From the Fishbowl

Emil and Karl

2007-02-20T19:25:00.000-06:00

Read the forward of this book before you begin the book. Yankev Glatshteyn wrote this book in 1940 in Yiddish. A little knowledge of world history will tell you that this is a time before most American realized what was happening in Europe to the Jews and other minority groups.

As the book opens you meet Karl, who lives in Vienna, as his mother is brutally taken away by Nazis. Not knowing where to go, he turns to his friend Emil, a Jewish boy who has been recently persecuted at school. He finds Emil’s father has been taken by the Nazis and murdered. As the story continues, the boys are homeless.

In the midst of all the hatred that was perpetrated by the Nazis, there are still good and kind people who are willing to help these boys and other people like them. I found this book mesmerizing! To think that this novel was written in 1940!

This is a must read for those of you who want to learn about the Holocaust and how it began.

To learn about the author (also known as Jacob Glatstein)

Holocaust Timeline

What is happening in the world in 1940

Larklight

2007-02-20T19:23:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when I pick a book, I am first drawn to the illustrations. This is one of those books. Most of you probably don’t look at the copyright page, but with this book the author Philip Reeve has added something not ordinarily part of that page -- "The pages of this volume are impregnated with Snagsby's Patent Folio-dubbin to preserve them against the depredations of space moth and paper bats."

The full title of this book is Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space, and it is authored by Philip Reeve

Art Mumby is the narrator in this novel. He and his sister Myrtle and their father live in a house, Larklight, that orbits the Moon. This novel has some H.G. Wells, as well as some Madeline L’Engle. It is a fantasy different than many – it is set in Victorian times yet the Martians are being observed and there are all manner of creatures. One of those is the villainous Mr. Webster, an arthropod. The adventure also includes pirates.

The website that goes with this novel is very intriguing too.

Side Effects

2007-02-20T19:15:00.000-06:00

Fifteen year old Izzy tells her story. “You go along, minding our own business (more or less), then BAM! You win the lottery, a piano falls on your head, you’re struck by lightning and fried to a crisp. Or, like Izzy Miller, your plain old swollen glands turn out to be a kind of cancer you never even heard of before.”

Many of my students know I am not a fan of the “death and dying” novels, but this one is somehow different. Izzy takes the readers with her as she suffers all the treatments and indignities that often accompany fighting a disease like cancer. I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting! I felt her suffering, her anger, her humor, and her depression. This is not the typical book about a kid with cancer probably because Izzy is not the stereotype character. Once again Amy Goldman Koss has written a great book.

Find out about Hodgkin’s

Mayo Clinic

American Cancer Society

Black Duck

2007-02-09T19:32:00.000-06:00

Janet Lisle has written this historical fiction novel about the smuggling and black market during prohibition.

“A rumrunner had lived in town, one of the notorious outlaws who smuggled liquor during the days of Prohibition, that was the rumor. David Peterson heard he might still be around.” David wants to be a journalist so he is following this lead. His desire leads him to meet Reuben Hart and learn the story of the Black Duck.

In 1929, Reuben and his friend Jeddy found a body washed up on Coulter’s Beach. Somehow this man had been involved with the mobs and smuggling liquor. Reuben takes something from the body and puts himself in grave danger. The story unfolds as David interviews the old man, Reuben Hart. The reader learns about the era of Prohibition and some of the social issues that surrounded it and the Depression of the same time. The Black Duck is a legend. The story alternates between the present and the past.

Learn more about the Black Duck or
legend of the Black Duck

Find out about rumrunners.

Rumrunners and the Coast Guard

Blood on the River: James Town 1607

2007-02-09T19:31:00.000-06:00

Travel with Samuel Collier on the Susan Constant with Captain John Smith. Like many who came to the “new land,” Samuel was in trouble with the law. Coming to Virginia was an option many considered only slightly better than going to the gallows.

Samuel discovers that the New World was not overflowing with gold and riches. The people who already lived there were not always friendly. There was much work to be done, but many of the “gentlemen” who came to Jamestown were not interested in working. Samuel learns the Algonquin language which helps him survive and be a valuable asset to the settlement.

The reader is also introduced to Captain Smith and the captains of the three ships that sailed to the New World for the Virginia Company.

This book is based on historical facts and presents a very readable history of what being at Jamestown in 1607 was like.

The lightning thief

2007-02-09T19:27:00.000-06:00

This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This series is different than many of the fantasy novels today in that some of the characters are the gods and goddesses from ancient Greek myths. The children in this novel are half-god, half-human like the heroes in the Greek myths – Hercules and Jason. These children are part of the 21st century – their parents are one a god or goddess and the other a mortal.

Percy Jackson is the main character and he discovers that he is one of these children. No wonder he has had so much trouble in school! He learns that he has this heritage and is thrust on a quest to save the world from a war of the gods. Percy first meets Grover in one of the schools he has been sent to, they are best friends. He meets Annabeth at a summer camp. Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, help him on this quest to return Zeus’s master lightning bolt. Durng this time Percy meets his father for the first time.

Don’t be scared away by the gods and goddesses topic being too difficult; this is a great book and very readable.

There will be 5 books in this series.

Look here to learn what a satyr is.

Learn about the 12 gods of Olympus

The astonishing adventures of fan boy and goth girl

2007-02-09T19:25:00.000-06:00

I have to say that I found this book strange, not that I didn’t read it and want to keep reading to find out what happened, but just strange. Maybe this is because I do not relate to either of the main characters in any way.

This is about a boy who believes he is “geeky” and he definitely is bullied. He has problems partly because his parents are divorcing and he does not understand or like this. He meets Kyra, goth girl, who also has issues, just different than his.

Read Chapter 1

Life As We Knew It

2007-01-14T13:54:00.000-06:00

“And then it hit. Even though we knew it was going to, we were still shocked when the asteroid actually made contact with the moon… It was smack in the middle of the sky, way too big, way too visible.”

The premise of this novel is that an asteroid hits the moon, knocking off its normal orbit. The novel deals with the changes in life on Earth because of this cataclysm. There are volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and changes in climate. These then bring disruptions in what we have come to think of as everyday life.

The main character, Miranda, a high school student, keeps a diary that takes you through all the emotions and struggles she and her family face as food is no longer available and gasoline prices become higher and higher. Sickness becomes a very real problem because there are no doctors or hospitals, and food is in such short supply.

This author also wrote The Year Without Michael.

Dairy Queen

2007-01-14T13:51:00.000-06:00

Dairy Queen: a novel by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is set on a Wisconsin dairy farm. The protagonist is D.J. (Dorrie) Schwenck whose father and two older brothers were football stars in the small town of Red Bend. Dad really didn’t want to be a farmer, but life doesn’t always end up the way we plan. D.J. has had to take over much of the responsibilities of the farm since Dad was injured. Her younger brother, Curtis, doesn’t talk much, but he is a good baseball player and very big for his age. This family is not a lot unlike many farm families I knew as a teenager in Central Illinois – little to talk about, but very hard workers.

Jimmy Ott, the football coach from a nearby town and friend of Mr. Schwenk, has sent a quarterback to the farm to help them and learn about football and training from D.J. This may seem strange, but you will find that it works both for Brian, the QB, and for D.J. Both gain from the experience. D.J. learns to talk and Brian gets a great trainer for the summer.

D.J. loves sports and in the past has been a basketball player. Her time training Brian peaks her interest in football, so she decides to try out for the football team. There is a slight problem in that D.J. flunked English last year because she didn’t turn in the work. I like the ending of the book and would be interested in your opinions too.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

2007-01-14T13:49:00.000-06:00

This is a series by Kathryn Lasky. An unlikely band of heroes have come from different kingdoms to train with a community of owls at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree.

Read about these individual novels:
Kathryn Lasky or
Scholastic.

London Calling

2007-01-14T13:43:00.000-06:00

Yes, another wonderful historical fiction book, and this one has the added intrigue of some fantasy!

Martin Conway comes from a moderately dysfunctional family. He is forced to attend a Catholic preparatory school where he does not fit in and is bullied by some of the popular kids including Hank Lowery. Hank Lowery’s grandfather was revered as a war hero by the school, a fact that gives the young man some power at school. Martin doesn’t want to leave his basement room

Part of the story takes place in our time and part takes place during the London Blitz, 1940, in World War II. Martin’s grandfather worked for Joe Kennedy (father of President Kennedy) at the U.S. Embassy in London then and the elder Lowery was an American military officer also in London at the time. You can read about the Blitz at EyeWitness to history. And you can find out about time travel.

The most interesting “character” in the book is Jimmy who has contacted Martin’s grandfather, his Nana, and now Martin through a cathedral style Philco 20 deluxe radio (see a picture). (Maybe I find this so intriguing because I remember when we had radios similar to this one.) Jimmy is looking for someone to help him contact his father.

Suddenly I became aware of another person in the room. I sat upright, totally alert, straining to see in the dark. That's when it happened. A boy--small, thin, dressed in mud-brown clothes--leaned out from behind the radio and whispered, "Johnny, will you help me?"

Martin is able to travel back in time (in a dream) to the era of the blitz, before the United States entered World War II. He learns about things that happened and that knowledge may change history. He also begins a new relationship with his own father because of what he learns in his visit to the past.

Sold

2007-01-01T20:03:00.000-06:00

Patricia McCormick has again tackled a subject that is difficult for many to discuss just as she did in the novels Cut and My Brother’s Keeper. In this novel, a 13-year-old Nepali girl, Lakshmi, is sold into slavery and prostitution by her step-father.

Lakshmi is a smart girl who excels in school and has been promised in marriage to a local boy. She works hard and hopes for a better life. McCormick has written this novel in an almost free-verse poetic style that makes it easy to read, yet very emotional as the reader is drawn into Lakshmi’s terrible experience.

While I think this is an excellent book that addresses an important global issue, I think that it requires a certain maturity on the part of the reader.

Crispin at the Edge of the World

2007-01-01T19:59:00.000-06:00

If you have read Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi, you have met a young orphan boy who was marked for death because of an unknown crime. The first book was a wonderfully exciting adventure novel, and this second one has proved to be just as exciting. I think that I have enjoyed this second novel even more than I did the first one!

It is still 1377, the same year as the end of the first book, and Crispin and Bear leave Great Wexly behind as they embark on more adventures. They meet a member of the Brotherhood, a group Bear used to belong to, and he insists Bear is a traitor to their cause. (You can read more about John Ball.) As they are running, they are forced to seek refuge when Bear is injured. In the woods they meet Aude, a healer woman, and Toth, a young girl who is disfigured by a cleft palate and therefore shunned by many in the medieval world. Crispin is put off by the pagan beliefs of these two strangers, but soon sees that they are kind and only want to help. Aude is brutally murdered by some villages who had asked for her help as a midwife; so Bear, Crispin, and Toth become a family.

This family continues their adventures as they sail to a new land. The adventures continue as they are shipwrecked and meet up with more villans.

