Faith and the Electric Dogs by Patrick Jennings

Faith and the Electric Dogs by Patrick Jennings

A fun, quick, read (I'd recommend for third to fifth grade) told from the point of view of the main dog character in the story, Edison or Eddy.

At the beginning of the story, we meet Edison on the street where he runs into a little girl (Faith). From there the story takes off, we learn that Faith has moved to San Cristobal de las Casas with her Mom, who just married her step-dad, Hector. Faith doesn't like it and doesn like having to learn Spanish. Instead of trying to fit in, she gets the idea to build a rocket ship to try to go back to her old home in San Francisco, CA.

On the way, there's a big storm and Faith and Eddie crash on a bone-shaped island somewhere in between Mexico and California. Eddie makes friends with the wild island dogs who lead them to an old man who has been marooned on the island for over 50 years. From him, Faith learns a valuable lesson that home will always be where you are.

New Title Alert!!

Calling all Artemis Fowl fans (and those of you who like graphic novels)!

Keep an eye out for the new book by popular author Eoin Colfer titled, Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel.

Release date is set for October 2nd.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Ms. Rowling is truly amazing. I am happy with how the series ends and think that she did an excellent job tying up the loose ends and generally making the story make sense.

I'm not going to go into much detail, because I don't want it to be a 'spoiler' but this is a truly remarkable series about good vs. evil. If you like fantasy stories involving magic then this one is for you! Check out Harry Potter today! :)

Cheers! Happy reading!

Operation Typhoon Shore by Joshua Mowll

The sequel to Operation Red Jericho, the story picks up right where it leaves off. School Library Journal gives a good briefing saying, "Becca and her brother, Doug, have escaped Wenzi Island, but find themselves right back in the action. Their ship is struck by a powerful typhoon and is driven ashore on a group of islands. There the two teens; their uncle, Captain MacKenzie; and his brave crew find themselves once again facing their nemesis, Pembleton-Crozier, and his army of Kalaxx warriors. It takes all of their ingenuity, bravery, and wit to figure out his intent and why the islands are so very important to these enemies of the Guild of Specialists."

Beware however if you have not read the first book!! You will be totally lost as this book does not stand alone. You will have to read Operation Red Jericho first to get any kind of clue as to the background and events that happen in this story. I have read book 1, but it's been quite a while and even I was a little lost at times because it had been so long.

However, that aside it is a nice fast read with lots of high-stakes adventure! Also it is peppered with fold-outs, diagrams, pictures, and more that help to enhance the story for the reader. I also like how it has the elastic strap on the side like a mole-skin journal...hello, built in bookmark! Yay! :)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret takes the idea of a 'graphic novel' to a whole new level. There isn't a genre for this to fit in, it is a partially fictional graphically enhanced book. Words can't even begin to describe it or the amazement I felt upon 'reading' it. Mr. Selznick has long been one of my favorite illustrators, but he stands alone in his own medium as an author and illustrator with this book.


A good Q & A about the book with Mr. Selznick, also bear in mind as you read it that it's based upon a real person, not the boy in the story, but the older man...so much more interesting reading it when you know that's a real person.

This is a must read for those of you who enjoy graphic novels, those of you who are interested in film, or those of you thinking about illustrating yourself...it's truly amazing. I look for this book to win awards next year.

2007-2008 Texas Bluebonnet List

Here is the link to the currant nominees for the Texas Bluebonnet Award:

http://www.txla.org/groups/tba/masters/masterlists07_08.html

A little bit about the award...taken from their site:

"The Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) reading program was established in 1979 to encourage Texas children to read more books, explore a variety of current books, develop powers of discrimination, and identify their favorite books."

Basically students grades 3rd through 5th throughout the state of Texas (correct me if I'm wrong in that) read the books throughout the school year and then cast their vote for their favorite by January 30th. (Here at our school, to be eligible to vote a student has to have read at least 3 books from the list.) Librarians round up the votes at their school and submit the votes to their district coordinator who compiles the local results and then passes that info on to the state, who compiles everyones vote to pick the winner. It is truly an award given by the children...how more awsome could that be? What a great way for students to take ownership of their reading!

Ghost Fever by Joe Hayes

Ok, so I'm a little slow posting the 2006-2007 Texas Bluebonnet Winner Ghost Fever / Mal de Fantasmo by Joe Hayes.

