Awesome Book Choices

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell

2009-04-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

My name is Emmy, and I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself. You are going to think this is weird, but I used to have a very happy life before my parents inherited a ton of money and we moved into my Great, Great Uncle William's old mansion. Then everything changed. I used to be the center of my parents' universe, but now they go off traveling all the time and they could care less about me. I have a nanny, Miss Barmy, who watches over me. She's always telling me that if I was a good girl and if I did better in school (even though I'm already an 'A' student) my parents would want to spend more time with me. She makes me take medicine even though I'm not sick, and she's always making appointments for me to talk to a psychologist - when she clearly needs it more than I do. She has me scheduled for all kinds of lessons after school like ballet, French, gymnastics, etc. Sometimes I wish I could just go home and play with friends.

But that's another thing that has changed. In my old school, I had lots of friends. In my new school, it's as though people don't even notice me - everybody ignores me, even my teachers. I sit next to our classroom pet rat; he says no one notices me because I'm too nice. He says HE gets respect because he is mean, but I don't think being mean is the answer. No one pets the rat because he bites, and no one will play with him. Besides how much respect do you think you have when you are forced to live in a cage? I could tell I hurt the rat's feelings when I said that to him, and since it's just not in me to be mean, I left him a note to apologize. Later, after school, I went back and let him out of his cage. And you know what, he wasn't the least bit grateful!

So when I headed to dance class I thought what's the use of trying to do everything I am supposed to do when nobody really cares? That's when I headed down the dirty old alley, and that's when things started getting mysterious, exciting, and yes, you might even say dangerous!

Because that's when I came across Miss Barmy in The Antique Rat Shop (what on earth was she doing there?) and I overheard her order the usual (what did that mean?). And then I discovered the special collection of rats from all over the world. The rats were very rare, and each had a tag attached to it, identifying a special ability it posessed. I met Professor Vole, the owner of the shop. When he found out our classroom rat looked almost exactly like one he had in the shop, he offered to buy our rat for any price I asked. He was one of those guys who just wouldn't take no for an answer, so when he turned up at our school later on, I knew our rat was in danger.

I had to figure out how to protect the Rat from Professor Vole, and what Miss Barmy was doing in The Antique Rat Shop. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Joe, the kid who sits next to me at school, got bitten by the Rat and was shrunk down to the size of a Barbie doll? And that the police were looking for him because his parents couldn't find him? And .... there's just too much left to tell. You'll have to read Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat to find out the rest of the story, you won't be disappointed!

As a side note, just like Emmy in the book, I also don't like to be mean. But I have to question the choice of artwork used for the cover of this book. Not that it isn't good, in an old-fashioned kind of way - but I don't think it has much appeal for the target audience of this book. It really didn't make me want to pick up the book to read it. I did, however, like the concept that the edge of the pages turned into a "flip book" - so be sure to flip the edge of the pages to see what happens!

The Big One-Oh by Dean Pitchford

2009-02-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

With his tenth birthday quickly approaching, Charley Maplewood decides he really ought to celebrate "The Big One -Oh" (his first double digit birthday) in a special way. He decides it's time to leave behind the traumatic memory of the only birthday party he has ever attended (and which he inadvertently ruined); and throw a party of his own. Not just ANY party, mind you, but "the best party - in the history - OF THE WORLD!"

Unfortunately, Charley has no friends and no adult support in his life. His father lives in Scotland, his mother works all the time, and his sister is obsessed with her boyfriend. Fearful that he will turn out to be a friendless freak like his very strange neighbor, Crazy Garry; Charley is determined to make friends.

So Charley creates a list of "Things to Do For My Party" in his Monsters & Maniacs notebook. Did I mention Charley's passion in life is collecting Monsters & Maniacs comic books? Here's Charley's to-do list:

1. Make Friends

2. Watch People with Friends to Learn How

3. Get a Theme

At times Charley seems to be the master of disaster, but he is a likeable fellow. Join Charley as he plods his way through the perils and pitfalls of planning the perfect party. His ups and downs in forming friendships is sure to resonate with readers.