The Legend of Bass Reeves

2007-01-01T19:54:00.000-06:00

Gary Paulsen has taken a relatively unknown character from the annals of wild west history and introduced his readers to a fantastic person. Reeves was born a slave and was raised by his Mammy on an isolated Texas ranch. After fleeing for his life, he spends much time hiding in Indian Territory (22 years with the Creek Indians) because he is an escaped slave. After the Emancipation Proclamation, Bass goes to Arkansas to become a rancher. Finally in the later years of his life, he is appointed a federal deputy marshal for the Indian Territory. Paulsen portrays this man as the honest, hardworking hero he was.

What a great introduction to a little known Western Hero.

Read more information about Bass Reeves:

Old West Legends
The Manhunter
Bass Reeves Obituary
Picture of Bass Reeves

Bread and Roses Too

2007-01-01T19:46:00.000-06:00

Many of you are familiar with other novels by Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved. This new work takes you on a trip into the past in Lawrence, MA and the strike by the workers in 1912. The two main characters are Rosa, a serious, studious, immigrant whose widowed mother works in the mills to keep her family very meagerly and Jake, an American boy who is a petty thief and the son of a drunk who beats him regularly.

Rosa offers Jake a place to sleep in the family’s apartment one night, then meets him later again. The information about the strike is factual in this novel, the mill owners did send agents to Europe to bring in immigrant labor promising wealth and riches. The reality was that in order for a family to survive, every able person had to have a job. Rosa being able to go to school was truly a sacrifice for her family.

Jake finds the strike exciting, and in his mind he is somebody.

Some of the children are being sent to other places so that they can have food. Jake has a terrible secret and thinks he can escape it. Rosa thinks she is being sent to New York City and he wants to go to disappear in the city. Instead she and Jake end up going to Barre, VT. It is while they are here that both of the children change dramatically – probably Jake is more changed than Rosa.

What a wonderful way for you to learn about one of the labor movements (Industrial Workers of the World) in American history. For more information on the strike:
Bread and Roses Strike,
Lucy Parsons Project,

Camella Teoli Testimony about the Textile Strike of 1912.

Victory

2006-11-29T18:53:00.000-06:00

Fantasy lovers know Susan Cooper from the Dark is Rising series. Victory has some of those elements of fantasy, but only in Molly’s mind. Molly has recently come to America after her mother married an American. She doesn’t feel “at home” in Connecticut. On a visit to Mystic Seaport, CT, she purchases a book, The Biography of Lord Nelson. In that book she finds a scrap of cloth wrapped in an envelope with a note saying the scrap is part of the sail from HMS Victory – the ship on which Lord Nelson was killed. Suddenly she begins to have visions that bother her.

In the other chapters, the reader is introduced to Sam Robbins who lived in the early 1800s. Sam had just begun his apprenticeship to become a ropemaker when he was “pressed” into service for the Royal Navy.

This is almost like two novels in one. They are related, but you don’t see how closely until the end of the story.

The Boy in Striped Pajamas

2006-11-29T18:50:00.000-06:00

Berlin, 1942

Bruno comes home from school to find that his family is moving from their home and away from his beloved Grandparents because his father has gotten a promotion from the Fury. They go to a place that is totally strange to him and his family – Bruno longs for a friend. He meets a friend, Shmuel, while he is being an explorer. As you read this novel, think about the moral message sent by this “fable.”

Check out the questions in the discussion guide.

Alabama Moon

2006-11-29T18:45:00.000-06:00

Moon Blake knows how to survive in the woods with very little other than what nature provides – he can hunt, find edible plants, make a shelter, find medicine, and make his own clothes from animal hides.

Moon’s father dies from an infection, and Moon is now an orphan. His father always told him to go to Alaska where there are many other people like them who don’t like the government. Instead he is taken to a juvenile detention center by a dishonest cop. During Moon’s brief stay he makes friends by physically and emotionally overpowering a bully. He also enjoys food in quantities he has never enjoyed. Moon successfully escapes from the detention center and takes all of the boys with him. Only he and two others stay on the run. Moon teaches them how to survive in the wilderness and he learns from those he meets that surviving in the world most of us live in is not easy, but it is possible.

Read an excerpt of this book by Watt Key from the Borders website.

Copper Sun

2006-11-05T20:43:00.000-06:00

This is a great book! The author, Sharon Draper, deals with a subject that is often chosen to be overlooked in a study of history. One of the main characters is Amari, a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is looking forward to her marriage to Besa, who witnesses the cruelty of the slavers when they come to her village - murdering many and capturing all the others to ship them to America to be slaves.

She is forced onto a “boat of death” and makes the horrible journey known as the Middle Passage to the Carolinas. Some how she survives this trip and is sold to Percival Derby. She is a birthday gift for his 16-year-old son. At the same time, this man buys a white girl who is an indentured servant, Polly. Though Polly does not consider herself the same as a slave, she learns that she really is no different than the black slaves. She and Amari become friends and support each other during all the tribulations they face.

When their mistress, the second Mrs. Derby, gives birth to a black baby, Mr. Derby becomes exceedingly cruel and violent. Polly, Amari, and Tidbit manage to escape from the plantation. They make a long and difficult journey to Fort Mose, FL (a Spanish colony).

Many of the characters in the book are the stereotypical whites of the era of the southern plantation and slavery. However, refreshingly you will meet some of the whites who were not and helped the girls. The book has lots of action and is one you will want to read to see what will happen next.

For more information about Fort Mose, check out the following sites:

National Park Service
ThinkQuest
Africans in America from PBS

New Boy

2006-11-05T20:40:00.000-06:00

I wonder if the author, Julian Houston, has written a novel that reflects some of his own experiences as a black boy from the South attending a private prep school in the North. In the novel, 15-year-old Rob Garrett is the first black student to attend Draper, a boarding school in Connecticut. What Rob wants most is to be a good student and he chooses not to participate in athletics so he can achieve that goal. The book is set during the late 1950s when the civil rights movement was beginning to build momentum.

Rob discovered that other students of ethnicities different than most were treated in ways that made them feel not accepted. Rob says that white people had an inability or unwillingness to see him for who he really was; however he discovered that they treated others in the same way and sometimes worse. This novel shows the reader that segregation and racial slurs were not limited to Blacks, it included Italians, Jews, Middle Easterners, and more. As you read the book, think about some of the racial slurs that you hear today – how much has changed since the 1950s and how much has stayed the same? When reading the novel, I thought about my own children when they ventured away from the rural Midwest setting where they were raised – one of my children was called the “boy from the corn” because he was from the country (he knew what was meant by the phrase “John Deere green”); another of my children was considered an ethnic minority because of coming from “the country;” and another has found that moving to the East Coast people have some preconceived notions about what one is like when you come from the Midwest.

This novel gives the reader an introduction and some insight into the Civil Rights movement that marked the 1960s. The author introduces the reader to several characters including Malcolm X. I think he presents a view of this time in American history that is different the one you will normally see. I believe the author is able to show the reader what segregation was/is like and also the courage that it took/takes for people to confront that segregation.

The Lighthouse Land

2006-11-05T20:38:00.000-06:00

This novel is Adrian McKinty’s first written specifically for young people – it is the first in a planned trilogy.

If I were to give you my reaction to this novel, it would be that I thought of Madeline L’Engle as I was reading.

Thirteen-year-old Jamie O’Neill and his mother Anna find that they have inherited a lighthouse and the house that goes with it on an island and that Jamie will become the Laird of Muck when he turns eighteen. Life has not been easy for Jamie, his parents are recently divorced and he has lost an arm to cancer. For a reason known only to him, he has chosen to not speak. After arriving in Ireland, he and a boy from the village, Ramsay, become good friends. They communicate with a computer that was given to him by an elderly friend in Harlem as a going away present.

As they explore in the old lighthouse, they find a “Salmon” with a glowing jewel in its side. This tool transports them to another planet where they become involved in helping save one of the cultures. Apparently Jamie is not the first O’Neill to make this trip – the last one was made in 1607.

I found this book to be very readable and it seemed to combine the elements of fantasy and reality quite well.

Maximum Ride School’s Out—Forever

2006-10-26T20:14:00.000-05:00

James Patterson has written a sequel to The Angel Experiment. You really need to have read the first book to understand what is happening in this second one. The short chapters make the reading very fast, as does the excitement that the author builds. The end of the book will make you want to know what is going to happen in the next book.

Max and her friends are searching for their parents and they continue to run from Jeb and the Erasers. Fang is injured in an encounter with the Erasers and he is taken to a hospital where his uniqueness is discovered. An FBI agent, Anne, takes in the children. They lead a “normal” life on Anne’s farm and even go to school. Max senses that something is not right and wants to move on.

Read an excerpt.

Crooked River

2006-10-26T20:12:00.000-05:00

When I am looking to read a book that I am sure to find enjoyable, I always turn to historical fiction. Crooked River by Shelley Pearsall is one of those books that I find to be wonderful.

The year is 1812, Rebecca Carver and her sister Laura are responsible for all the “womanly” chores in their home since the death of their mother three years earlier. As you read you will see that the people who lived on the frontier were often ignorant of different cultures (i.e. Native American-Ojibwe) and fearful, but they were also very brave to survive on the frontier.

It is interesting the way that Amik’s(the Ojibwe prisoner) comments are written in verse format. He is accused of murder and most of the settlers assume his guilt without question. Rebecca and Laura see another side and get to know Amik by sharing gifts, not words.

This novel reminds us of the injustices that were visited on Native Americans. It is good in our current climate to be aware that more than once in American history groups have been subjected to discrimination. I am not sure that it is impossible for the same thing to happen again.

Poison Ivy 3 bullies, 2 boyfriends, 1 trial

2006-10-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

In this novel by Amy Koss, three popular girls go on trial in a government class for their bullying of a classmate, Ivy. The structure of this book is interesting in that there are 8 narrators each giving you their version of an event. Koss says she feels that each of her characters wants to speak for themselves.

As you read this book, you may see some people you know. My favorite character is Marco.

The Wright 3

2006-10-26T19:58:00.000-05:00

I picked up the first novel, Chasing Vermeer, because one of my daughters is a graduate of the University of Chicago. I thought the book was a wonderful mystery, and I had a personal connection with the setting. When I saw this second book, I was drawn to it because of the location and because of my interest in Frank Lloyd Wright and his architecture. That interest began a number of years ago when the seventh grade class took their first field trip to Springfield and we decided to visit the Dana-Thomas House – another Frank Lloyd Wright creation.

This novel has clues in pictures, codes, and art crimes similar to Chasing Vermeer. I really think I liked it just as well as the first book and maybe more. The premise of this novel is that the Robie House (a Wright construction from1910) is to be dismantled and given to four museums because it is in such great need of repair. Petra, Calder, and Tommy all work to try to save the house. The author shows the reader some of the rivalries that exist among friends.

Remember that this is a novel and not true. Currently the Robie House is being restored to its original splendor. You can visit this house and take a tour. It is located 5757 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago. For more information on tours of this home, visit the website.

For more information on Frank Lloyd Wright, visit the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust

Here Lies the Librarian

2006-10-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

I suppose it is obvious what would draw me to read this latest book by Richard Peck – and no, it isn’t only that I am a fan of the author.

