawings found throughout the book are interesting additions that work well with the text, and they help give the book a lighter tone.

Themes: Death, Families, Adoption, Finding Your Place in the World

Red Flags: This book is sometimes banned because of a word included twice in the text. Also, the description of what Lucky's mother's ashes looked like was kind of unsettling to me. I've never thought of ashes like that before.

Hoot

Author: Carl Hiaasen
Year: 2002
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 292
Reading Level: Young Adult

Awards: 2003 Newbery Honor Book

Film Tie-ins: Hoot, New Line Cinema, 2007

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Location: Coconut Cove, Florida
Time Period: Present (2002)

Plot: Roy Eberhart has just moved to Coconut Cove, Florida, from his beloved Montana, and he's not enjoying the sunny weather or the warm temperatures. Instead, Roy is too busy dealing with being the new kid—again—and dealing with the school bully, Dana Matherson. One morning when Dana is terrorizing Roy on the bus, Roy notices a barefoot boy about his same age running in the opposite direction of the school bus. Intrigued, Roy is determined to figure out who this free spirit is. He follows the boy's tracks across town and stumbles across a problem much bigger than any bully—a Mother Paula's All-American House of Pancakes is being constructed in an area where some endangered burrowing owls have made their home. Roy, his new friend Mullet Fingers, and Mullet Fingers' sister Beatrice unite together to try to save the owls. SPOILER! Roy and his friends find a way to save the owls after getting media attention by holding a demonstration at the Mother Paula's groundbreaking ceremony. The public learns of the endangered owls and Mother Paula's is no longer allowed to build a pancake house in Coconut Cove.

Comments: My grade: B- It's always difficult to write a novel with a message without hitting the reader over the head with that message. For the most part, Hiaasen succeeds in writing a funny, engaging novel that gets the message of environmental protection across without being too preachy. My main complaint about the novel is that the characters are a little too black and white. The bad people are obviously bad and somewhat dim-witted, and the good people are good and smart and strong. This typecasting does make for some engaging reading and for some fun situations, but it may be a detraction to older audiences. Those who are bothered by overarching generalizations should be cautioned to skip the Epilogue, which details how all the bad guys got their comeuppance and how all the good guys were rewarded.

Themes: Bullies, Owls, Environmentalism, Franchises

Red Flags: Description of pranks involving poisonous or dangerous animals, Fist fights, Mooning

Hatchet

Author: Gary Paulsen
Year: 1987
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Simon & Schuster)
Pages: 195
Reading Level: Young Adult

Awards: 1988 Newbery Honor Book, Other Awards

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Adventure
Series Information: First book of the Brian Saga
Location: Canadian Wilderness
Time Period: Present Day (1987)

Plot: When the pilot of a two-seater plane suddenly has a heart attack and dies, Brian Robeson finds himself flying alone over the Canadian wilderness and unable to contact any help. He manages to land the plane in a lake, and is washed on shore with only the clothes on his back and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present a few hours before. For the first few days, Brian tries to do the absolute minimum to survive, convinced that a search and rescue team will come to his aid. As the days progress, however, Brian realizes that he is on his own and he learns to adapt to his new surroundings: creating a shelter, building a fire, making tools, finding food, and learning about his environment. SPOILER! A tornado runs through the area, ruining Brian's shelter and dragging the plane from the bottom of the lake to the shore. Careful to avoid the pilot's body, Brian goes through the contents of the plane in search of supplies. As Brian is rummaging through the things he found in the plane, he unknowingly trips an emergency transmitter that sends out a signal for help. Brian is rescued 54 days after he originally crashed.

Comments: This book was recommended to me by three different people over the course of one week. After reading it, I can see why. Every day, Brian has to fight for his life. He has to relearn how to do the simplest things—things we take for granted in today's society with today's technology. I'm not sure I could have lasted as long as Brian did, or that I could have figured out how to survive as well as he did.

I did have a few problems with the book, but they were very small:

1) I'm not sure this story could happen now, simply because of the strict airline codes of our post-9/11 world. Even though Brian is flying on a private two-seater plane, I'm not sure he would have been allowed to take a hatchet with him.

