Book Trailer: The Giver

Book Trailer: The Wild Girls

Book Trailer: The Magic Tree House #26 Good Morning Gorillas

Book Trailer: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley's Journal

Book Trailer: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

Review: Pirates!

Pirates! by Celia Rees.  Bloomsbury.  2003.

This is a page turner based on a true story, proving that fact is usually stranger than fiction and that a really good story can come from a mixture of the two.

Nancy is upset about her impending arranged marriage.  She is stuck on her father's Jamaican plantation awaiting her doom.  One night she comes across Minerva, one of the slaves on the plantation being attacked by the overseer.  Nancy kills the overseer in order to save Minerva.  The girls realize they must escape the plantation and find themselves on the Deliverance which isn't just any ship, but a pirate ship.  Over this period of time the friends discover they are sisters by blood.  Their actions make them sisters in spirit.  Soon Nancy learns that as pirates who are constantly at battle with the British navy, they are at war with her true love William, who is pretty disgruntled when he finds out his girlfriend has become a pirate.  Only time will tell if they can work it out.  This is a fun adventure story where female characters are in the starring roles.  It's age old story of if women can have it all- good friends, the guy, maybe a family one day, and still be able to run an entire pirate ship.

An engaging read for older tweens, 7th to 9th grade.
ATOS Book Level: 5.4
AR Points: 14.0

Trends

Your shoes say a lot about you.  At the library, the cool thing for girls is to wear extra high (or, excuse me, x-hi) converse sneakers with their school uniforms, which I love, it's very punk rock.  They usually wear leggings under their skirts, so it is a very common occurrence that they will come in from school, ask for a bathroom key, and head to the bathroom to loose the skirt. Sometimes if the bathroom's occupied they'll just find a vacant isle in the nonfiction section and shed the skirt like it was was a heavy coat, even more punk rock.  They do it with an easy nonchalance.  This is the beauty of a truly great trend, and what makes it become classic style, the fact that it doesn't make you appear insecure and shouts that you're trying to fit it.  Instead, you are allowed to make it your own.

Now here's the funny thing.  My cousins also have a shoe of choice.  That is the Tom's slip on shoe.  Not only are these shoes a mix of preppy meets hippie, but you become an automatic philanthropic patron when you buy a pair.  Checking the prices online, if a person was to buy a pair of extra high converse's or a pair of Toms shoes it would put them back about the same amount, give or take $10 to $15 or so.  What matters is the message you want to send.  Here are two pairs of shoes that aren't about what your parents want you to put on your feet, because you aren't mimicking a more adult style.  No one over 17 should really be caught in either shoe.

The marketing for each company varies.  Converse with its street smart urban cool.  Toms with its do good preppiness.  Back in middle school I too coveted a pair of shoes that I felt would define me.  I saved all my babysitting money to buy a pair of red Dr. Martens boots.  I loved them dearly.  This may make me a little biased toward the style of the tweens at the library, but no matter what style you choose, what you put on your feet says something about who you are to the world and how you're going to walk in it.

Here There be Monsters

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl prod. by Jerry Bruckheimer.  Dir. by Gore Verbinski.  Buena Vista Pictures.  2003.

After bringing up this movie in the blog post about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 I realized that the American tween of this generation will grow up never knowing that once there was this kitschy ride at Disneyland called Pirates of the Caribbean.  It had no media tie ins, it was just a part of Adventure Land, kind of the way Big Thunder Railroad is a part of Frontier Land, a ride with no Disney movie about it.  After writing this, I'm a little worried about the fact that I see this as a matter of cultural significance.  It just goes to show what an influence Disney has had over this Southern Californian girl.

The Black Pearl has one of those plots that you can choose to follow, or completely ignore and still enjoy the movie.  Basically, Captain Jack Sparrow wants his boat back from his mutinous ghost crew.  Will Turner, who has pirate in his blood, even if he wants to deny it, wants Elizabeth Sparrow.  Elizabeth Sparrow, first gets kidnapped for being the governor's daughter, she then lies about her identity to the ghost pirates who kidnap her in order to keep her father safe.  The three characters must help and bargain with one another to get what they all want.  There is lots of drinking, sword fighting and general pirate talk with many lovely shots of the Caribbean.  Every tween generation needs a good action movie.  The only problem with pirates is that it's a little difficult to run off and become one nowadays.  At least your mom wouldn't totally flip out in the 80's if you told her you wanted to be an archaeologist, unless she was a yuppie, so you may as well have told her you were going to be a pirate.  Huh, they have a ride about Indiana at Disneyland, too.

