Review: The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson Series

The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison, 2000 to present day.  Harper Teen.

Fourteen year old Georgia Nicholson has it tough.  Her parents, though old and extremely not cool, are still very much in love and very much interested in her life, her little sister seems to be in need of constant attention, or else something bad may happen to one of Georgia’s belongings, and then there’s Angus the cat, who is the most unusual cat Georgia and those around her have met, and this is just the people and animal living in her house.  This does not include the Ace Gang, Robbie the Sex God, Masimo and Dave the Laugh. 

The books are as hilarious as the titles throughout the series which includes, Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God, Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas, Dancing In My Nuddy Pants, Away Laughing on a Fast Camel, Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers, Startled by His Furry Shorts, Love is a Many Trousered Thing, Stop in the Name of Pants and the upcoming Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?.  I think it’s very cool that Georgia and all the characters in the book are based on real life people from Rennison’s life.  When I read about the books’ heavy borrowing from real life in an interview Rennison gave, it makes sense because there are some situations in this series that would be very hard to make up. 
I’m partial to the covers with the legs rather than the new covers with photographic images.  The British slag and causal conversation style keeps the books fast paced and I’m always surprised how little time has passed (usually a few months) by the time Georgia is done with her story for the time being.

This series is great for girls ages 12-14 (even though I started reading the series at the end of high school and loved it) who are growing a little to old for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, or who just want something to read while they wait for The Ugly Truth since it is also written in journal form, similar to the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.  

Taylor Swift vs. She and Him

So, I decided to do a comparison between the coveted video of my friends and I for the past few months, She and Him’s In the Sun and the most recent Taylor Swift video Mine, which has been coveted by some of the tweens and teens I happen to know.  She and Him have put out a more recent video, but it hasn’t had the same popularity amongst the people in their 20’s that I know as In the Sun.  I find it interesting how certain groups of people identify with certain bands and musicians.  Taylor Swift happens to be the most common artist that I notice being brought up in conversation with this group of tweens and teens, while my group of friends all either want to be/or date Zooey Deschanel or M. Ward.

She & Him - In The Sun from Merge Records on Vimeo.

The similarities I noticed were how fashionable everyone was in their music videos.  The first contrast I noticed though was how Taylor Swift’s video concentrated on a serious relationship between characters played by herself and Toby Hemingway.  Throughout the video the two fall in love, move in together, get married, and have children.  Swift is 20 and has a busy career, so the images portrayed in the video are probably very different from her real life. 

The same goes for Deschanel and Ward, who return to high school for their video.  In this video, one student, played by Deschanel tries in vain to catch the attention of her blasé classmate, played by Ward.  The song is about being rejected by a crush.  In real life Deschanel, 30, recently married Death Cab for Cutie’s front man Ben Gibbard and M. Ward, 36, is married to an academic who tends to enjoy remaining nameless.

I wonder why the lighthearted atmosphere with a tinge of melancholy in the setting of a well maintained high school, a place where many of my friends and I would care not to revisit, is so appealing to us, while the idea of living happily ever after in domestic tranquility might be appealing to Swift’s fans, many of whom are tweens and teens.  

Review: Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006.  Copy checked out from the San Diego County Library, Rancho San Diego Branch.

Mark Twain Reader Award Nominee

This book reminds me of an Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade for tweens.  Cornelia is very alone and very contrary.  Her mother is a famous pianist who is always traveling.  Cornelia is left with in the care of the servants.  Luckily, Cornelia happens to be very alone and very contrary in Greenwich Village, where she meets Virginia Somerset, Cornelia’s well traveled, well dressed, well read, well everything neighbor.  Virginia has an adorable pug and stories.  Stories of the travels she and her four sisters embarked on after World War II. 

            This book is a great for cuddling up when you’re having a sick day.  It’s easy to be sympathetic of Cornelia’s attitude at the beginning of the story, haven’t we all felt rather alone and a little unwanted at some time or another?  My favorite part is how the novel is made up of stories within a story.  After reading for awhile, I felt like putting the book down was like being awakened from a dream because I had become so buried in the story.  The ending is sad, but there is a triumphant resolution for Cornelia, which rings true in its realism- bad things do happen in life, but there are ways to move on with a strong, self assured elegance.