2) The "Secret" that Brian worries about isn't central to the plot, and never even gets resolved. I know Paulsen introduced the Secret as a means of showing that Brian is upset about his parents' divorce, but it's completely unnecessary and detracts from the survival theme of the book.These two problems are slight, however, and I don't think they should dissuade someone from reading this book. Suspend your belief in reality when you get to these parts and enjoy the ride—you'll be glad you did.

Themes: Survival, Divorce

Red Flags: Plane Crash, Description of Injuries, Instances of Peril, Dead Body

Does My Head Look Big in This?

Author: Randa Abdel-Fattah
Year: 2005
Publisher: Orchard Books
Pages: 360
Reading Level: Young Adult

Genre: Realistic Fiction/High School
Series Information: Not part of a series
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Time Period: Present (2005)

Plot: Eleventh grader Amal is an Australian-Palestinian who has decided to display her dedication to her faith by wearing the hijab full time. But how can she convince those around her that being true to the tenets of her faith does not mean she needs to be an outcast to society? How can she overcome the prejudices people have about her faith? On top of these issues, Amal has to deal with the regular problems any normal teenager has to deal with: school, boys, bullies, friends, parents, neighbors, self-image, and more. SPOILER! At the end of the year, Amal understands more about who she is, who she wants to become, and the role religion plays in her life.

Comments: Randa Abdel-Fattah had a hard job cut out for her: how does one write a novel about a girl dealing with her Muslim beliefs in a post-9/11 world without hitting readers over the head with this fact? Yet Abdel-Fattah succeeded in her goal admirably. While Amal does have to deal with prejudice, that is just one theme in the story. Greater themes include the value of friendship, discovering who you want to be, and chasing your dreams. I felt like I could relate with Amal on a number of issues, one of them even being the aspect of explaining (and sometimes defending) your beliefs to those who do not believe as you do. I also learned more about the Muslim culture, which would probably help readers remove fears about Muslims and their beliefs. This is a well-written book that I would recommend to both young adults and adults alike.

Themes: Religion, Muslim Culture, Friends, Self-Image, Growing Up

Red Flags: Family issues, Discussion of a woman's role in society, A girl running away from home, Discrimination, Smoking

Multicultural Elements: Australian, Muslim

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Author/Illustrator: Jeff Kinney
Year: 2007
Publisher: Amulet Books/Harry N. Abrams Inc.
Pages: 217
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Pseudo Graphic Novel
Series Information: First of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Location: Anywhere, USA
Time Period: Present Day (2007)

Plot: Greg Heffley is starting his sixth grade year at his local middle school, and he’s starting a journal as well. The adventures and problems he faces throughout the year, along with accompanying pictures, are recorded in the journal.

Comments: This book me laughing out loud! It also seemed to give a good representation of middle school life. From the horrors of P.E. class to the bullies who have hit their growth spurts to the general problems associated with growing up and figuring out your place in the world, it’s all in this book. The illustrations were funny and they helped move the story along. This book is easy to read and engaging, which makes it a great option to give to boys who are reluctant readers.

I can’t help including one of my favorite parts, which may help give everyone an idea of how this book is written. Warning! It reveals my twisted sense of humor as well! In this chapter, Greg has filled out a general form to speed up his Christmas thank-you note writing:

“Dear Aunt Loretta,
Thank you so much for the awesome pants! How did you know I wanted that for Christmas? I love the way the pants looks on my legs! All my friends will be so jealous that I have my very own pants. Thank you for making this the best Christmas ever!
Sincerely, Greg”

Themes: Bullies, Friendship, Families, Middle School Boys

Red Flags: General light boyish behavior

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Author: Sherman Alexie
Illustrator: Ellen Forney
Year: 2007
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 230
Reading Level: Young Adult (grades 7-10)

Awards: 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series Information: Not part of a series
Location: Wellpinit, WA, an Indian reservation; and Reardan, WA
Time Period: Present Day (2007)

Plot: Arnold Spirit (a.k.a. Junior) lives on an Indian reservation in the Spokane, Washington area. When Arnold takes his teacher’s advice to transfer to a school that isn’t on the reservation, Arnold suddenly finds himself friendless and in a strange environment. The people on the reservation regard him as a traitor, while the people in his new school are unsure how to treat him. The book follows Arnold as he overcomes this challenge and many others, gains confidence in himself, and dares to make a better life for himself.