Well, it is rated PG-13, but I think it's fine for most 6th graders, too.

Review: Guinness World Records 2011

Guinness World Records 2011 ed. by Craig Glenday.  Jim Pattison Group.  2010.

This book is the reason why many tweens who come into the Children's Room bother to learn about the reference section.  It's also a good example to use when explaining how to look up a nonfiction book.  032 GUINNESS, and voila, you come to a row of books with shiny hologram covers.  If you're lucky and there are a couple of different years present, you can line up a few consecutive years and look up the same record in each book to see if it was broken in the next year or not.  There are vibrant color photographs for the records that are just better explained in a picture.  Also, this is a book that is great for a group.  It is common for four or five tween boys to find a table, put a copy of Guinness in the middle of the table, and have everyone lean over to read the book together.  It then becomes a contest to see who has filled their brain with the largest amount of knowledge about world records.  Community reading at it's finest?  I would definitely consider it a good candidate.

Appropriate any tween who appreciates and is looking for photos with loads of gross out factor.

Review: Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  T. Egerton, Whitehall.  1813.

A book doesn't need overly complex language to be great.  You also don't have to be an adult to enjoy a great book.  Pride and Prejudice is a story that is actually pretty relevant to tweens who pick it up.  Family, friendship and love are the keys themes.  Also, Jane Austen isn't just for girls.  My brother loves Jane Austen.  He also likes books like A Clockwork Orange, so yeah, I have little patience for boys who complain about Jane.

Elizabeth Bennet's family is driving her crazy.  Her mother will go to any length to pair her daughters up with eligible young men, even if it means almost killing Lizzy's older sister Jane.  Jane is too shy to let Mr. Bingley, the object of her affection, know how she really feels about him.  Mary is overly verbose and awkward.  Kitty and Lydia are giggling, boy crazy, gossips who seem to have no concern for anyone but themselves.  Mr. Bennet is grumpy all the time and never really does anything about anything, which is why Mrs. Bennet is on this voracious man hunt in the first place.  If Mr. Bennet dies, the rest of the family will be sent to the poor house.  Enter Mr. Darcy.  He at first snubs Lizzy, but over time he falls madly in love with her, and really kind of saves the day at the end.  One of the reasons that this book holds the test of time is that the reader gets all sides of the fairytale.  Mr. Darcy gets to be the knight in shinning armor, but the story is not complete without Lizzy's wisecracking and quick witted observations.  She is out to set things right for those she loves, and doesn't let what people think of her get in the way.  A true heroine if there were any.

A great book for 8th and 9th graders.  This ATOS level bugs me since the Sense and Sensibility level is 8th grade.
ATOS Book Level: 12.0
AR Points: 27.0

Review: Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.  HarperCollins.  1952.

Luckily tweens have a chance to get to know E.B. White through his children's books before they get to meet him again in high school and college as the White in Strunk's and White's The Elements of Style.  Also, White will be forever intertwined in the history of the first children's librarian, so I think it's important that one of his classics makes it onto this blog. 

Wilbur the pig is saved by Fern the girl from being slaughtered.  He is the runt of the most recent pig litter, and without her protests would not have survived.  Fern raises Wilbur like a pet, so when her father sees that Wilbur has grown to a good size to be slaughtered for food, everyone is once again distraught.  Enter Charlotte.  She is the spider who lives in the door beams of Wilbur's side of the barn.  She "weaves" a plan in which she will use a little PR to make Wilbur more valuable alive than dead.  The plan works, and Wilbur is saved.  However along the way he has to learn about the trials of living.  That nothing stays the same, and that growing close to someone means that you will be hurt when you have to let them go, because life goes on and you have to keep stepping forward.

A good sturdy chapter book for 3rd graders.  A fun read for 4th graders, too.

ATOS Book Level: 4.4

AR Points: 5.0

Review: The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart

The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart by Kristiana Gregory.  Scholastic.  1996.


The fictional diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, like other books in the Dear America series fills the space where the American Girl series leaves off.  The books in these series are aimed at a little older tween audience, and are more graphic about historical conflicts taking place during the characters' lives.  An interesting contrast is that in the American Girl series the characters are definitely living in pivotal times of history, however they tend to hear about important historical events in the news, the way most people at different historical times experience cultural change.  In the Dear America series the characters are closer to the actual events, maybe not as realistic in terms of the general population, but hey, someone had to be there.