Also, I must confess...I have not read this one yet. It has remained perpetually checked out here at the library I am substituting in and one copy is lost. So, I dare not check it out for those students who are wanting to read it. I'll have to put it on my summer reading list.

But here is a short synopsis taken from the Bluebonnet site:
"Set in the railroad town of Duston, Arizona, this dual language story begins when Frank Padilla and his two daughters move into a rundown house rumored to be haunted. There, fourteen-year-old Elena learns the truth as she and her abuletia try and solve an old, supernatural mystery."

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I was happy to see The Lightning Thief make it on to this years (2006-2007) Bluebonnet list because I first picked up the book in galley form from the AASL convention in 2005 and loved the story.

The Lightning Thief is a story about a boy, Percy Jackson, who learns that he is not only a son of an Olympic god, but he is also embroiled in a mystery surrounding Zeus's stolen lightning bolt. It's a superb story chock-full of mythical monsters from Greek Mythology set in modern day America.

If you love Greek Mythology then this is a great fiction series for you! Personally I've always found the stories fascinating, so it's really interesting to read about those types of characters (the muses, Zeus, Aphrodite, minotaurs, etc.) out of their own stories and in a fresh format. I really must catch up and read the next two!

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

A National Book Award Winner, The Penderwicks was also chosen for the Texas Bluebonnet award for 2006-2007.

A sweet story about 'four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy.' The Penderwick sisters (along with their father and ever-faithful dog Hound) find themselves staying for the summer holiday in a guest house on the grounds of a posh mansion occupied by a very snooty woman named Mrs. Tifton and her not-so-snooty son Jeffery.

Once the girls and Jeffery become friends, then the summer hijinks begin! From an encounter with a bull to escaped rabbits...the five become fast friends.

Like I said, it's a sweet story, kinda fluffy, adventurous without being scary, and not too hefty on the issues it deals with...I'd recommend for grades 3-5. It reminds me of the Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner somewhat...the Penderwicks might make a nice series.

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

Wrede, Patricia C. and Stevermer, Caroline. 2006. The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc.

The sequel to The Grand Tour (which follows Sorcery and Cecilia) this third novel offers another adventure of cousins Kate and Cecy (and by now their families) ten years later. The story is told through letters to each other and is about how England is being transformed by the new railway system. James and Cecy must track down a missing German railway engineer (and magician) who disappeared quite suddenly (and rather suspiciously). While they are looking into it, they notice that the new railways are disturbing the natural magic in the area, which if not fixed could spell disaster for England!

Meanwhile, Kate is busy looking after all of their children...until one is kidnapped and when she and her husband Thomas find him they find another missing child who they take under their wing. Who is she they don't know and neither will the child talk to tell them and yet somehow all of these strange events are tied together...

A very satisfying read from two well known YA authors, Ms. Wrede (pronounced REE-dee, and here I've been saying it wrong all this time!) is known for the Enchanted Forest Chronicles while Ms. Stevermer is more known for her novel River Rats as well as other fantasy novels. The book is a nice blend of magic, adventure, and mystery - although I don't know if I'd try to keep them going since they've aged their characters so much now. I think it would have made a nicer series if they had continued with their characters a bit closer together where they'd left them off at in the last book.

Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Sonnenblick, Jordan. 2005. Drums, girls, & dangerous pie. Waterville, ME: Thorndike Press.

When his five-year-old younger brother, Jeffery, is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with the complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family both emotionally and financially.

The story is told from Steven’s viewpoint and gives a very realistic view of the life of a family dealing with crisis. Steven’s Dad basically shuts down and shuts people out, his Mom becomes the sole caregiver for his brother, and in the whirlwind Steven is left to cope on his own. School is no longer a priority and his grades go from above average to failing very quickly. Music becomes the only thing that really matters to him and he looses himself in it.

However the story is saved from being overly melodramatic by the wit, complexity, and realisticness that Sonnenblick infuses his characters with. All the horrors of dealing with cancer are there, from chemo to vomiting; yet there is also love and hope and the lesson that even in the middle of tragedy life will go on – sometimes for the worst but also for the best.