No Talking by Andrew Clements

2009-02-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

After asserting that "boys never talk as much as girls do, ever!" Dave Packer challenges Lynsey Burgess and the rest of the girls to a contest - boys vs. the girls; whichever side talks less for the next two days wins. Can the fifth graders at Laketon Elementary School make it through two whole days without talking? This isn't just ANY fifth grade class. This class is known as the Unshushables, the loudest, most talkative class in the history of the school.
What happens when these students are forced to find alternative ways to communicate? How will their teachers and the principal react? And their parents? Who will win the contest, the boys or the girls?

In this story, Dave Packer discovers a thought-provoking quote while doing research for a report about Mahatma Gandhi:

For many years, one day each week Ghandi did not speak at all. Ghandi believed this was a way to bring order to the mind.

I liked the powerful questions this made Dave consider, and how he decided to give not talking a try to see what it would be like. The book seems to start out a bit slow and choppy, maybe because it isn't clear to the reader in the beginning how everything connects. The book definitely gains momentum along the way, and finishes with a strong and satisfying ending.

Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

2009-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

The good news is that Bud is to be placed with a foster family that has a boy two years older than him. The bad news is that the boy turns out to be an abusive spoiled brat, whose mother believes every word he says. The boy lies about an unfortunate incident, and Bud ends up locked in a scary shed overnight as punishment.

Bud manages to break out of the shed and is on the run ... at first without direction - just away from the authorities who would drag him back to the orphanage. With only a few precious belongings that link him to his past, and his own philosophical "Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself," Bud starts out on a journey which leads him to search for the identity of the father he never knew. Bud's ability to maintain a sense of humor in the face of adversity make this book well worth the read.

Click here to read more about the author, Christopher Paul Curtis, and his award-winning books.

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

2008-11-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

Abandoned as a baby, Cosmo Hill had no sponsors. In Satellite City, that meant living in an orphanage until adulthood. Unfortunately, experimental treatments made the average life expectancy in the orphanage only age fifteen. Cosmo, now fourteen, figured the only way to get out alive was to escape.

In a daring attempt, Cosmo leaped from one rooftop to another handcuffed to a friend. Landing on a generator, Cosmo received ten thousand volts of electricity through his body. In his weakened state, he saw translucent blue creatures on his chest that seemed to be sucking the life energy out of his body. At the last minute, he was saved by some street-smart kids who were part of a group called the Supernaturalists. It was their mission to save humanity from these life-sucking blue parasites, which only a few people had the ability to see. I think you'll enjoy this action-packed, futuristic, science fiction thriller - just don't count on everything being as it seems!

Some other books by Eoin Colfer: the Artemis Fowl series, Half Moon Investigations, and The Legend of Spud Murphy.

A Journey to the New World by Kathryn Lasky

2008-11-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple

Seasickness. Smelly crowded quarters. Screaming babies. Arguments among the elders. Scorn from the crew. Disease. Death. Remember Patience Whipple describes in her diary what it was like to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the Mayflower, and the hardships the Pilgrims encountered in their first year of establishing their settlement at Plimoth. If you've ever had trouble imagining what it would have been like to settle in the New World, read this book! (Part of the Dear America series). To read excerpts, see video clips, learn about the authors, and find fun activities and crafts click on this link to Scholastic's Dear America web site.

No More Nasty by Amy MacDonald

2008-09-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

When the new substitute for Simon's class turned out to be his Great Aunt Matilda, Simon was horrified! It wasn't that he didn't love her, under any other circumstances he would have been delighted. But here at school? His classes' favorite game was Sink the Sub!

And Aunt Mattie? Well, she was just really different than other people. She dressed strangely, she said weird things, and she thought and acted like no other teacher. She just didn't follow the rules. When she suggested to the class that they could win the Math Bee, they thought she was crazy.

But by the time she challenged them to think up an original project for the Science Fair, she had them almost believing they could win. However, Mr. Farley, the science teacher, and Mr. Lister the assistant principal, weren't about to let Mrs. Maxwell (Aunt Mattie) steal away that prize. Find out what happens by reading No More Nasty.

Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald

2008-08-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

"Judy Moody did not set out to save the world. She set out to win a contest. A Band-Aid contest." So begins another hilarious Judy Moody adventure.

This time Judy Moody takes Mr. Todd's science lesson to heart and decides to save the rain forest -an idea which also inspires her entry in the Crazy Strips Contest. Unfortunately, Judy's solutions for saving the world are not always popular with other people - like when she decides to set her brother's pet toad free, and not wanting her mother to use lipstick, or her father to drink coffee, or her class to use pencils. How can Judy make a difference when no one wants to cooperate? And will her idea win the Band-Aid contest? Read Judy Moody Saves the World to find out.

If you are a Judy Moody fan, you might enjoy the Judy Moody website (click here). including "Way-Not-Boring Fun Stuff to Do".

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

2008-07-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

Things often do not turn out the way we plan in life, and that is ever so true in middle school! Greg figures he is about the 52nd or 53rd most popular kid in his grade. In his journal (not diary!), Greg writes about his misadventures at home and at middle school ... like playing his brother's heavy metal CD (with the Parental Warning sticker) late at night with the volume cranked high, and forgetting to plug in the headphones (now fully understands the reason for the parental warning - after getting grounded for two weeks!)... and playing the part of a tree in The Wizard of Oz musical because "getting to peg Patty Farrell with apples in front of a live audience would be my dream come true." You get the idea....

Billed as a novel in cartoons, its format and humor is sure to appeal to kids. Parts of this book made me laugh! I know, it does not present the best models of attitude and behavior. What can I say? I used to work in a middle school! If you enjoy this book, you'll be happy to know there are others in the series.

Dragon's Egg by Sarah L. Thomson

2008-07-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Mella has "the touch" with dragons, no doubt about it! She is her family's dragon keeper, caring for the farm dragons that produce the delicious eggs that are served for breakfast at her family's Inn.

One day, while running an errand for her mother, Mella discovers what she thinks is an unusual looking stone in the midst of some ashes in an abandoned fire in a cave. She carefully wraps the object in some moss, and runs home and hides it so she can examine it more carefully later. As she returns to complete her errand, she encounters a dragon (not a farm dragon, mind you, but a true dragon "huge, ferocious, and magical" like in the old days). She discovers that the object that she has taken is a dragon's egg, and if she does not return it to the dragon, her village will be destroyed.

Unfortunately, Mella is delayed when she goes to retrieve the egg, and in the meantime, a Knight mortally wounds the dragon. As the dragon lays dying, he makes Mella promise to take care of the egg. Little did she realize that this meant bringing the egg back to the Hatching Ground! This might have been an easy task for a dragon that can fly, but is not so simple for a twelve year old farm girl, and the knight's servant boy named Roger, who accompanies her on the journey.

If you love books about dragons as much as I do, this fantasy adventure story is for you! It would make a great read-aloud, and a great series. It is on this year's Great Stone Face list.

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

2008-07-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

Another house. Another state. Mark’s family was moving again, this time to New Hampshire. Mark was less than thrilled at the prospect of having to start over in a new school midway through the fifth grade. Particularly when he had already been accepted to go to a private school for the sixth grade. He didn’t really care about making any new friends, or about trying hard in school. What did it matter? And he could care less about Mr. Maxwell’s week in the woods - when the whole fifth grade camped out at a state park to learn about nature and the environment.

That was until Mark learned to snowshoe, and discovered he loved nature and wanted to learn everything he could about it. He was sorry that he had been rude to Mr. Maxwell, and tried to make amends. Mark realized he could learn so much from Mr. Maxwell, and he couldn’t wait to go for the week in the woods. But when he got there, everything started to go wrong.....

I enjoyed this book as I have many others written by Andrew Clements, such as Frindle and The Holiday Concert. But it left me wondering why there is often a teacher portrayed in a negative way in his books. Do you think he had a bad experience at school? You can learn more about Andrew Clements and his books at his website.