Abigail's diary describes much of her daily life, most of which involves chores and helping her mom around the house in general.  The one catch is that her family lives close to the camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in the years 1777-78.  Abigail describes the lives of the soldiers in the camp and the tension surrounding the outcome of the war.  The title refers to Abigail watching the soldiers march in the snow without shoes, witnessing their bloody feet turning the snow red.


An appropriate read for 4th to 7th graders.
ATOS Book Level: 5.5 
AR Points: 4.0

Review: Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade

Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut.  Dell.  1969.

When it comes to getting started on reading Vonnegut (and I do find it to be a life long journey) Slaughterhouse-Five is a good starting point.  The funny part is that the main character, Billy Pilgrim may be having experiences that differ from most American tweens, but his emotions, and the brash, rash commentary by the narrator is just what many tweens are looking for; it's what they felt has been missing.  Vonnegut is the author who's books you hold close to your chest as a young person and proclaim, "He gets me."

Billy Pilgrim has it rough.  He has been taken as a POW during World War II.  He really wasn't enjoying the war itself much either, actually he found it horrifying.  To top it off, his life at home in the suburbs of New York is so painfully dull that it's really not something he hopes to return to if he ever gets out of this war alive.  Basically, he has nothing to live for, so he violently travels from place to place down the tunnel of time.  This involves an alien abduction where he is is put in the zoo as an exhibit.  The aliens can see their world in 4D, therefore they can see the future and explain to Billy that there is no way to change one's course in life, and that there is no use in trying.  This helps Billy realize there is nothing he can do about his impending murder by a fellow POW soldier in the future, he can only allow it to happen to him as the narrator describes the scene.

Vonnegut gave a new voice to the experience of war, trauma and the state of life in the sixties.  Tweens experiencing many new things in their own lives will appreciate the blunt descriptions and bizarre plot lines.

A great read for older tweens who have already been taught what World War II was all about.
ATOS Book Level: 5.0
AR Points: 8.0

Review: The Little Prince

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.  Reynal & Hitchcock.  1943.

The Little Prince  is told in first person.  Our author has just survived a plane crash when he runs into a little boy in the desert.  The boy happens to be a prince, he also happens to be from outer space.  You see, that's where he is a prince.  Anyway, the story is basically a long conversation between the prince and our narrator in which the prince tells his story and makes the narrator reconsider current his outlook on life.  The prince has the reason of a child, which is presumed to be of no use, however the more the prince talks, the more the narrator realizes the prince makes plenty of sense.  The prince has been traveling the solar system and was in charge of his own asteroid before he found himself in the desert, so he does have experiences to share.  The entire story is peppered with the different wisdoms and experiences of the prince, sending the messages that it is always important to listen to children, whether they be real people, or the internal child inside of all of us.

A good book for older tweens who will appreciate the philosophical underpinnings of this book.

ATOS Book Level: 5.0

AR Points: 2.0 

Review: The Sisters Impossible

The Sisters Impossible by James David Landis.  Random House Books for Young Readers.  1990.

Lily's parents want her to start ballet lessons.  Lily has no interest in taking ballet lessons.  Her older sister, Saundra, is the ballet dancer in the family.  Lily knows she'll never match up to Saundra's dancing abilities, so she sees no reason in trying.  Lily actually likes school and prefers to have her nose in a book than doing exercises on the barre.  However, her parents are not impressed by Lily's academic inclinations and want her to engage in an activity where she is actually doing something, an activity that will teach her discipline so she can apply it to all other parts of her life.  At first Lily hates ballet class and tries everything to get out of it, but as time goes on, she learns to respect the beauty of ballet.  Lily will never be as talented as Saundra, but she realizes this is okay.  Lily can still get a lot out of ballet without striving to be the best.  As Lily's appreciation for ballet grows, her relationship with Saundra blossoms.  Lily is there for Saundra when Saundra needs her support most, and Lily learns that it's the fact that you show up for the important things in life that counts, and the rest works itself out.

A book for 3rd to 9th graders.
No AR information available.  

Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling.  Scholastic.  1998.