Comments: I began wondering what type of book I was reading when, ten pages into the book, Arnold described how his father had to shoot the family dog because he couldn’t afford to take it to the vet. Was this book going to be one of the most depressing things I had ever read? This book does continue on in a similar vein: Arnold’s best friend refuses to speak to him. The reservation turns against him when he transfers to a white school. People Arnold is close to die. Arnold even battles with himself in wondering if he is betraying his tribe by wanting more out of his life than they can give him. Yet, through it all, Arnold never gives up hope. He cracks jokes. He draws cartoons to deal with his grief. He makes friends and discovers new talents. It all combines to give a very realistic, heartwarming view of life that anyone can relate to. The illustrations in the story are also fun, and they help lighten the tension while helping the reader relate to and understand Arnold at the same time.

Because of the language in this book, I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. The narrator is a 14 year-old boy, and he shares many of his 14 year-old thoughts. However, those willing to deal with the language and subject matter will find a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking tale that’s worth reading.

Themes: Friendship, Families, Overcoming Trials, Pursuing the American Dream

Red Flags: light Swearing, Drinking, Death, light Sexual References/Slang

Multicultural Elements: Native Americans

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Author: Judy Blume
Year: 1972
Publisher: Puffin Books
Pages: 110
Reading Level: Intermediate (ages 9-12)

Genre: Realistic/Comedy
Series Information: The first book of the Fudge series
Location: New York, Manhattan
Time period: Present Day (1970s)

Plot: Peter Hatcher’s little brother, Fudge, is always getting into trouble. Peter’s parents rely on him to help with his younger brother so much that Peter wonders if they keep him around just because he can help them control the feisty three year-old. SPOILER! Peter’s patience is tested to the limit when Fudge eats Peter’s pet turtle, Dribble.

Comments: This was a fun book to read. It was funny and lighthearted, but it still dealt with issues that are sure to trouble older children. How does one reconcile their needs for attention and love when they have a younger sibling who seems to require it more? Does the fact that the younger siblings get more attention mean that the older child is no longer wanted? While these can be tough issues, the book’s light-hearted tone will keep children reading to see what hijinks Fudge will get himself into next. The story is less plot-driven than one would expect. Each chapter is really a different example of how Fudge acts up, with the last chapter culminating in Fudge’s most insane act of all when he swallows Peter’s pet turtle, Dribble.

Red Flags: General overacting by Fudge, including a “flying” episode in which teeth are lost, and of course the famous swallowing of a turtle.

Here's to You, Rachel Robinson

Author: Judy Blume
Year: 1995
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
Pages: 196
Reading Level: Young Adult

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series Information: Second book in the As Long As We're Together series
Location: New York and New Jersey
Time period: Present Day (1990s)

Plot: Rachel Robinson, a gifted seventh grader who is struggling to balance school and extracurricular activities, is horrified to find out that her brother Charles, with whom none of the family gets along, has been kicked out of the private boarding school he was sent to and is coming back home. The family seems to walk on pins and needles around Charles, unsure if he will get along with the family or remind them each of their flaws. SPOILER! A sort of truce is found when the family bonds on a trip to Ellis Island.

Comments: I’m not really sure what I think of this book. It brings up some good points and Judy Blume has done a good job depicting each of the characters in the book and the problems they face. This is a very realistic story. My main complaint is that I don’t think this story has a happy ending, or even an ending at all. Although Rachel, Charles, and her father have come to a sort of truce on the trip to Ellis Island, neither Rachel’s mother nor Rachel’s sister are present, which means the family is still going to face problems. Also like in real life, although Charles’ behavior is the main problem of the book, it is revealed that every member of the family is flawed and has issues that they need to overcome. If a real depiction of family life is what the reader is looking for, then this would be a good book to give them. Final grade: B

Red Flags: Brief mention of drug use, sneaking out of the house without parental permission