The Canning Season by Polly Horvath

Horvath, Polly. 2005. The Canning Season. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

A National Book Award winner for 2003 The Canning Season by Polly Horvath, is a novel about a thirteen-year-old girl, Ratchet, who is unceremoniously dumped by her mother into the care of two old, distant, twin great aunts, Tilly and Penpen, that live in Maine in a very large remote house surrounded by blueberry bogs and bears. Supposedly Ratchet is going to stay just for the summer while her mother attends to more important things, like gaining entry to the country club and her new boyfriend, but Ratchet ends up looking after and caring very much for Tilly and Penpen. When an unwanted teenage girl, Harper, shows up on the front porch, the household dynamics change somewhat, but Ratchet and Harper become friends in caring for the older women, learning the ways of rural Maine, and dealing with a shared sense of abandonment.

This book was so-so for me...I object to the use of the "F" word in the story...it seemed that she was going for shock value instead of just telling the story, I feel that she could have used some other expletive and still gotten the point across. It's a book that I would recommend for older teens because the themes are a bit obscure I think for younger students.

Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones

Sones, Sonya. 1999. Stop Pretending: what happened when my big sister went crazy. New York: HarperTempest.

A younger, 13 year-old, sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her older sister has a mental breakdown. The story is told in a sequence of short and intense poems that detail the younger sister's feelings of isolation, disbelief, despair, and hope. Beginning with the shock of her older sister suddenly transformed into a stranger on Christmas Eve to the horrors of visiting her in the psychiatric hospital, it details very real feelings of worrying what friends will think when they find out or if she too could become crazy, to poignant memories of what life was like before the breakdown. As her sister begins to recover, the girl begins to find hope and happiness in herself and in her own life.

At the end of the novel, there is an author's note where we learn that many of the poems found in this novel detail the true experiences the author when one of her older sister's went crazy and was diagnosed as manic-depressive. She explains some on how the book came to be and offers a list of places where one can seek help and support if your worried about yourself or someone you love being mentally ill.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

Shan, Darren. 2001. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, book 2. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

The second book in the Cirque du Freak series, Darren returns to the freak show - Cirque du Freak - after traveling with Mr. Creapsley, the vampire that turned him into a half-vampire. The sequel deals with Darren's issues of not being able to make 'normal' friends, which is why they return to the freak show. Mr. Creapsley thinks that being around others that are in a similar situation will help Darren to cope. Darren learns more about being a vampire in this book and fights his need to drink human blood, thinking it will make him evil if he does.

I'm still not loving this series, maybe because the books seem so simplistic (I checked it out today and finished it this evening) and the forshadowing is everywhere, making it easy to second guess what will happen - at least as an adult. I've come to the conclusion that this would be a great creepy series for reluctant readers and can even go a little younger than the 'young adult' age range - say maybe 4th grade level. As the series develops, I would like to see Darren develop more as a character, so far the narration from him seems superficial and without much depth. There are some moments that are jarring emotionally for him and it would be nice to see some character development from them, as it is, Shan leaves the ending hanging just enough so that you'll want to go check out the 3rd one just to see what will happen to Darren, Mr. Creapsley, and the Cirque du Freak next.

Give credit where it's due...

Just a note to give titlewave the credit for supplying the photos of the covers of the books in the reviews below. Thanks!

Also...a thanks to Dr. Hilbun for bearing with all the html links in my document I turned in - I only just figured out how to do them and now that I know I love it! :-) Isn't technology grand?

night~
klm

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ishiguro, Kazuo. 2005. Never Let Me Go. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

An Alex Award Winner for 2006, Never Let Me Go, is a book about a woman, Kathy, and her being reunited with old school friends from Halisham, a private school. Upon getting back together, they are forced to face the truths of their existance. I could leave it all murky and dark...and if you hate spoilers then read no further...but the meat of the story is that Kathy and her school mates are all clones, created by the government for the sole purpose of organ donations.

Ugh! I almost evoked my right to put this one down and pick a new one. If I hadn't read the verso page I would have been clueless as to what was coming in the book. As it is, you have to stick with it all the way to page 81 before any light dawns and things are even partially explained. It doesn't get too detailed, and certainly isn't forthcoming in information as to what is going on and why, so it is unclear if the clones are randomly created just as an organ supply or if they are created for certain people who want to prolong their own lives with organs from their personal clone. I think that the central idea is a great one and could have been explored better with a more straight-forward plot that doesn't wander back and forth from one point in the past to a different one to the present.