Well, I blogged about the most recent movie in the Harry Potter saga, so I figured I should write a review of the book that started it all.  

Harry Potter lives with his mean aunt, uncle and cousin who shun and verbally abuse him.  On Harry's 11th birthday, a particular awful day when you're not loved by your family, a giant named Hagrid, to Harry's surprise and the horror of his family, takes Harry away.  Eventually, Harry winds up at Hogwarts School of Wizardry where he learns how to be a wizard and he learns more and more about why he is a very special wizard.  He becomes friends with Ron and Hermione, joins the his house's quiditch team and dedicates himself to finding the where abouts of the Philosopher's Stone.

Something that is appealing about Harry is that his life always seems to be the pits, thus making him empathic.  First, he's stuck with his awful relatives.  Then he discovers he is completely different from them, and not only that, he is special amongst his new found people.  However, being special is a double edged sword.  This story sets up how Harry will have to balance between holding great responsibilities as a mythic hero of sorts while being true and dependable to his friends.

A fun read for 4th to 9th graders.

ATOS Book Level: 5.5

AR Points: 12.0

The Brothers Known as Jonas

Like Miley Cyrus, I had only heard about the Jonas Brothers through second hand sources that were referencing popular culture.  I find this to be a strange phenomenon.  Maybe I'm living under a rock, but I do feel like I've had far more exposure to the work of celebrities like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, while Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers seem to be more representations of tween interest in pop culture.  So I watched a Jonas Brothers' video.  The first one to come up was for the song "Burnin Up".  It's been watched over 87 million times, so maybe I am living under a rock.

The video is actually quite comical.  The scenes go back and forth between the brothers singing poolside, to each brother imitating what I like to call "smooth heroes" from movies and TV from the 60's and 70's.  In the video the guys seem to have it all: they don't take themselves too seriously, play in a band and get lots of attention from girls.  They also make Justin Bieber look like the bad boy of tween music.  The interesting part is that their parodies of suave male characters from the 60's and 70's is supposed to be funny (and to a certain degree, it is), but there is also this underlying theme of having male characters who do everything right, nothing can possibly go wrong for them.  If something does go wrong, it's quickly remedied and the boys are back on the top of the world.  So, on the surface it's fun and light, but when these themes get replayed to a tween girl audience over and over again it does become worrisome.

Book Review: American Girl Dolls and Series

Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp.  American Girl Publishing.  1986.

American Girl is a brand that markets product to younger tween girls.  Once upon a time before this franchise took off, the American Girl Dolls were owned by the Pleasant Company and there were only books to go with the dolls.  These books helped create each doll's character, placing her in a distinct time in American history.  It was an interesting concept.  The dolls were somewhere between baby dolls and Barbies and were perfect for a young tween girl who wasn't quite through with all dolls yet.

An example of one of the American Girl Dolls who is a character in her own series is Molly.  She is a third grader living in Illinois during World War II.  Her father is a doctor who is in Europe serving in the military. Molly's mom is left to care for Molly, her sister Jill, and her brothers Ricky and Brad.  Molly's best friends Susan and Linda help keep things interesting as Molly tries to find the bright side in the hard times she and her family face.

Much like The Magic School Bus the narrative gives life to a history lesson a tween may otherwise uninteresting or not pertaining to anyone who is like them.

The American Girl Series is a great read for older 2nd graders to 5th grade.
ATOS Book Level: 4.2
AR Points: 1.0

How Would You Feel

Cyber bullying was in the news again a few months back.  In the light of extremely tragic events, it was encouraging to see messages from celebrities like Ellen De Generes and Chris Colfer to tweens and teens telling them that life does get better once you get older and have more choices about how to control your environment.

I saw these Ad Council PSAs on a blog I enjoy to read, and thought the message of dealing with the use of the word gay as a put down was a good one to consider.  Sometimes I think it's good to have a planned response to certain situations in the library that are unfortunately bound to come up.  This includes cursing, rowdiness and the putting down of those different from you.  With a planned response, I feel that I can put a fast stop to the situation at hand, giving me time to access the people involved and the reasons for way the situation is taking place.  In my personal experience, it's always effective to bring up what a tween's mother might think about the situation, no one likes embarrassing their mom.

Review: The Babysitter's Club Series

The Babysitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.  Scholastic.  1986-2000.