Some have suggested that Richard Peck has carved out a mini-genre for himself, rural Midwestern early 20th century comedy. Maybe that is what I enjoy about these novels – not that I was part of the early 20th century, but that I find a familiarity in many of his characters and his humor.

After a tornado swept through the area, Peewee and Jake found some bodies from the Beulahland cemetery had been unearthed. Peewee, Eleanor, went to check on Mama’s grave. After finding everything okay, she turned to see Electra Dietz’s headstone

SHH
HERE LIES THE LIBRARIAN
After Years of Service,
Tried And True,
Heaven Stamped Her—
OVERDUE

This is just the beginning of a rousing tale which takes all kinds of twists and turn for the characters which include three wealthy Library Science coeds from Butler University who bring the library back to the township and change to the lives of Jake and Eleanor McGrath (brother and sister). There is also the Colonel who thinks he is still fighting in the Civil War and Aunt Hat who is eccentric to say the least. Jake and Peewee scrape out a living in rural Indiana by repairing motorcars, which are still considered “newfangled”.

Geronimo

2006-10-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

This novel by Joseph Bruchac is not the cowboy and Indians battles you may have been hoping for, rather this is a well researched story of the man Geronimo, as seen through the eyes of his honorary grandson “Little Feet.”

Geronimo (meaning “One Who Yawns”) was a clever warrior and leader of a group of Chiricahua Apaches who fought both Mexican and U.S. troops. He finally surrendered to the U.S. Army General Nelson A. Miles. This is where Bruchac’s story begins.

The novel reads more like non-fiction than fiction, and it is not for those looking for sheer enjoyment in reading. The book should cause you to think about the Native Americans who were forced to give up their ways of life to satisfy those who belonged to another culture. The author has tried to dispel many of the false stories that abound about this Apache warrior.

For more information on Geronimo visit From Revolution to Reconstruction

Tending to Grace

2006-10-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

“Inside, where nobody can see, I’m glorious with the colors of the girl I wish I could be.”

This is a first novel by Kimberly Newton Fusco. Cornelia is 15-years-old and she has struggled in school because she stutters. She loves to read and has read many classic novels. Cornelia has always had to take care of her mother, Lenore, and that has been how she felt useful. She called it her fix-up project. Her mother and her boyfriend are running off to Las Vegas and dumping Cornelia with Aunt Agatha who Cornelia has never met. The house is a disaster and it doesn’t bother Agatha. There is no phone and no indoor toilet. Cornelia struggles to adjust to living in this place. She is always hoping that her mother will come back to get her.
Living with Agatha, Cornelia finally learns to accept herself. Both of the characters learn to love and depend on each other.

The chapters in this book are very short, and it is a book that you don’t want to end.

Montmorency and the Assassins

2006-10-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

This is the third in the series by Eleanor Updale, and it has been 20 years since the main character crawled out of the sewers and left his criminal ego, Scarper, to become a gentleman. Many of the characters from the other books are also found in this installment, including Lord George Fox-Selwyn and Dr. Robert Farcett.

The adventure takes place at the end of the 19th century when there is an influenza sweeping the globe. Montmorency and Fox-Selwyn have been hired to trace some specimens stolen from a reclusive naturalist. This leads them to Florence and ultimately into the dangerous world of anarchist conspirators. The author will introduce you to some new characters who were real people like Gaeteano Bresci, the anarchist who killed the King of Italy; Puccini, an operatic composer; and Thomas Edison; and some like Fox-Selwyn nephew Francis (Frank) who are not people from history.

The book is exciting and brings up points of view from both sides of many questions. I think that you could read this book without having read the first two.

Red Kayak

2006-09-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

“After all this time, I still ask myself: Was it my fault? Maybe. Maybe not.”

Thirteen-year-old Brady is the narrator of this novel, and we see the events through his eyes. He deals with some moral choices when his young neighbor Ben dies in a boating accident. Another theme of the novel is what over-fishing has done to people’s livelihoods and to the environment. Brady’s father is a waterman who makes a living catching crabs on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Brady is called out to help the other watermen search for the missing boy and his mother who had been out in a red kayak. Brady rescues Ben from the water, but even after getting him to the hospital – the boy dies. This is difficult for Brady and his family because they had lost a daughter several years earlier.

The moral dilemma becomes more difficult when Brady suspects that maybe this wasn’t just a terrible accident.

This novel is by Priscilla Cummings.

Hard Hit

2006-09-24T20:44:00.000-05:00

This is a novel in verse by Ann Turner. Mark is a pitcher on his high school baseball team and he seems to have everything going for him. Suddenly life changes when his father is diagnosed with cancer. He begins to question anything he had believed in before this crisis. This novel follows Mark’s emotional and physical journey – he relies on faith, then bargaining to try to reach the outcomes he wants.

It is best to read this book when you have the time to read it without stopping and keep the Kleenex handy.

Fleshmarket

2006-09-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

Nicola Morgan, the author, makes her home near Edinburgh, Scotland, the setting for this historical fiction novel. She has based this novel on true stories and the characters are created from information about people who lived in Edinburgh. The time is 1822, a time before anesthetics were used when performing surgeries. One of Robbie’s memories is of his mother’s surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her breast – he vividly recalls her screams of pain. The author presents a picture for the reader that shows the doctor giving little dignity or concern to the patient. Robbie also remembers that she dies in less than a week from a blood infection. The surgeon is a Dr. Robert Knox, and Robbie believes the doctor is responsible for his mother’s death.

Robbie and his little sister Essie are abandoned by their father and survive on their own in the slums of Edinburgh. Robbie is consumed by his hatred of Dr. Knox. This leads him to an association with Burke and Hare, bodysnatchers, who provide Dr. Knox with corpses for his study of anatomy. This is not something that Robbie understands.

The book gives the reader a glimpse of what surgery was like almost 200 years ago, and it also gives us the not so pretty picture of life for many in the slums of a city. We ride on Robbie’s emotional journey of reconciling his mother’s death from surgery. The novel also may cause the reader to think about how we make advances in surgery and medical treatment.

Evil Star

2006-09-17T21:38:00.000-05:00

You know that there are some authors you find easy to read – Anthony Horowitz. This is book 2 in the series The Gatekeepers.

Max Freeman made sure Raven’s Gate was closed and he thought his life would return to normal – not. He is living with Richard, a journalist, and is going to a private school where he does not fit in. To add to his problems his old foster mother, Gwenda Davis, drives a tanker truck into the school in an attempt to kill Matt.

Now Nexus wants Matt to help them get a diary that will help them find the second gate. This adventure takes he and Richard to South America, Peru. It is here that Matt meets Pedro, the second of the five who have been born to protect the world from the Old Ones. They are faced with hard decisions and they visit some very interesting places. One of the places is the Lines of Nazca in Peru – these are considered by some to be one of the most sacred places on Earth. You can learn about these lines.

This book reads very fast.

Elsewhere

2006-09-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

Elsewhere is the place people go when they die. Fifteen year-old Liz Hall was hit by a taxi while she was riding her bike, and now she is at Elsewhere with Betty, her grandmother who died before she was born. Like the novel Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix, those residing at Elsewhere grow younger each year rather than older. The author, Gabrielle Zevin, has added the unique twist of people who are able to understand “canine” and talk with dogs.

Liz has a difficult time adjusting to “life” at Elsewhere because she wants to go back to Earth, Following Liz as she tries to acclimate to her new life has some humorous and emotional moments. Liz is able to see her prom from an Observation Deck that allows one to view Earth and she also find the cab driver who hit her and didn’t even stop. A humorous section is Liz explaining to Josey, a dog, why she shouldn’t drink from the toilet.

Defining Dulcie

2006-09-11T20:31:00.000-05:00

This is a first novel by Paul Acampora; he says “I wanted to tell a story about the power of friends, the meanings of words, and the push and pull of home.”

Dulcie Jones has lost her father to an accident at his work; he was a school janitor. Then her mother decides that she and Dulcie need to redefine themselves and move to California from the small Connecticut town they have always lived in. Dulcie is not happy in California, and when her mother decides she is going to sell Dad’s old pick-up truck to buy a Volvo she snaps. Dulcie steals the truck and heads back across the country to her home.

This is an adventure as she takes her road trip. She makes some detours like going to see the fainting goats. From every stop she finds a postcard and sends it to her mother. When she finally gets back to Connecticut she goes to work for her grandfather as a janitor at John Jacob Jerome High School. It is here that she meets Roxanne who is also working as a janitor at the school.

I think this book opens up the idea that it is important to do a job well and to learn to understand people. It also shows the readers that it is important for people to grieve in their own way. I really liked the characters in this book.

Deadly Drive

2006-09-11T20:29:00.000-05:00

This is a sports story by David Patneaude. Casey Wilde wants to be a basketball player. She was injured in a hit and run accident that took her mother’s life. Every year about the time of her mother’s death, Casey gets an envelope of money that is from some anonymous donor. As the story begins, a new neighbor, Autumn Hopkins moves in. She is also passionate about basketball. This friendship leads to Casey playing on an AAU team with Autumn and Autumn’s father as one of the coaches. Casey also has another neighbor, Megan, who has given Casey support since her mother’s death. The novel lets the readers see Casey develop as a basketball player and a young woman, and it continues with the mystery of the envelopes of money.

Assassin

2006-07-19T20:54:00.000-05:00

This seems to be the year for books on the Lincoln assassination. This novel lets the reader view the event through the eyes of a young girl, Bella, who works as a seamstress in the Whitehouse and through the eyes of Wilkes Booth, the assassin. I think this novel lets us see how persuasive Booth was – the most romantic and famous actor of the time.

Anna Myers has given the readers a person they can understand who is really not a bad person, but is taken in by the charisma of the actor to betray her beliefs and the boy she loves. The author has done a great deal of research into the life of John Wilkes Booth in order to write this novel. This is a good historical fiction book.

Second Sight

2006-07-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

I really like the style of this book where the author talks to the readers in first person as we go through the book. “Come with me. Why do you hesitate? … Think of me as a guide, an interpreter. Though I may take a wrong turn now and again or introduce you to some characters of questionable nature, you can rely on me, I assure you. I’ve done his before.”

Second Sight by Gary Blackwood changes history slightly. Joseph and his father have a mind-reading act in Washington D.C. They are very popular and even President Lincoln comes to see the act. Joseph is an actor just like John Wilkes Booth who he meets and gets to know. At the boarding house where the family lives, Joseph meets Cassandra who reminds him of his deceased sister. Cassandra truly has the gift of “second sight”—the ability to look into the future.

There is a special type of fiction called uchronia, an alternate history. In this genre the novels ask the question “If some pivotal event in history had taken a slightly different turn, how would it have affected later evernts?” Blackwood says he really hasn’t written an alternate history, but rather an altered history. Really only one small part has he changed (a part involving Mr. Lincoln), the rest is historically accurate.

I have enjoyed all the books by Gary Blackwood, Wild Timothy, The Shakespeare Stealer, Shakespeare’s Scribe, Shakespeare’s Spy, and The Year of the Hangman.