I could see this being a good read for 5^th to 7^th graders, especially girls who happen to use big words and love puppies.

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

It may be part of the canon in terms of advisory texts on children’s literature, but it’s one of the most important tools I have as a librarian.  The School Library Journal website is not to be missed.  It’s the first website I go to when I’m working behind the reference desk.  Just reading the headline article makes me feel better connected with the worlds of children’s librarians and children’s literature.  Many of the articles give statistics from studies that help promote the importance of youth literacy and school/children’s libraries.  The author interviews are great, too.  I mean really, is there any other group of people who come across as quirky, fun, and enthusiastic as children and young adult book authors?  The comment section at the end of every article gives readers a chance to engage in a dialogue about the article’s content.  I really enjoy seeing what’s on the minds of librarians from around the country.

There are also blogs that are affiliated with SLJ.  These blogs can be accessed from the website’s main page.  My current favorite is A Chair, A Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy written by librarian Elizabeth Burns.  She has been at this blogging thing for so long (and happens to do it very well) that publishers send her advance copies of their upcoming YA books.  Burns writes reviews of said books on her blog.  It’s a great place to get an alternate opinion on new books that are coming out.  Burns has a knack for pulling out relevant tween themes in an array of plot lines.  Also, her writing is clean, and just plain good.

Review: A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.  Dial.  Checked out copy from the San Diego County Library, La Mesa Branch.

2001 Newbery Book Winner

The sequel to A Long Way From Chicago.  Mary Alice is sent back to her Grandma Dowdel, but this time, it’s for the entire year.  It’s 1937 and Mary Alice really has to adjust to country life this time around.  She’s not just staying for the summer, and her older brother Joey has been sent off the Civilian Conservation Corps, so she’s on her own this time.  Mary Alice soon learns that though her grandmother’s town may appear sleepy at first glance, it’s anything but, and Grandma Dowdel keeps things interesting in her own Midwestern manner.  There’s the poignant moment of the reality of war shown to Mary Alice after the festivities of Veterans Day are over, a wailing surprise in the manger during the school nativity play, long lost sisters reunited, a set-up with a school teacher and a scandalous WPA artist who is new to town and of course, a hurricane. 

The context of the book gives the reader and impromptu history lesson that is enjoyable rather than heavy handed.  There is an ever present wisdom in the practical life Grandma Dowdel leads.  We get the pleasure of watching Mary Alice prepare for adulthood one lesson at a time as her admiration grows for the same place she loathed at the beginning of the book.

This would be a wonderful read aloud for grades 3rd to 6^th.  The book has many humorous moments that would have the entire class laughing.  It’s also a great individual read for anyone of that age.            

Chinaberry

Chinaberry is a brick and mortar (gasp!) and online store that sells books, toys, and gifts with families in mind as its target audience.  The store is located in Spring Valley, California and is a great place to go if you’re looking to buy books from an independent business rather than a large bookstore chain.

What makes Chinaberry unique is the catalogs it sends out.  Each newsprint catalog contains color illustrations of Chinaberry’s products, but the best part are the reviews that accompany every book that Chinaberry offers.  The books are divided into age groups (there is even a section for adults) and each review gives a short summary of the book’s plot and key themes that run throughout the story.  Every tween book that I have read based on a Chinaberry review (including The Penderwicks, The Wild Girls, As Hot as it was You Ought to Thank Me, and Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters) has been a keeper.

Give yourself a treat and request a catalog.  It’s free and perfect for those times when you’re in between books, but still need something to cuddle up.  Sip some tea and figure out what you want to read next.   

Review: The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall.  Copy checked out from the San Diego County Library, Rancho San Diego Branch, based on a review in the Chinaberry Books Catalog.

2005 National Book Award Winner

            (click here to see other awards given to this book) (an interview with Jeanne Birdsall)

The Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty have many adventures in store for them when they return to their summer vacation spot with their widower father.  At first glance, this book reminded me of one of those stereotypical idyllic children’s stories, the types that Francie Nolan detests in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  However, the Penderwick sisters would be the first to agree with Francie that a good story should mirror the trials of real life, and while the girls are not plagued by the themes used in dramatic hooks to advertise some tween fiction, they have problems to deal with, and problems to solve.  Rosalind’s trying to bake her way into an older boy’s heart, Skye is plotting strategies with her new best friend to keep him out of military school, Jane wants to write the next great American novel and is slowly realizing that all the information she needs for a good plot is happening all around her, Batty is coping with growing up without a mom and not being lost in the crowd as the youngest sibling.  Each sister is unique, sympathetic and likable.