At our library, The Babysitters Club holds somewhat of a cult status.  The series is checked out by well read tween girls.  This is once again, a series that I feel has gone a little out of fashion because the last book in the series was published almost ten years ago, and the fact the realistic fiction is not as popular as the paranormal or fantasy genres.  Also, it seems that most contemporary realistic fiction needs a hint of quirky in the story line in order to be successful.  The BSC is from Stonybrook, Connecticut, and these girls just to not do hints of quirky.

However, with tween girls being the huge market that they are, and the fact that there really isn't a series about middle school girls with quite the breadth of the BSC, the first two books from the series (Kristy's Great Idea and Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls) were reissued in the middle of this past year.

The club is made up of Kristy, Mary Anne, Dawn, Claudia, Stacey, Mallory, Jessie and later on Abbey.  Mary Anne's boyfriend Logan and Kristy's good friend Shannon are also a part of the club as associate members.  The fun thing about the BSC is that they are always creating ways to hang out together for reasons to befit the club.  It doesn't hurt that Mary Anne and Dawn become step sisters over the series, and that many times the members of the club get to go on vacation together.    

Recommended for tween girls in 4th to 7th grade.
ATOS Book Level: 3.6  
AR Points: 4.0
 

Review: The Gardener

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, illus. by David Small.  Farrar, Straus, Giroux.  1997.

Lydia Grace has been sent to Chicago to live with her cranky Uncle Jim.  It is the time of the Great Depression, and Lydia Grace's family does not have the resources to feed an extra mouth on the farm.  Lydia Grace is unsure if she will be able to do her favorite thing in the world while in the city: garden.  Through the letters she writes home we learn about Lydia Grace's time in the city.  She finds places to plant seeds, learns to bake and makes friends with everyone she meets.  She even gets Uncle Jim to come around by the end of the story when she has a special surprise for him on the roof of their apartment.    

I unfortunately always choke up a bit when I read this story for a read aloud.  However, it's interesting to see how young tweens respond to the concept of the Great Depression.  They are much more familiar with the idea of grown-ups being out of work than they might have been a few years ago, making the story of The Gardener that much more relevant to them.

Recommended for younger tweens.  A great book to read if a gardening project is getting started or in the works at school.

ATOS Book Level: 3.9

AR Points: 0.5

Review: Miss Rumphius

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.  Viking.  1982.

Something that is hopeful yet frustrating for tweens is that they have come into a time when they begin to question the world.  They question the actions of the authority figures around them (their family, their teachers) and wonder if their is any meaning to their place in the world.

The comforting yet challenging part of the story Miss Rumphius is that there is an answer to that overwhelming question.  Alice, the main character (who is Miss Rumphius as a young girl), has a few dreams up her sleeve.  She wants to travel the world, and when she grows old she wants to live by the ocean, but there is one other thing she must do.  "You must do something to make the world more beautiful," her grandfather instructs the young Alice.

Alice grows up to become a librarian (gotta love that part), until she earns enough money to travel the world.  After traveling far and wide she settles down in a house by the sea.  That is when she begins her final task of how to make the world a beautiful place.  The title of the story is an indication of what she comes up with for her plan.

I think this is a great story to read aloud to 3rd and 4th graders, to introduce them to Barbara Cooney's beautiful illustrations, and give them something to ponder about the lives they are creating for themselves.
ATOS Book Level: 3.8
AR Points: 0.5

Review: The Best Part of Me

The Best Part of Me: Children Talk about their Bodies in Pictures and Words compiled by Wendy Ewald.  Little Brown.  2002.

Wendy Ewald got started with the idea of teaching photography techniques to school children while she was still a photography student herself.  The photographs in The Best Part of Me are from Ewald's collaboration with the teachers and students of the public schools in Durham, North Carolina.  Ewald asked the students to choose their favorite body part.  Together, she and the student would create a composition for this body part in order to make a portrait.  The student would then write an accompanying explanation for the portrait to explain what they liked about their mouth, hands, feet, elbow, or whatever part they had chosen.  It's wonderful to read and see how these students take ownership of their bodies, and through doing this take ownership of their beings.  They root themselves by connecting their characteristics to family members, or past experiences or positive words.

What's very cool is that other classes have been inspired by this book.  Teachers can also attend a Literacy Through Photography workshop that is offered through Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies, where Ewald is a professor.