Weedflower

2006-07-10T13:36:00.001-05:00

Twelve-year-old Sumiko and her little brother Tak Tak live with their uncle and aunt on a flower farm in southern California since their parents were killed in a car accident. The author, Cynthia Kadohata, presents the readers will a well researched and touching novel that gives us a glimpse of life for the Japanese-Americans during the internment and relocation after Pearl Harbor was bombed.

This story has a unique twist in the character, Frank, a Native American of the Mohave tribe. We see the prejudice and discrimination of this ethnic group too. Sumiko and many members of her family end up at a camp on the Mohave reservation in Arizona. There are no fences, but they feel trapped by the heat, the dust, and the boredom. Sumiko helps Mr. Moto with a garden and plants some of the stock seeds she brought from their flower farm. When the story ends, the war is not over, but Sumiko and her family are going to Illinois so her aunt can work in a factory.

We have a number of other books in the library that deal with this subject, a dark time in American history.
Farewell to Manzanar
Thin Wood Walls
The Moved Outers
Cassie’s War
Under the Blood Red Sun
Eyes of the Emperor
A Boy No More
A Jar of Dreams
Journey Home
Journey to Topaz
Molly Donnelly
The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito

You can also find information from the Library of Congress and The National Archives and the Smithsonian

Weedflower

2006-07-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

Fish

2006-06-26T13:34:00.000-05:00

Fish by L.S. Matthews is the story of Tiger and his parents who were humanitarian workers in a war-torn land. They were forced to flee the land for their own safety. Tiger has found a fish in a mud puddle (it will surely suffocate), and he wants to take the fish with them so it will be saved too. Tiger’s parents and the Guide who takes them to safety across the border help him save this small fish. The fish is carried first in a pot, then a bottle, and finally in Tiger’s mouth.

The novel is simple, but it conveys messages of love and compassion and hope. This is important even if it matters to only one being.

Code Orange

2006-06-26T13:31:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, Caroline Cooney’s Face on the Milkcarton series was very popular. This new novel is just as thrilling as those. Mitty Blake doesn’t worry about getting homework done, but he does really like Olivia who is most concerned about being a student. To stay in advanced biology he must complete a report. Mitty thinks it is great luck when finds some smallpox scabs from a long time ago in an envelope in an old medical book. As he continues to research, he worries that he may unleash a new smallpox epidemic on the world. His concern leads him to seek help from “people” on the Internet. Maybe this is not such a good idea; he is kidnapped by terrorists who want to use the variola virus as a weapon.

This is a very good mystery and adventure story.

Read an excerpt.

Crossing the Wire

2006-06-16T10:34:00.000-05:00

Will Hobbs takes the readers south into Mexico.

Hard times force Victor Flores to try to make it to el norte. He is not really eager to cross from Mexico into the United States, but he feels responsible for keeping his family since his father died in a construction accident in the United States. Victor won’t be coming to the United States legally. He feels he must enter the United States so that he can get a job to earn money to send to his family and save them from starvation.

Victor faces heat, cold, hunger, danger from both the Mexicans and the people from the United States. He walks many miles and over rough terrain to reach the Arizona. He is not successful on his first attempts, but he keeps trying.

This novel discusses an issue that is very relevant to current political movements. There are many illegal immigrants in the United States. There is much controversy about this issue.

The author takes the readers on an adventure different from Far North, Jason's Gold, and some of his other works.

Shadow Life

2006-06-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

The full title of this book by Barry Denenberg is Shadow Life: A Portrait of Anne Frank and Her Family.

This book is considered nonfiction and historical fiction. Part I gives the reader a history of the Frank family. I found this part very interesting and did indeed learn some things that I had not realized. Part III is also more nonfiction than fiction. However, Part II is where the author has taken the genre of historical fiction as he creates a diary of Margot Frank, Anne’s older sister.

I think to get the most from this book, it is best to also read the Diary of Anne Framk. In combination, I believe you will get a picture of the Franks and the drama of their life from 1933 to 1945. It will take you from seeing a middle class family in Frankfurt, Germany to the murders of Anne and Margot at Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp.

Read an excerpt.

Gossamer

2006-06-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

Where do dreams come from? What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears? Lois Lowry answers these questions in this new novel. I think that Lowry’s imagination provides her readers with new worlds to visit.

Reading this book made me want to have more. The Giver also gave me this feeling when I read it. In this book, tiny, delicate beings bring good dreams to people by gathering fragments from the people’s lives. These dreams restore people and give them strength to deal with life. The fragments are of love, courage, happiness, and more. Littlest One and Thin Elderly are working in a home where there is a lonely woman and a foster child who has been abused. They bestow the fragments on the sleeping people to help them and to counter the Sinisteeds who inflict nightmares.

Lowry shows us the importance of memories and dreams even if some are sad.

The Penderwicks

2006-06-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

The Penderwicks: a Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is a first novel by Jeanne Birdsall. It is also a National Book Award winner. This award was established in 1950 to recognize outstanding literature written by American authors. They are given in the areas of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young peoples’ literature. Other recent winners in the area of young peoples’ literature were The Godless, The Canning Season, House of the Scorpion, True Believer, Homeless Bird, and When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.

I don’t know why, but this book brought to mind the feelings I had when I read the Bobsey Twins series when I was young. The Penderwicks are a close-knit family of four girls and their father; their mother died when Batty was just an infant. Father seems to be a rather absent minded professor of botany who frequently speaks in Latin phrases to his children. The story finds them unable to go to their usual summer cottage, but Father finds Arundel. It turns out to be a cottage on a beautiful estate.

Rosiland is the oldest, 12, and she has always mothered the others since her mother’s death. On this trip she meets Cagney, the teenaged gardener on the estate, and he steals her heart. Cagney is also the owner of Yaz and Carla, the two rabbits. Skye, 11, looks different than the other girls – she has blue eyes. She is thrilled because she not only does not have to share a room, but she even has two beds! Jane, 10, and hopes to be a writer – she is working on novels with the heroine being Sabrina Star. Batty, 4, is the baby who never talks to strangers and wears butterfly wings. Her best friend is the family dog, Hound. Jeffery is the very interesting boy – the owner's son, a talented musician, and becomes a good friend to the girls.

The adventure ends when the Penderwicks must go home to Camden from their vacation. The ending leaves you hoping that the adventures of the Penderwicks will continue in other novels.

Monkey Town: the Summer of the Scopes Trial

2006-06-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

Ronald Kidd has written a novel that tells the story of the Scopes Trial through the voice of a teenaged girl who has a crush on Johnny Scopes, her teacher and the accused.

Did you realize that John Scopes really never taught evolution? He was a substitute for the biology teacher and he assigned the students to read the chapter on evolution. The trial had its origins as a conspiracy at Robinson’s drug store to put Dayton, Tennessee on the map by challenging the state’s anti-evolution law. So, the plot is probably based on fact, but one must always remember that this is a novel. As you read, you may see that some of the characters may be proponent of the new theory of “intelligent design.”

Good historical fiction, and it caused me to do some research about the 1925 Scopes Trial and about the man John Scopes. (I had not realized that he had graduated from high school in Salem, Illinois.)

Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk the Real Robinson Crusoe

2006-05-31T17:58:00.000-05:00

What a great book to read! Whether you have read the DeFoe novel Robinson Crusoe or not, I think this book gives much depth to your understanding of the novel and of the hardships some sailors faced. You probably didn’t realize that the story was based on the life of a real person.

Alexander Selkirk was marooned on an island in the South Pacific in the early 1700s. Marooned does not mean that he was somehow accidentally left, he was abandoned on a deserted island as a form of punishment. He had refused a direct order and punishment for mutiny was quick and cruel. The book outlines what Selkirk’s life was like during the four years he spent on the island, Juan Fernández, off the coast of South America.

Blackthorn Winter

2006-05-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

Kathryn Reiss is known for her storytelling in the realms of mystery and time travel and this novel is a great murder mystery. Juliana Martin-Drake, an adopted child has been drug to England by her artist mom who wants to find herself. Juliana misses her California home and her dad.

Juliana doesn’t remember anything before she was 5 when she was found wandering on a beach in California and then adopted. This seems to bother her more now that she is England.

A friend of her mother and a neighbor, Liza, is murdered. Juliana feels compelled to investigate the murder because she thinks the police have arrested the wrong person. She receives mysterious warnings to back off. While she is investigating, she begins to remember pieces of her past. Juliana suspects everyone and anyone of being guilty of the murder – she even suspects a boy who she really likes.

I haven’t read many mysteries recently and this one was a great “page-turner.”

Search and Destroy

2006-05-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

I picked up this book because it is by Dean Hughes who also wrote Soldier Boy. In this novel, Rick Ward, the main character, wants to go to war. His father is violent and the girl he thinks he loves wants to move on with her life and that does not include Rick. He found training to be brutal both physically and emotionally.

Rick is looking to feel something new and he hopes that war will bring that feeling. He learned the skill of killing, but he really didn’t know why. When he gets to Nam (Vietnam) he chooses to become part of the Charlie Company Rangers – the purpose was to hunt down the enemy and kill him.

The book brings back lots of memories for me, as the main character and I are about the same age. I think this book may help those who did not live through this period of American history see some of the horrors and feelings that were experienced by those of us who did live at that time. The “war” in Vietnam shaped all of us who were in our teens and twenties – whether we served in the military or not. The reader will get the feel for the anti-war sentiment that was very much part of the emotions. The author’s use of the language of the time (lingo) is well done. I think if you liked Soldier Boys, you will also enjoy this novel.

Ark Angel

2006-05-09T14:58:00.000-05:00

Ark Angel is the next installment of the Alex Rider adventures by Anthony Horowitz.

“The sniper’s bullet nearly killed him. But once again Alex Rider managed to survive . . .

This novel is just as suspenseful as the others. Alex, while recovering in the hospital, saves Paul Drevin, son of multibillionaire Nikolai Drevin. Force Three has tried to kidnapped the son of this wealthy businessman who is working with the British government to launch a hotel in space. This sixth book finds Alex working with the CIA, but not really by his choice.

This book has lots of action and some interesting gadgets.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

2006-05-05T14:59:00.000-05:00

“Once in a house on Egypt Street, there lived an arrogant overdresseed rabbit who was made almost entirely of china.” His name was Edward Tulane. (http://www.edwardtulane.com/)

This book may be very easy reading for most middle school students, but that does not mean that it isn’t good reading. It is a magical story about the journey Edward makes from the loving home of his owner, Abilene, to the bottom of the sea, to the net of a fisherman, to a garbage heap, to a hobo campfire, to the bedside of a sick girl, to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along this journey the reader and Edward learn that one can love and lose and learn to love again.

I found some of the author’s descriptions very interesting – at one point the sky is described as having a bruised appearance.

Spirit Walker

2006-04-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

“A cry echoed through the Forest.
He froze.
It was not the yowl of a vixen, or
a lynx seeking a mate. It was a man.
Or something that had once been a man.
With a creeping sense of dread,
Torak watched the light between the
trees begin to fail. . . .”