This book is the first in the Penderwicks series.  The second book, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is available, and the third installment, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette will be available later next year.

This book would be perfect for a precocious fourth grader, a fifth grader who enjoys to read, or a sixth, seventh, or eighth grader who is in need of a good story to help them see how fun reading can be.

Green Apple Books

Green Apple Books, San Francisco, California

Because Deep Down Inside, There’s Some Pest in all of Us . . .

Ramona and Beezus is like a Michel Gondry movie for kids. The visual whimsy of Ramona’s imagination is represented through special effects that transport the viewer to a parallel universe, far far away from reality. When I saw how the world looked to Ramona, it helped me realize why more often times than not, the ordinary of the everyday life is actually quite extraordinary.


Ramona And Beezus Trailer

Throughout the film, Ramona navigates how she fits in at school and at home while still remaining true to herself, no matter how quirky she may appear to others. She needs to survive the 3rd grade, help her family save their house, be a good little sister and a loving big sister, and help her aunt rekindle an old love. A lot to ask of one girl, but Ramona, as always, has a plan. It’s the way she goes about helping everyone that makes the story interesting.

I haven’t read the Ramona books since I was Ramona’s age, but her stories have always remained dear to my heart. It was extremely fun to vaguely know what was going to happen in certain instances of the movie based on my knowledge of the books (the hard boiled egg, anyone?). There are differences from the book for the movies sake (Beezus and Henry, what?!), but I think overall this film is a nice addition to the canon of Ramona and will encourage people who have not read the series to pick it up, or is a great movie for anyone who has read and enjoyed the books.

Age wise, my five year old cousin enjoyed the film, but I think that my 12 year old cousin and I, both of us fans of the series, got the most out of the experience.



Here are Beverly Cleary’s thoughts on turning 94 and the opening of the movie.

Time for Some Experimentation . . .

This past week, I changed the book display that meets the kids when they enter the Children’s Room. For the summer, the theme had been “Curl Up with a Children’s Classic”. Needless to say, the display was a big fat failure. The books on display, books that had helped me define who I was and who I wanted to be when I was a kid, gathered dust over the summer weeks as the kids passed the display for the cart which carried all the titles that had been put on their school reading lists. No one had any interest for Little Women, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, or Black Beauty because none of these books were going to get them a passing grade on their book reports when they got back to school in September.

So last week, I decided to take the book display in a new direction. In the spirit of the upcoming fifth book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series the theme for the fall book display is “Can’t wait for The Ugly Truth? Try one of these books while you’re waiting”. When I walked into the library this morning I could see a gaping hole where my display had once stood. There were only four books left, all the others had been checked out. It was awesome. There are so many book in our collection that are just as entertaining as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but just don’t get the attention they deserve.

Based on the display’s success, I want to conduct an experiment. Next week I plan to sneak in some children’s classics onto the display. I mean, if you like the antics of Greg and Rowley you may just like the adventures of Tom and Huck, right? I wonder if the classics still have the ability to reach kids today and simply need some new PR strategies, or if these stories just come across as too old fashioned. It reminds me of the ‘Ugly Book Contest’ Teri S. Lesesne describes in her book Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers. Lesesne explains how a school librarian friend of hers puts books on display that are great stories, but have awful covers. She asks the kids to design better covers for a book they have chosen to read from the display.

If a book is without a hook worthy of a tween’s attention, whether it be a flashy cover, a graphic novel format, or characters who externally appear to be similar to themselves, there may be no desire to give that book a chance. If the summer display proved one thing, it’s that tweens are not impressed by the status of a book being a classic. Maybe next time, the display will be the same books, but the theme will be an Ugly Book Contest.



Lesesne, T. S. (2006). Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers. Stenhouse Publishers: Portland, Maine. p. 84.

Santa Clara County Library: Zoo-Wee Mama! If you Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid You May Also Like These . . .

Image from New York Magazine