Now that We're on the Subject

Another resolution I want to make, this being December and all, for my blog and for my professional reading habits is to begin reading through all of the Newbery Award Winners.  I feel like this will provide me a good sense of structure and a solid foundation when it comes to being confident in approaching our JF and YA collections.  The nice part is that I now have a space to track the titles I will be reading.  A space where I can also offer feedback and develop hook lines for when I give book talks on these titles.  I have read some of the winners already (A Year Down Yonder, Hatchet and The Giver) as well as Newbery Nominees like The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.

Sometimes it feels like there isn't much structure to being a children's librarian.  We have a different set of programs that tend to be belittled by other members of the library staff and are in a completely different wing of the library anyway.  It is important to read the children's classics, but it doesn't seem to hold the relevancy with the patron population (the kids) as it would if it was about having knowledge of the adult fiction collection.  The Newbery winners have prestige, like the classics, by being recognized for their potential of being eventual classics and have content that is more relevant to tweens today.  I think reading more Newbery winners will give me the same feeling of validation that I get when I simply walk to a certain shelf of nonfiction books without looking up the subject's number.  It's a more efficient use of time, and sets up a more opportune moment to match the patron up with the perfect book.

Brown Paper Bags

You can't judge a book by its cover, but many of us do.

As this blog winds down to a close for my Tween Literature class, I want to make some plans for the future to give me reason to continue blogging here.  This place has become a nice archive for me to stash things (reflections, book reviews, websites) I find handy in terms of my work at the library.  I want to try and read more obscure books that maybe do not get the same amount of light as certain best sellers.  Yes, I loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid and know that I need to keep reading popular novels to stay current with what my patrons are reading, but what about when they have read all that they can read from the popular series and want more?  This is where the Ugly Book Contest comes into play.   

In her book Naked Reading Teri S. Lesesne brings up this idea she got from a fellow teacher and librarian in Texas.  The librarian looks for books that have truly awful covers (we've all seen the ones), and puts these books on display for students to choose, read and redecorate in order to make the books' outsides as fabulous as their insides.

At the public library, we don't have quite the captive audience to redecorate all the bad book covers, but when I'm giving book talks to patrons I do have enough of their attention to make a case for a book with a bad cover.  If I can find a good hook for a book with a strong plot there may be a chance that a patron just may take it home to give it a try.  I have noticed with book talks in general that patrons tend to be first captivated by the cover but always make their final choice based on the most interesting sounding plot line.  So, in the end, what's on the inside does count.

Review: Little Women

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  Roberts Brothers.  1868, 1869.

As we have officially come into Christmas season, I think Little Women is an appropriate title to bring up.  The way the March family gets ready for Christmas, or what they think at first will be their lack of a Christmas without any presents is a great excuse to cuddle up with a blanket on a wintry night.

Something that I think is so appealing about the March sisters in Little Women is the fact that each sister has a distinct personality that is appropriate to her family order.  Meg the beauty, Jo the tomboy, Beth the shy one, and Amy the snobby baby.  Their different personalities allow four different stories to be told throughout the novel.  The reader gets to be empathic to each character during the telling of her story, and thus get four different experiences from the March family.

I've noticed that the classics like Louisa May Alcott's works and other classic books like The Secret Garden are not as popular among tweens at the library and tweens I'm related to as I feel these titles were when I was a tween, and even a few years back.  I'm not sure if I'm being old fashioned and imagining things, but I also feel like there wasn't the explosion that is the current state of YA literature available to tweens.  Also, I wonder if it has anything to do with the current concentration in fantasy and paranormal that makes realistic fiction not as popular as it was a few years ago.

Recommended for younger tweens who really like to read (3rd to 4th grade) up to older tweens who just haven't picked it up yet.
ATOS Book Level: 7.9
AP Points: 33.0

Review: Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country

Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country edited by Jory John.  McSweeney's.  2009.

It will make you laugh.  It will make you cry.  It will make you realize how far we've come, and how far we need to go.  It is also a book where tweens write the content, and adults are the main audience, when usually on this blog it's the other way around.


Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country is a compilation of drawings and letters written by kids and tweens who are a part of the 826 tutoring programs located around the country in urban areas.  Here's what many of the kids have on their minds: getting out of Iraq, that war is a bad idea in general, the economy, the environment and picking out the Obamas' puppy.  Many of the writers also let Obama know that he is their friend, and that even though they are offering him advice, that they back him up.  I wonder if this has to do with the fact that for these inner city kids, many of them the children of immigrants and from mixed backgrounds, the current president reminds them a little more of themselves than presidents past.