This is the second in the series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. The first was Wolf Brother.

The story is told from the points of view of a young boy, Tall Tailless (Torak), and a Wolf, his spirit brother. Torak, an orphaned boy, with the help of a wolf cub fights a demon bear who threatens to destroy their world. Because of the avalanche that comes after this fight Torak and Wolf are separated. Torak must defeat the Soul-Eaters – on this quest he meets many challenges. A strange sickness is threatening the Raven Clan and all of the other Forest people. Torak must find a cure. This leads him to the Seal Clan. On Seal Island life is very different from life in the Forest – everything works in connection with the sea. Though he is kidnapped and taken to the island, he finds a friend and kinsman in the Seal Mage, Teneris, and the boy Bale. Things are not as they seem and Torak must be careful and listen to his Forest friends, Renn and Wolf, – he learns about true friendship.

Spirit Walker is an adventure story. Torak has adventures on his journeys, he learns more about his powers, and himself. The reader also gets to see how the ancient people wasted nothing and respected the land and all of its inhabitants.

Wolf A Journey Home

2006-04-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

Asta Bowen (pronounced OWSH-ta), the author of this novel lives in Montana and has written a fictional account of a wolf, Marta, and her family as they try to return to their home hunting grounds after being mistakenly relocated by naturalists. The story is based on facts about a pack of wolves that was monitored.

Wolf relocation is both a political and social issue. Hunting wolves in the U.S. nearly obliterated them – in 1973 the gray wolf was added to the endangered specie list. At that time it was estimated that no more than 400 wild wolves remained in this country. Relocation programs have been in place to reintroduce them to areas that were once home to a wolf population, however because the wolf has such a tremendous instinct to return to its home territory, these efforts have not always been successful.

For many years the wolf has had a bad reputation as a killer. Ranchers have had concerns that wolves would kill livestock. Even in our stories and legends the wolf has often been given a less than desirable role – the big, bad wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Gingerbread Man” to name a couple.

This novel gives you a very personal look at this young wolf struggling to survive and save her family. It gives the reader a different kind of insight into why wolves do what they do, as the story is told from Marta’s point of view.

I love animal stories, and I found this one to be intriguing.

47

2006-04-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

This book uses the character of folklore, High John the Conqueror, in the form of the novel’s character Tall John. In researching this folk hero, I found that a similar character is present in Virginia Hamilton’s collection of American Black Folktales titled The People Could Fly. The story is titled “John and the Devil’s Daughter.”

This folk hero was an African prince who was enslaved and sent to America. Despite the enslavement, his spirit was never broken and he has survived in folklore as a “trickster”. One story is that when slavery was abolished, he returned to Africa and left his powers behind in a root. This folk hero’s name has been given to a number of roots to which magical powers have been attributed in American folklore. The plant most commonly referred to by this name is Ipomoea Jalapa. Apparently, High John the Conqueror Root embodies the spirit of a heroic, fearless survivor of slavery. High John the Conqueror represents courage, strength, bravery, and the spirit of hope.

With this background, this novel by Walter Mosley is about 47, a young slave who is hated by his brutal slave master. The author has woven historical fiction, allegory, and fantasy to create a book about the nature of freedom. Because of the type of story it is, the book must be read and reflected upon, not just taken at face value. This book isn’t just about the slavery of American history, it is about choices that people make both then and now. The novel is a first person narrative set on Corinthian Plantation in 1832. 47 has just been sent to work in the fields and live with the other men; he meets a runaway slave who calls himself Tall John. 47 must rise above his struggles.

You can read and excerpt or listen to an audio excerpt.

So, The Earth Isn't Flat ??

2006-04-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

I watched a program on HBO last night called “History as Pop Culture.” I really thought the teacher was a little over-the-top in his style, and I am not sure that I agree with all of his assertions about history and its teaching, but it did give me some food for thought.

According to his way of thinking, it is the literature that gives us our history because often we take what is in literary works as the truth rather than the creation of a novelist or poet.

Hence, he says that the belief that Columbus wanted to see if the world was round was not really the case, but rather came because of a book written by Washington Irving about Columbus. Now, I really don’t think I ever learned that Columbus was the first to suggest this theory; possibly he wanted to demonstrate the theory by sailing west to find the East Indies and the spices that were so valuable.

Some give Copernicus credit for inventing the globe, and that is well before Columbus “sailed the ocean blue.” Ptolemy (A.D. 100-165) apparently based his maps on a curved globe.

Most historians credit Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) with theorizing that the Earth must be spherical. He reasoned that because the stars seen in Egypt were not the same as those seen in the north, therefore the Earth could not be flat. He also wrote, “… the horizon always changes with a change in our position,” “which proves that the earth is convex and spherical.” [This appears to only consider thinkers in “western” cultures and not China or other “eastern” cultures or the cultures that may have been thriving in North and South America.]

In doing some research, one can point to Gulliver’s Travels and say that Jonathan Swift may have helped to create the Earth is flat myth in his writing. Thomas Bullfinch another American author may also have promoted the belief that the ancients did not realize the Earth was round. Other modern writers also presented the world is flat idea in their writings – Darwin, Kipling, and Doyle.

Of course we must also concede that there probably were always people who believed the world to be flat and there may still be some of those people.

Dark Angel

2006-04-05T14:50:00.000-05:00

I have now read three of David Klass’s novels (You Don’t Know Me and Home of the Braves), and they have all made me think about issues. Many times when I read a book there is one particular part that stands out in my mind. In this one it is a quote from page 274.

“How can such a great country treat the people who teach in its schools like failures?” he asked and the rage in his voice was mixed with a deep sense of bafflement. “My father and mother were both high school teachers in Japan. Teaching there is no more highly paid than it is here. But people from the best universities go teach in the high schools and the junior high schools for the honor of being teachers. Everyone respects them for the valuable service they provide. They are senseis. They train the next generation. How come in Pineville we’re the scum of the earth?”

The quote is not the main focus of the book, but it was the part that spoke very loudly to me. This just shows that our life experiences are the basis of how we view most issues.

Dark Angel is about 17-year-old Jeff who thought he would never again have to deal with his bother Troy who had been convicted of murder. Now, six years later the sentence has been overturned and Troy returns to live with the family. This tears Jeff’s life apart. The family had moved to a new town and no one even knew there was a brother . . . Jeff loses his girlfriend, another friend disappears, and he is afraid of Troy. This book was one that I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen. This book has the “good boy” – “bad boy” characters in the two brothers. It has been described by some as a psychological thriller.

You can read an excerpt from Amazon.com.

The Warriors

2006-04-03T08:39:00.000-05:00

This is another contemporary fiction work by Bruchac that incorporates Native American culture. The main character, Jake Forest, loves to play lacrosse for the Junior Warriors a team from the Iroqouis reservation. His mother has been living away from him as she worked to become a lawyer, and now she wants him to come to live with her in Maryland. He will go to a private school. His mom didn’t realize that this school has a tradition of having great lacrosse teams; they are obsessed with the sport. The reader sees things through Jake’s eyes. Coach Scott tells stories about history and Native Americans that make Jake very uncomfortable, but he sees that some of his friends are bothered by comments about the terrorists from the Middle East since that is their heritage. Something happens to Coach Scott that causes Jake to see the coach in a different way, and he learns that “things could change so quickly.”

This is a very readable book.

Read about the author

Biography of Bruchac

The Heart of a Chief

2006-03-27T13:58:00.000-06:00

Joseph Bruchac is one of my favorite authors. I think it is because of my interest in the history of Native Americans. I originally became acquainted with his writings when I was preparing a unit on Native American folklore for a 7^th grade language arts class.

Chris Nicola, a sixth grader, is a member of the Penacook tribe in Maine. Chris lives on the reservation. The people are divided on the issue of building a casino. Chris is involved in a school project that questions the team name, the Rangerville Chiefs. This is an issue that I personally do not understand – maybe that is because I am not Native American. My high school was known as the “Mohawks”, and I don’t think there was any disrespect intended. My college mascot was the “Highlander” – again I don’t believe there is any disrespect. I have wondered, should the “Banana Slugs” of the University of California at Santa Cruz be changed out of respect for banana slugs – just a thought.

After you finish reading the book you will understand why the author chose the title. The book is interesting and may allow you to think about your feelings on a number of topics.

The Legend of the Wandering King

2006-03-22T14:45:00.000-06:00

This novel by Laura Gallego Garcia is translated from Spanish. The main character is Prince Walid ibn Hujr of Kinda – he is a poet, a soldier, and an intellectual. He most wants to be chosen the best poet, but he cannot write better poetry than a poor weaver, Hammad ibn al-Haddad. Walid’s poetry does not have the “heart” of Hammad’s. The setting of the novel is ancient Arabia.

King Hujr gives his son some advice before he dies -- “We are all responsible for our actions, both for good and for evil. And life always returns to you what you give it…life makes us pay a price.” Walid’s envy and vengeful spirit sets the tone of his life. The Prince gives Hammad the job of historian – organizing all the manuscripts and creating a rug that has the history of mankind woven into it. (It is the hope that this will take his lifetime to complete.) This job eventually kills Hammad and thieves steal the carpet. Walid sets out to recover the stolen carpet – this becomes an obsession. The carpet has some very magical powers. Along the way he meets the sons of Hammad.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I began the book hating Walid, but by the end he had changed, and I had changed my mind about him.

Excerpt

Children of the Lamp #2: The Blue Djinn of Babylon

2006-03-14T20:05:00.000-06:00

P.B. Kerr has completed the second book in the trilogy Children of the Lamp, The Blue Djinn of Babylon. He began to write this story for his own children. The djinn (if you are at our school, this site is blocked :)) twins, John and Philippa Gaunt find they are called upon to find a missing book, a powerful book of djinn magic. There is only one thing, the book isn’t really missing and Philippa is abducted by the hard-hearted Blue Djinn (the leader of all djinn).

You can read an excerpt.

The Treasure of Savage Island

2006-03-07T08:21:00.000-06:00

Historical fiction ranks among my favorite genre and this novel by Lenore Hart is “comfortable” reading. Rafe, a runaway slave, sneaks aboard a ship bound for Boston to find his freedom. A nor’easter causes the ship to run aground near one of the barrier islands – in the story it is Savage Island.

The dialogue in the novel is great and keeps the story moving. It also has pirates, buried treasure stories, and the rotten Mrs. Ben who is very cruel to both Molly and her father, Ned. Shortly after Molly’s mother had died, Ned lost the tavern in a poker game to Mr. Ben. Now the good-natured Mr. Ben has also died leaving his mean wife the new owner of the tavern.

Molly, the other main character in the book, finds Rafe while she is scavenging the wreck. He is the only survivor and claims to be a freeman because he is afraid she will turn him in. Molly is kind-hearted and wants to help Rafe but is also troubled because she is lying to her father, breaking the law, and fighting her conscience.