I don't particularly care for this book, I think the writing style is very meandering, and frankly I'm surprized it is considered an Alex award for 2006 considering how casually sex is treated and the confusing, meandering plot. I don't think this would keep a YA's attention at all...it barely kept mine.

Cirque Du Freak: the saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan

Shan, Darren. 2001. Cirque Du Freak: the saga of Darren Shan, book 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Two boys who are best friends, Steve and Darren, visit an illegal freak show, where encountering a vampire and deadly spider forces them to make life-altering choices.

The first book in this series is poised to grab the horror-loving audience who are tired of the R.L. Stine Fearstreet type books and are looking for something new in the dark and twisty category. A fast-paced read, I could not put it down - I think I read it in a day. While the spider part did gross me out, it was never so gross to where I couldn't stand reading it, besides the twists and turns of the plot made me read on. The characters could be more well developed and don't always give reasons for why they feel or act a certain way but maybe that will be explored better in the following books. It definitely leaves the reader hanging and thirsting for more...the end is only the beginning.

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

Crutcher, Chris. 1991. Athletic Shorts. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Athletic Shorts is a collection of six short stories, five of them feature characters from Crutcher's other books and one (the first one) is an original short story that appeared in Connections by Don Gallo. Each story is prefaced with a note from the author that gives some background on the story or tells why he chose that particular character to expand upon with a short story.

I love how Chris Crutcher doesn't shy away from the realities of life. His characters are well-developed and often based on real people or real situations. Also, his humor appeals to me - just the title alone Athletic "Shorts" cracks me up! The majority of the characters here have been in his other novels, but that isn't a restriction; you don't have to have read the other novels to enjoy this book. These stories are able to stand on their own. His themes in this book have great appeal for young adults and adults alike and range from racism to insecurity to father-son friction. He is dynamic on delivering the feelings of the young adult male and yet making the stories approachable for the female reader too. If anything, Athletic Shorts will give you a taste making you want to get to know the characters better through the books that feature them.

Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters

Peters, Julie Anne. 2000. Define "Normal." Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Upon agreeing to meet with Jasmine, or Jazz as she liked to be called, as a peer counselor, Antonia never dreams that the girl with the black lipstick, purple hair, and pierced eyebrow will end up helping her to deal with serious home issues and become a good friend.

I kept thinking that this book might lean in the lesbian direction, because Julie Anne Peters is well-known for her books that focus on the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered theme, but it never did. I like it and think that the theme it does focus on is so true for young adults today. Basically the theme is that you can't judge a book by its cover. One protagonist - Antonia, is the very straight-laced, straight A's, conservative type girl...but she's dealing with a dysfunctional family life where she is the mother figure for her little brothers (cooking, cleaning, getting groceries, signing school permission slips, etc.), her mom is in severe depression, and her father ran out on them. The other protagonist - Jazz, is the punk-rock, purple-haired, pierced, tattooed type who you would expect to have the dysfunctial family, be in a gang, or deal/do drugs but who actually is from a very well-off, well-to-do family, makes good grades, and plays classical piano. Having to be peer counselors to each other, they solidify a friendship that ordinarily might not have happend. I liked the juxtaposition of these two characters and how it makes you think about appearance and that most of the time those appearances are just something to hide behind.

Yoga for Teens by Thia Luby

Luby, Thia. 2000. Yoga for Teens: how to improve your fitness, confidence, appearance, and health -and have fun doing it. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers.

An informative non-fiction book that explains the philosophy and benefits of yoga and provides color photographs of teens demonstrating, with step-by-step instructions and pictures, a variety of yoga poses.

Thia Luby has studied and practiced yoga since 1972 and is a nationally recognized yoga instructor. The book begins with basic information about hatha yoga, benefits of yoga, an explanation of the chakras, and how to get started. After that are step-by-step instructions of roughly 40 yoga poses from beginner poses moving to more advanced ones. There are also variations for some poses to make them more advanced and even shows how some can be performed with a partner; it wraps up with sample workouts and poses summarized into various categories (i.e. by ability level, to alleviate certain ailments, or by which chakra is stimulated).

A source on her own, sources on the beginning information would lend even more stability to a well-defined, appealing book. My interest in yoga began this year and this book helped build that interest level and answer some questions. The instructions for poses are easy to follow, although I was surprised that some were made up by the author herself (noted in the back of the book). Whatever their fitness level, teens (and teenagers at heart) will find this book informative and inspiring.