Here is one of my favorite letters from nine year old Brooklynite Alexis Feliciano, got to love a kid who gives a real life example:

"One thing you could fix is the economy.  Something happened to me: I went out to lunch at Starbucks and I wanted to buy a cup of whipped cream and normally it's forty-three cents, but now it's seventy-five cents!  The price raised thirty-one cents for no reason.  You should try to change things like that from happening."

Review: Hatchet

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  Aladdin.  1996.

It was popular when I was a kid, especially because the story was popular with girls and boys, so I'm not sure why I was so surprised that it was popular with the older tweens who come into the library.  Maybe because they acted like it was a new book, a book that belonged to their time, rather than a book written years ago but was still good today.  That's always a good sign.

Paulsen writes the story of Brian, a tween who is stranded in the middle of the wilderness and must adapt to survive.  The only tool he has is a hatchet.  Not only does he have to brave the wilds of Canada, he also has lots of time to think about his parents' recent divorce and the guilt he feels.  This plot line serves as a great draw in for tweens.  It's highly doubtful that many of them will ever be lost in the woods (hopefully), but Brian's internal conflict is realistic thus helping transport the reader to Brian's physical state in the forest.

To this day, the plane crash at the beginning scares the heck out of me, but (most of) the kids seem to love it.

Great for tweens 5th grade through 8th grade.
ATOS Book Level: 5.7
AR Points: 7.0

Review: The Magic School Bus

The Magic School Bus  by Joanna Cole.  Scholastic.  Series started in 1987.

Today we have another addition of, Good Picture Books for Tweens.  In many ways, The Magic School Bus series presents a good set of books for younger tweens, period.  When I was student teaching, nothing got my third graders more excited than to sit down in the afternoon and hear a Magic School Bus read aloud.  There's a little something for everyone.  There's the science lesson, the tid-bits of information adding depth to the science lesson, the narrative involving Ms. Frizzle and her students (Who doesn't love Arnold and his "I hate life" attitude?) and the intricate, vibrant illustrations.

The book's layout is great for reluctant readers.  The story is pack full with science information, so a tween who enjoys science, but isn't so crazy about reading can read the story about something they like, without feeling like the need to read is being shoved down their throat.

Also the fact that the books inspired a well made PBS cartoon is another great offshoot for science lesson planning.



AR points for The Magic School Box Inside the Earth
Book Level: 3.6
AR Points: 0.5

Anthropology, not Anthropologie

In my ideal world, certain disciplines would be taught in middle school.  Yes, I realize there is a budget crisis, however, I feel like there is a whole host of academic disciplines that many students do not realize even exist until they reach college.  It seems a little strange that many people have to wait until they're eighteen to become familiar with a subject they plan to specialize in for the next few years of their life.

The other reason I argue for anthropology is that you cannot study the subject without positioning yourself in the anthropological context of the world.  Anthropology is the study of people, you are a person, if you do not fit somewhere in the discipline's framework the discipline is failing you.  This is a harder case to make for subjects such as math (how many times have we heard students ask, "When am I ever going to use this in real life?"), or history (a discipline that is being revamped, but at the middle school level in the United States is still full of dusty dead, white, straight men).

Also, with branches in cultural anthropology, biological anthropology and archaeology there are options for students to tailor the discipline to their own interests.

Yes, it's a dream, but I figure that's the way most things start.

Review: Heaven to Betsy

Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace.  Harper Collins.  1945.

The Betsy-Tacy series actually follows the character Betsy Ray and her best friends Tacy Kelly and Tib Muller from kindergarten to after college.  However, Heaven to Betsy is the first book in which the characters enter high school.  There are many things appealing about the series, and this book in particular.  The books are actually so popular that a society has been created in the series's honor.  

One thing that is so appealing is the heirloom quality of the book.  Like the Nancy Drew series many adults have read the Betsy-Tacy series giving them something to relate with to tweens who have also read the series.  Also, more than anything Betsy wants to be a writer.  She loves to read.  When they first meet she jumps into a cozy rapport with the character Joe Willard (who at the end of the series will become her husband) over The Three Musketeers.  However, she is never labeled a nerd.  She just happens to like English class.  Yes, the content is pre-second wave feminism, but there is something nice about a female main character who is not always striving to be perfect at everything, perfect grades, perfect social life, perfect morals-something that I think is more of a pressure for tween girls than tweens boys.  Finally, because the books take place at the turn of the century the characters seem to be treated more like adults at the young age of fourteen.  Something tweens can identify with.  Their romantic relationships are taken more seriously and they are given more independence to a certain degree, because in many ways life is simpler and in others ways they have to be mature sooner.