The King of Mulberry Street

2006-02-27T12:34:00.000-06:00

Beniamino is from Naples, Italy. His momma sends him the America to find a better life. This novel by Donna Jo Napoli gives the reader a feeling for what it was like to be a nine-year-old boy on his own in New York City in 1892. From the moment he arrives in America, all Dom (the new name he is given in America) wants to do is find a way to return to Italy. He has to survive among the other homeless multitudes and the ruthless patroni who would make him a slave for their own profits. Dom is befriended by Gaetano and Tin Pan Alley, two other boys in similar situations, and together they find a way to survive. One of the themes in this novel is family and relying on that family to help get us through the tough times. Sometimes families are not connected by blood but instead by a common need. I think that this book will give the reader an opportunity to see some of the troubles that faced many young immigrants to this country in the 19th century. From that they may get an insight into problems that face immigrants even today. If you read the postscript, you will see that the author wishes she had had more interest in her history as a young person so that she could have listened to the stories of her grandparents.

Small Steps

2006-02-21T08:22:00.000-06:00

The book is not what one would usually call a sequel to Holes by Louis Sachar. In this novel, the author focuses on Theodore “Armpit” Johnson after his time at Camp Green Lake. In an interview Sachar says he focuses on “Armpit” because he thinks life would be hard for a young man in his position, poor and African-American and having a criminal record.

Armpit is determined to finish high school and uses his digging skills in working for a landscaper in Austin, Texas, his hometown. These are some of his small steps in becoming accepted by society. He has a best friend, Ginny, a ten-year-old white girl with cerebral palsy who lives in the other half of the duplex. Armpit gets involved with X-Ray in a ticket scalping operation which X-Ray says will make them rich. Armpit meets the teen rock star of the show they are scalping tickets for. He gets involved with her and his life is definitely changed forever because of what happens.

Inkspell

2006-02-17T14:50:00.000-06:00

Cornelia Funke is the author and has also written Dragon Rider, The Thief Lord, and Inkheart.

This book is a sequel to Inkheart, and it is even more engaging. Meggie, Mo(her father), and Resa (her mother) and a number of other characters are read back into the original story. Dustfinger, the fire-dancer, has been so desperate to get back to the story he came from that he take drastic steps to get there. Then curious Meggie reads herself and the boy from another story, who has a crush on her, Farid, into the book. Once they all get back to Inkworld they find the story has taken on a life of its own. Mo is injured by an enemy in the story. The rest of the book is trying to save Mo and create a happy ending to this story gone wrong.

This is not a book that you can read, then put down and come back several days later. You need to continue reading so you can keep the happenings clear in your mind. Most of the chapters are short.

Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi

2006-02-08T14:21:00.000-06:00

This novel by David Chotjewitz (translated by Doris Orgel) tells the story of Daniel growing up in Hamburg during the 1930s. He has experienced an affluent life style as he is the son of a lawyer who was also a war hero from World War I. His best friend Armin is very poor because his father is an out-of-work longshoreman and a socialist. The novel takes the reader through the emotions of this boy who wants more than anything to be a NAZI. He has one big problem, his mother is Jewish. That makes him half-human in the eyes of the NAZI government. The story jumps between the 1930’s and 1945 when Daniel is an officer in the US Army on duty in Hamburg. During the entire story, Armin and Daniel hold the life of the other in their hands.

This story will bring some ethical questions to the reader. They are not easy ones to answer. It has a different perspective than books I have read about Nazi Germany.

Pond Scum

2006-01-31T14:26:00.000-06:00

This novel by Alan Silberberg reminds me of Bug Muldoon: the Garden of Fear. Oliver is a boy who relishes tearing the wings off insects and spends most of his time watching TV because he doesn’t have many friends. When his mother gets a job as a science teacher, they have to move. The human family does not realize that there is an Alliance of pond creatures who don’t want humans to move into the dilapidated old house and will do anything to force them out. Oliver finds a shiny “gem” in the attic of the house that proves to be magical in that he is able to change into other creatures.

The crows led by General Eduardo Ignacio Santo Domingo attack the family. There is opposition to this violence from the “kids” of the pond led by Willy the dragonfly. During one of the attacks Oliver captures Mooch the salamander and Antoine, the General’s inept nephew.

Skybreaker

2006-01-20T12:44:00.000-06:00

I liked Kenneth Oppel's Airborn, and I think Skybreaker is even better. Matt Cruse identified the long lost Hyperion(a ghost airship) in the first book. In this one he teams with Kate deVries who was with him on the Aurora and Nadir, a gypsy, who has a key to what they hope will be the treasures on the Hyperion and Hal who has a fast airship (Skybreaker).

The characters in this book are well developed. There is adventure and some romantic tensions. As the story continues the reader learns the motives of each of the adventurers. They must endure dangerously high altitudes and pirates to seek the riches that the ship that disappeared over 40 years before may have to offer. I think that this sequel is even more exciting than Airborn.

Traitor

2006-01-13T07:26:00.000-06:00

This book by Andy McNab & Robert Rigby may be hard to follow at first. Danny Watts, an orphan, dreams of becoming a soldier, but he can’t. His grandfather, whom he has never met, is both a war hero and a traitor. Danny sets out to find Fergus Watts so he can turn him in. Someone is watching Danny, and that someone wants all of the Watts family eliminated. This book is full of authentic details from the author’s own experiences in the SAS (Special Air Service). If you are a fan of the Alex Rider series you will like this book too.

Andy McNab was the British Army’s most highly decorated serving soldier when he left the SAS (for security reasons, his face cannot be shown in full). He wrote about his experiences in the first Gulf War in two bestsellers, Bravo Two Zero and Immediate Action.

SAS is made of groups of highly trained and motivated units. These units first appeared during World War II. Their first mission was in November, 1941 and only 22 of the original 66 members survived. A second raid took place in December of 1941, and 12 men were able to destroy 24 planes and a fuel depot.

Jack's Run

2006-01-10T14:06:00.000-06:00

Roland Smith has written a sequel to Zach’s Lie. If you have read the first book, you know that Jack Osborne’s dad was involved with a drug cartel and is in prison for piloting the planes that smuggled drugs from South America. His father agreed to cooperate with the DEA, and the family is put into the witness protection program. In the first book, they are discovered by the cartel. In this book, Jack’s Run, the family is once again relocated and given new names. The time for the trial is nearing and Jack’s parents want him to stay with his sister in California until it is over. Joanne blows their cover and the adventures continue. This book moves at a fast pace and can keep you interested.

Double Identity

2006-01-03T12:49:00.000-06:00

Fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix will not be disappointed with this novel. Bethany’s parents have always seemed a little strange, but on this night her father hustles she and her mother into the car and they drive and drive. Where are they? Bethany is left with an aunt she didn’t know existed. She is lonely and confused. She cannot contact her parents -- all the phone numbers have been disconnected. Whenever her dad calls, her mother is crying in the background. Aunt Mrylie knows something, but she is not supposed to tell Bethany. The book has a quick pace that will keep you interested in unraveling Bethany's secret past.

Flush

2005-12-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

In this novel Carl Hiaasen once again has readers in Florida in the Keys. (He also wrote Hoot.) As the novel opens, Noah is visiting his dad in jail on Father’s Day. Dad is there because he sunk a boat, a seventy-three footer. Now before you jump to any conclusions about the kind of character Dad is, read on. Noah’s dad thinks that Dusty Muleman, the owner of the Coral Queen, a gambling boat, is flushing raw sewage into the harbor. The problem is that he cannot prove the allegation.

The novel is about the adventures and risks Noah and his helpers go through to try to prove that Dad is right about Dusty Muleman. He is helped by Abbey, his sister, who thinks Dad is kind of crazy anyway. Two others are Lice Peeking (great name), a lazy drunk, and Lice’s girlfriend, Shelly, who is a bartender on the Coral Queen. There is also a strange “pirate” who seems to be there to rescue Noah when he is in trouble.

This book is an environmental story written in the style of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

The Witch's Boy

2005-12-05T07:42:00.000-06:00

“Once upon a time, in a faraway country, there was a woman who lived by herself in the middle of a great forest. …One spring morning the woman set off to collect some plants she needed… She passed the old oak tree, lightning killed and half hollow, where people were accustomed to leave things for her, and there she heard and odd little cry.”

This isn’t an ordinary fairy tale, it is a fracturing of several tales and has a plot much more intricate than a simple fairy tale. The “witch” is left with the ugliest baby ever and the rest of the novel deals with her “mothering” of this child. According to legend, witches are not supposed to be able to be mothers; they are supposed to eat babies, not feed them. She names the baby Lump. The witch, a she-bear demon named Ysul, and a familiar cat named Falance form a family to care for the boy.

When the group has to move on, they become mountebanks (modern definition is a seller of quack medicine). As they move about, they meet characters from other fairy tales like Pinocchio and Hansel and Gretel. Lump discovers that he too has magical powers and has difficulty dealing with them.

Much like any mother, the witch makes a tremendous sacrifice for this ugly child. Lump treats her terribly. This story deals with relationships, love, and the pain of being rejected by others. Michael Gruber, the author, has developed the novel into more than a retelling of classic fairy tales, but familiarity of those tales makes the book intriguing.

Defiance

2005-11-29T12:07:00.000-06:00

By Valerie Hobbs

“Toby knew he was in trouble, but the cow didn’t. She just kept gazing at him with her huge brown eyes, like she was in love or something. . . His mother would have a fit if she knew.”

Toby Steiner is 11-years-old and has just completed cancer treatment. He and his mom are supposed to be doing something “normal” like taking a vacation. Toby meets Pearl through the cow, Blossom. His first impressions are formed by the sign on the door, “Whoever Steals My Freedom Takes My Life.” Initially, he thinks Pearl is a witch with white hair flying and a crooked stick.

Pearl is not a witch, she is a 94-year-old who is from a world very different from the world Toby has grown up in. Pearl was born into a world where there were no televisions, or computers, or cell phones. She knows about milking cows, reading poetry, and learning the secrets of life from animals like Blossom and Geraldine the cat. Pearl and Toby share a darkness in their lives – Toby’s because of cancer and Pearl’s because of the murder of her husband.

Together they learn from Blossom one of the many secrets of life that will raise the darkness from their own lives. They realize that they have not reached a time that is right for them to stop living.

This novel is only 116 pages in length, but it touches the reader emotionally and leaves you thinking about the story long after you have finished reading.

Chicken Boy

2005-11-23T09:30:00.000-06:00

Frances O’Roark Dowell is the author of this novel. You may have read Dovey Coe.

Tobin McCauley has led a strange life since his mother died five years ago. One of the teachers described him as “One Bad Apple and snot-nosed punks.” This may give you an idea about how many people felt about Tobin’s family, but as you read you will discover what is the real problem for all of the McCauleys.

Tobin meets Henry Otis, a boy new to the school. Henry wants to be Tobin’s friend, which is hard for him to understand. Henry is very much interested in chickens, not as food, but as beings. Tobin feels like people are saying “What’s Tobin doing with a friend?” Henry’s home is much different than Tobin’s – he describes going from Henry’s house to his as “…walking out of a color movie into one that was nothing but black and white.”

Henry tells McCauley “when you learn about chickens, you learn about life.” As you read the story you will find that this is true for Tobin. Henry and chickens help Tobin learn to stand on his own and deal with life. He learns to have self-confidence and "You could love some things you'd never guess" -- like a lost father, an angry grandmother, and a confused, lonely brother.

The author has developed the characters very well as she presents a dysfunctional family and a story of friendship.

Runner

2005-11-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

“But the weather-beaten sailboat Chance Taylor and his father call home is thirty years old and hasn’t sailed in years. One step from both homelessness and hunger, Chance worries about things other kids his age never give a thought: Where will the money come for the electricity bill, grocery bill, and moorage fee?”

Chance’s mother left a long time ago and his father is an alcoholic. Running is the only thing Chance really likes to do, but he does not run on a school team. A fat guy offers him some easy money for running – “. . . But some days there will be a package. When there is, you slip the package into your backpack. . . .” Chance knows there is something not right, but he is desperate for money just to survive.

Carl Deuker weaves a story of mystery and intrigue. Is Chance involved with terrorists or drug smugglers? The story is fast paced and draws readers in. Melissa is smart and has no worries about money, and Chance wants to be like her and the others. "I'd always thought that if I had a few bucks in my pocket, I'd be even with kids like Melissa and Thomas and Annie and Natasha. Now I had money, probably more money than anyone else at the table, but it didn't even things up at all. They were still them, and I was still me."

Under the Jolly Roger

2005-11-10T13:40:00.000-06:00

This is the third book in the Bloody Jack Adventures by L.A. Meyer. It is a sequel to Bloody Jack and Curse of the Blue Tatoo. Jacky Faber is in London hoping to be reunited with her beloved Jaimy. This is not to be. Jacky is taken against her will and impressed into the service of the British Navy. Jacky’s adventures continue as she takes control of the warship Werewolf and then goes on to become a privateer. She eventually takes the Emerald as her ship and brings Liam Delaney (he had been with her on the Dolphin) to captain this privateer.

I think this installment in the series is just as exciting as the first two. This book is a definite read for anyone who likes historical fiction, pirates, or adventure.

Eyes of the Emperor

2005-11-07T09:25:00.000-06:00

A new word for you to add to your vocabulary “xenophobia.” According to Merriam-Webster this word means fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign. To hear it pronounced go to the Merriam-Webster site.

During World War II this xenophobia was prevalent, especially toward Japanese. It was probably more noticeable than the hatred of Germans and Italians because it is so much easier to distinguish a person of Japanese heritage. This book by Graham Salisbury shows readers a part of the history of this time.

The author introduces us to Eddy Okubo who lies about his age and joins the U.S. Army in 1941 in Honolulu before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He is proud to be in the Army and never dreams that he will be seen as an enemy of the United States. Eddy and his friends had been born in the United States and felt as “American” as anyone else.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Eddy and all the other soldiers of Japanese heritage were confined to areas away from other soldiers. They were given dangerous and demeaning jobs that other soldiers were not expected to do. Before Eddy was sent on a “mission” he came home to visit – while there his younger brother, Herbie, gave him a beautiful blue lapis stone for good luck. The group of soldiers was sent first to Wisconsin to Camp McCoy. Then they were sent to Mississippi to an island swamp where they are used to train dogs to hate and kill.

This novel will give you an insight into the kinds of behavior that can be considered acceptable when fear and hatred govern what a nation or a group of people do.

Graham Salisbury also wrote Under the Blood-Red Sun, a book about this same time period.

The Empty Mirror

2005-10-31T08:54:00.000-06:00

James Lincoln Collier authored this book as well as 50 others including My Brother Sam Is Dead.

Nick Hodges seems to always be in trouble. He is an orphan whose parents died in the flu epidemic of 1918, and he lives with his uncle in a small New England town. It is 1931. Nick and his friend Gypsy go to Briggs Pond. "Then my backbone went cold, and a chill rose up and shivered across my head. Gypsy's reflection was there, all right. But there was no reflection of me." (p. 23) As the story continues, Nick is accused of being places where he hasn't been and of causing trouble he has not caused. The acts he is accused of seem to be getting worse -- first just mischief then more violent acts. Every time one of these things happens there is a witness who swears that Nick was there.

In an effort to explain the strange happenings, Nick begins to look into some of the deaths during the flu epidemic -- he finds something strange. Is this what has taken Nick's mirror image?

The book is a good mystery and ghost story that reads very quickly.

A Dog's Life: the Autobiography of a Stray

2005-10-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

Ann M. Martin is the author of this short novel.

Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a garden shed behind a summer house. They live in an old wheel barrow feeling safe and content as their mother teaches them how to survive as stray dogs. They become aware of the other inhabitants of the shed, cats, birds, and mice. They are learning to hunt but are not really ready for the day when Mother is suddenly taken from them. She doesn't return from searching for food and leaves the puppies orphans, not quite old enough to be ready to take care of themselves. These puppies find out that the world is a cold, cruel place and that people can be mean and brutal as well as kind and caring. Squirrel and Bone become separated. The reader follows Squirrel on her trek -- her name is changed several times. She meets two wonderful friends who change her, Moon and Rachel. Moon, another stray, teaches her never to give up and to look forward to the days when things will get better.

There were parts of this book that brought me to tears and parts that made me feel joy and happiness for Squirrel.

You can read an excerpt.

I, Coriander

2005-10-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

The novel is set in 17th century London and in a fairy world. Reading about this era in London takes me back a number of years (we won't say how many) to my study of English history with Dr. A.J. Henderson. Oliver Cromwell was not royalty, and yet he was able to bring Charles I to trial and execution. Cromwell was a follower of the puritan faith. Oliver Cromwell remains one of the most disliked figures in British history.

The story is told by Coriander Hobie, the daughter of a wealthy silk merchant in the 1650s. The Hobie family were not supporters of Cromwell and his followers; they were Royals. The young girl writes this story from the light of seven candles -- each section ends when one of the candles goes out.

Her mother, Eleanor, dies when Coriander is very young. early in the story Coriander indicaates tot he reader that there is some connection with the fairy world through her mother. Thomas Hobie feels forced into marrying Maud, a puritan, to save his family from being jailed by the Cromwell government, the Puritans. Maud is in league with a radical puritan minister, Arise. Together they bring nothing but grief to Coriander's life. Her father flees for his life, and Maud and Arise put Coriander in a chest to die. She enters a fairy world from this chest where time is meaningless. To everyone's amazement Coriander is alive and well when she is removed from the chest at the age of 17. The book is a page-turner with kidnapping, murder, and romance and a cast of striking characters.

Sally Gardner has presented us with a novel that is part fairy tale and part historical fiction. An interesting fact about the author is that she is severely dyslexic - she never learned to read or write until she was fourteen.

You can read an excerpt.

Puritans play a role in many historical fiction novels set during this time period.

Sacrifice

2005-10-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

"In the year 1692, life changes forever for ten-year-old Abigail Faulkner and her family. In Salem, Massachusetts, witches have been found, and widespread fear and panic reign mere miles from Abigail's home of Andover. When two girls are brought from Salem to identify witches in Andover, suspicion sweeps the town as well-respected members of the community are accused of witchcraft."

Kathleen Duble has taken a different approach to looking at the witchcraft hysteria that was pervasive in Massachusetts in the late 17th century. She introduces the reader to the Faulkner family and the members who were accused of being "witches". The Faulkners, Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Daniel, and Granpappy Dane (a minister in the Puritan church) are all swept into this madness and have no control over what happens to them. The author takes the reader into the Salem Town jail where the accused "witches" are chained in deplorable conditions. This book is based on actual events from the author's family history.

Read an excerpt.

Indigo's Star

2005-10-06T12:31:00.000-05:00

Hilary McKay has written a companion novel for Saffy's Angel.
"Indigo awoke with a strange feeling of doom hanging over him. It was a minute or two before he realized what it was. Monday. His school clothes were draped across a chair, black and shadowy gray."

School bullies -- Indigo has experienced their wrath -- have you heard of a "swirlie"?

Indigo Casson has missed most of a year at school because he had mononucleosis. He is not looking forward to going back to school. Indigo is not pleased when his sisters, Saffy and Sarah, step in to defend him as the bullies are ready to attack. Then, he meets Tom, an American living with his grandmother, who does not let the bullies get to him. This friendship helps Indigo face his fears.

Listen to an excerpt or read an excerpt.

Other books that deal with the theme of bullying:

The Girls by Amy Koss
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Hoot by Carl Hiassen
Kissing the Rain by Kevin Brooks
Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardener
Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

Silver Fin

2005-10-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

I was first attracted to this book because of the cover, yes, we are all intrigued by interesting and unique book covers. This is a James Bond adventure by Charlie Higson.

Silver Fin is a prequel to Ian Fleming's adventures of James Bond, 007. Meet James Bond as he begins boarding school at Eton in the 1930s. This is where he first meets the dastardly American, Lord Hellebore, and his son. He takes the train to the Scottish Highlands for a holiday with his aunt, Charmian, and his uncle, Max. On the way he meets Red Kelly. The reader is also given some introduction to James Bond's parents who were killed in an accident.

Once in Scotland, the mystery thriller really develops as Red and James investigate the disappearance of Red's cousin Alfie. This leads them to Lord Hellebore's castle and his plot to take over the world. If you read the School Library Journal review of the novel, you will find they did not like it. Though it was slow at the beginning, I ended up staying up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it. Obviously, I don't agree with the SLJ.

If you would like to read an excerpt, go to http://www.myshelf.com/haveyouheard/05/silverfin.htm

Author's Websites

2005-09-29T10:45:00.000-05:00

I discovered J.K. Rowling's new website this morning and thought it would be nice to introduce you to the fact that many authors do have sites, some more than one. Below is a list of sites of some of the popular authors and some of my favorites.

J.K. Rowling --This is a fantastic web site in design. It gives the visitor the sense getting to know the author and even some of the characters from the books. Some of the sections are biography, rumors, news, wizard of the month, fan sites, links, extra stuff, questions, and FAQ. I visited “extra stuff” and learned some interesting information on her development of the character, Crookshanks (Hermione’s cat).

Avi -- You can read about the author and read short excerpts about his books. We have his most recently published book, The Book Without Words; and on the site you can begin the first chapter.

Jean Craighead George -- she wrote Julie of the Wolves, a Newbery Medal winner. She also is the author of My Side of the Mountain.

Many of you read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
I enjoy the adventure stories of Will Hobbs.

Other author sites:
Laurie Lawlor-- Dead Reckoning
Gary Paulsen
Chris Crutcher -- Whale Talk, Ironman, Chinese Handcuffs
Carl Deuker -- High Heat, Painting Black, On the Devil's Court, Heart of a Champion
Dan Gutman -- lots of books about sports - the Baseball Card Adventures.

Maximum Ride

2005-09-25T12:02:00.000-05:00

I looked at this book several times before I decided to pick it up. I think you will like the sci-fi/fantasy mystery thriller. You will get to know the characters very well -- Max, Fang, Iggiy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. They are "almost" normal kids - 98% human and 2% bird; they grew up in laboratory cages. They are free now and are constantly pursued by the Erasers, wolf-like creatures who seem to always know where to find the kids.

The flock of six had avian DNA grafted into their human genes by the "whitecoats." The vicious Erasers managed to kidnap the youngest, Angel, and return her to the School for more experimentation. The others are determined to save her; 14-year-old Max is their leader. The author has used vivid descriptions to keep the reader involved in both the surroundings and the emotions of the characters.

James Patterson is the author of many adult novels; this is his first venture into writing for young adults. To read an excerpt, go to James Patterson Reading Room

Operation Red Jericho

2005-09-19T14:50:00.000-05:00

This is the first of a trilogy. A brother and sister, Becca and Doug MacKenzie, are aboard their uncle's ship the Expedient. Becca and Doug's parents are missing somewhere in China. The story begins in Shanghai in 1920, and as one reviewer has described it -- the story hasa the feel of an old Jackie Chan movie.

The kids get involved in an amazing adventure that includes the story of an ancient order that was created to protect the world from evil. It does take some time to get involved in the book. (At least I didn't get involved right away -- could be I was reading when I was tired.)

The author, Joshua Mowll, has used a remarkable archive of documents to piece together the events that took place more than 80 years ago. The book itself is different from most and offers an interesting change. The book is filled with diagrams, sketches, blueprints, and photographs.

You can read the first chapter at http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/assets_walker/dynamic/1125905744241/1844286258_CH_01.pdf

Down the Rabbit Hole

2005-09-12T14:51:00.000-05:00

This is Peter Abrahams first novel for young adults, however he is already a well-known mystery author for adults. The main character is Ingrid Levin-Hill, a 13-year-old soccer player who is an avid fan of Sherlock Holmes. She gets involved in a police investigation of a local murder – she left her bright red soccer shoes at the dead woman’s house. Ingrid is a talented actress, as was the murdered woman, and she has the role of Alice in the Alice in Wonderland play be put on by the Prescott Players. The reader gets to meet Ingrid, her family, her friends, and the other players in the Prescott Players. One of my favorite characters is Grampy, Ingrid’s crusty old Grandfather. The intrigue and tension build as Ingrid gets more involved in finding out who murdered Cracked-up Katie. Ingrid is a very believable character with her self-doubt and dreams and her newly adopted dog, Nigel.

Dead Reckoning

2005-09-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

Laurie Lawlor has written a wonderful historical novel of the famous pirate and privateer Francis Drake. One of his most famous voyages was his trip around the world which lasted from 1577 to 1580.
One of the main characters in this novel is Emmet, the 15 year-old orphaned cousin of Drake. Emmet had been raised by a monk and was both educated and bright. Drake invites Emmet to be a page on his ship the Pelican. The trip proves to be filled with angst and learning to survive for the young boy. Drake takes his ship and crew through the dangerous Straits of Magellan and chases the Silver Ship, a Spanish ship supposedly filled with treasures and riches. Emmet never really likes the adventure nor does he become filled with greed for wealth as most of the others on board the ship.
Keep a dictionary handy because there are both Spanish words and 16th century sailor slang.

Places to Go

2005-07-24T20:51:00.000-05:00

In the past week I have visited three places that have been enlightening.

My first stop was the River Music Experience which is described as a "one-of-a-kind urban entertainment experience that celebrates roots music along the Mississippi." It is located downtown in Davenport, Iowa. There is among other things an 81 foot wall of interactive multimedia fun that allows you to explore the innovators, styles, and movement of American song from New Orleans to St. Paul and outward to Chicago and beyond. It is well worth the $4 admission charge - you can't do it all in one trip.

While there I also took the opportunity to walk across the newly opened River Music Skybridge. This offers some great views of the Mississippi River.

My last trip in the past week was to Springfield, Illinios to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library. Fantastic is the word I would use to describe this newest addition to honoring Lincoln. The "Ghosts in the Library" holographic presentation was wonderful as was the "Lincoln's Eyes" presentation in another theater. The "Blood on the Moon", a temporary exhibit was also very interesting. I spent about 4 hours at the museum and am sure I could go back and see and read more! If you have the opportunity take the time to visit Springfield to see this and other places of interest. One of my other favorite places to visit is the Dana Thomas House, a Frank Lloyd Wright design.

Painting the Black

2005-07-24T20:31:00.000-05:00

This is not Carl Deuker's newest book, but since I am not a frequent reader of sports books I just read it. WoW! Ryan Ward's new neighbor is a star athlete, Josh Daniels, who draws Ryan into the magic world of baseball. Just as quickly Josh turns to football when that season rolls around. Ryan, a senior, who has never played on the team before is lucky enough to be chosen for the team in the Spring. He and Josh make a great pitcher-catcher duo, and Ryan is chosen as the Most Inspirational Player. Josh Daniels always pushes the limits, in sports and life, -- now Ryan has to make a decision that forces him to choose between his love for the game and his integrity.

Other books by Deuker are Night Hoops, High Heat, Heart of a Champion, On the Devil's Court, and the newest Runner (May, 2005).

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

2005-07-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

I have been reading lots of books, but have not been good about posting this month. This book is the winner of the Michael L. Prinz Award and a Newbery Honor book. The author is Gary D. Schmidt.

This book is meaningful to me at this moment as I have just returned from a trip that included a visit to Maine, and I traveled very close to this town! Turner Buckminster seems to have problems from his first moments in Phippsburg. He is the son of a minister which causes him a great deal of angst. Turner is forced to go to Mrs. Cobb's, an elderly woman, to read to her and play the organ for her. He meets and develops a friendship with Lizzie Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl, who is from the nearby island of Malaga that was founded by former slaves. This friendship opens up a whole new world to Turner. He and Lizzie try to save the island and its residents from a group of racist townspeople of Phippsburg who want to force them out to help the tourist trade. This leads the two kids into a series of disasters that change their lives forever!

The book is a historical novel based on the 1912 destruction of the island community of Malaga Island. The characters are full and leave the reader with humor and sadness as they are introduced to this little known incident.

Raven's Gate

2005-07-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Anthony Horowitz has a new series, the Gatekeepers. This novel is different than his earlier series that began with Stormbreaker, and introduced us to Alex Rider. This one is just as good -- maybe better!

Matt Freeman is a 14-year-old orphan who is accused of a crime he did not commit, and he is sentenced to jail for three years or to one year in the LEAF (Liberty and Education Achieved through Fostering) project. In this project Matt will be sent to live with a family in the country for a year.

He is sent to Lesser Malling in Yorkshire to live with Mrs. Deverill -- an angry, mean widow. Everyone he meets seems to be very weird! They all seem to be involved with some kind of black magic. Is Matt a key to this? Is he one of the five children who saved the World from black magic before?

Raven's Gate is the first of 5 books in this series. I would label this novel as adventure, mystery, and science fiction.

Belted Kingfisher

2005-06-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

Either I have been very unobservant for the last 20 years, which is possible, or I have never seen this bird before. On our nightly walk along the Mississippi River we have noticed lots more wildlife. For the past two nights we have seen a distinctive looking bird and it seems to have a raucous call. Some research in my bird guide led me to discover that this bird is the Belted Kingfisher. For more information, you can visit the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Although the picture most similar to the birds we saw can be seen at e.Nature.com. Another good site for sound and video and tons of information - click here. The University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web also provides good information as does Field Guide to Birds of North America. Keep your eyes open and be alert, you too may see something that is new to you!

The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic

2005-06-20T21:06:00.000-05:00

This novel by Avi begins in "1046, on a cold winter's night, when a fog, thick as wool and dank as a dead man's hand, crept up from the River Scrogg ..." You will meet the aged alchemist, Thorston; his talking raven Odo; and his servant girl Sybil. Has Thorston found the key to immortality? What is it that Brother Wilfrid knows about this book without words? He must warn Sybil of the danger she faces. Each time Thorston "dies", he returns to life younger -- soon he will be as young as Sybil, 13.

There are lots of twists and turns in the plot of this fairly short novel, about 200 pages. Some of the people mentioned in the book were real and others are fictional. The descriptons are vivid and the action will keep your interest for the length of the book.

The Search for Belle Prater

2005-06-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

Belle Prater’s Boy, the Newbery Honor Book by Ruth White, introduces readers to small-town Appalachia of the 1950s. This appeals to me because the 50s are an integral part of my childhood memories – though I did not grow up in Appalachia, I did grow up in a small town in Illinois. This sequel takes place about a year after Belle Prater’s disappearance.

Woodrow, Belle’s son, and his cousin Gypsy Arbutus Leemaster and a new girl Cassie Caulborne help each other search for what each is looking for. They decide to take a bus to Bluefield to search for Woodrow’s mother. On the bus they meet Joseph, an African American boy, who is also searching for a lost parent. This friendship introduces the characters to prejudice as it existed in the 1950s. After some adventures the characters develop their friendships and resolve their own dilemmas.

I found this book comfortable and a very pleasant reading experience. I was able to connect to taking a bus trip alone to a city -- something my friends and I did when we were thirteen.

My Dog

2005-05-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

I have been busy reading shelves and working on end of the year computer lab projects so I have not been keeping up with my posting. Instead, this week I will share a picture of my dog who loves to walk along the Hennepin Canal. He likes to wade in to get drinks, chase fish, turtles, and ducks or geese.

Farewell to Manzanar

2005-05-19T09:15:00.000-05:00

Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order to have Japanese living in America transferred to relocation centers in 1942. JeanneWakatsuki Houston was a very young girl when she and her family were forced to move to Manzanar, a camp in the desert about 200 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The book is a true account of life for this family at an internment camp. The reader can see a side of American history that may not always be presented in a general American history class. It presents another prejudice that is part of our past. There is a film called "Snow Falling on Cedars" that tells a similar story. I also found a Library of Congress site, Ansel Adams's Manzanar Photographs, that will give you a visual of this story.

A Kick in the Head

2005-05-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

The title attracts your attention, doesn't it? This is a book about 29 poetic forms -- wait don't quit reading yet! Here is a fun way to learn about the rules of poetry, and the book shows you that sometimes poets are not slaves to every aspect of poetic form. The author tells the reader that you should think of the rules of poetry like the rules of a game; they are in place to add challenge and excitement. The book is not filled with words to confuse you, and the artwork is great, and the poems are wonderful.

Code Talker

2005-05-11T13:08:00.000-05:00

Joseph Bruhac uses the storytelling style to have the main character, Ned Begay, tell of his experiences as a Navajo code talker in World War II to his grandchildren. Bruhac does not want the reader to forget that Native Americans were often forced to drop their language and customs to be accepted as part of the society of the United States. During the war, the Navajos were asked to use their native language to radio battlefield information and commands in code -- this was a secret until 1969. The Japanese were never able to break this code!

Ned, who is only 16 when he joins the Marines, sees action on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima; he is injured on Guam. Other Marines are assigned to keep him safe, but that is not always possible. The narrator's experiences in battle change him, but he takes pride in being able to use his culture to protect the United States. This is a good book for anyone interested in the history of World War II.

For more information look-up Navajo code talkers, World War II fact sheet, or Navajo Code Talkers (from the U.S. Mint).