A telling thing about the story line of this book is that the more things change, the more things stay the same.  When you're an older tween it's still your family, your group of friends, the happenings at school and maybe most of all your best friends that shape who you are and ready you for your life after high school.

BL Book Level: 5.8

AR Points: 10.0

Good for tween girls from 7th to 9th grade.  The earlier books in the series are appropriate for younger kids.

Review: Anastasia Krupnik

Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry.  Yearling, 1984.

Before Number the Stars, there was Anastasia.  Anastasia may seem like a normal tween who has nothing on the plot lines in The Giver and Number the Stars, but in many ways her wry personality can mean the world to someone who finds similarities between themselves and Anastasia.  The plot line is pretty basic, I think what makes Anastasia stand out are the details of Anastasia's personality and her observations about the people around her.

-She can't start her great American novel until she has the perfect title.
-She thinks that Nancy Drew is lame because the most famous girl detective won't let her boyfriend Fred, put the moves on her.
-She gives her poet dad a hard time for keeping his poetry in the refrigerator (in case the house burns down).  She finds this incredibly embarrassing.
-She has a wart on her thumb that by he end of the book has become a character in itself.

Basically, by the time you've read through everything Beverly Cleary has written, it is time to turn to Anastasia.  Also, I think reading the series adds depth to Lowry's later works.

Appropriate for precocious 4th graders.  Good for 5th to 8th graders.
AR: Book Level: 4.5 Points: 3.0

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus seems to be this representation of the American tween in pop culture, even though she is not a tween, and she is not as popular as other celebrities with the tweens who come into the library.  My cousins went through a Miley phase that I feel just happened yesterday, but they believe it happened eons ago.  I have never witnessed any content put out by Cyrus, only second party opinion about her work, so I figured it was time to form my own opinion.  I've heard the song "Party in the USA" referenced places, but had never actually heard the song or seen the video.

The more tween focussed footage I watch, the more I realize it's about image over content.  The more I see this in tween culture, the more I realize this is evident in all sub cultures.  Visual media is very much about marketing to the selected audience.

Also, I'm confused about why certain actions outside this video a deemed inappropriate while this video is a huge part of her image.  It has been said that she has tarnished her reputation through certain action that were considered inappropriate (read: too sexy), but when the same sexiness is exuded in a three minute video it is seem as her performing.  It's more about when her actions take place (out in the open where she seems to be acting independently vs. under the watchful eye of a big record company) and the seemingly lack of control or the tight control that is put over her.  Scary.

Review: Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers.  Harper Collins. 1934.

I picked up this book in my school library when I was in the fourth grade.  The book looked pretty old, which got me excited-my favorite Disney movie had been based on a book?  Really this was too good to be true.

For the most part, the characters were the same (in the books the Bank's have more children, but Jane and Michael are older and go on most of the adventures) and the adventure scenes in the movie were reminiscent of adventures the characters take in the book, that was really where the similarities end.  P.L. Travers's Mary Poppins makes Disney's "firm" version look like a spoon full of sugar the entire movie through.  On the surface, the book Mary Poppins seems to never be enjoying herself.  She is always cross.  She is also always right and doesn't tolerate anyone who thinks otherwise.

However, this is the appeal of the book.  There is something reassuring in Mary's demeanor.  She knows herself, she shows up to the Bank's house because she is sure they need her help.  Also, in the book it is implied that Bert is more than her friend, but it seems that Mary makes the calls in that relationship, too.

During one of the adventures they go on an around the world trip which involves a description of stereotypes of people not of Western European decent.  In the early 80's Travers rewrote the chapter so that these characters were animals instead of people.  Reading an older version of the book in fourth grade, the racism in the book irked me, but at 10 I didn't have the language to explain how these portrayals of people made me feel.  I think there was a feeling that if the P.L. Travers was capable of writing a book I otherwise really enjoyed, I have no place in calling her out, which I now see as completely not true.  However, I think this shows the influence children book authors have over their audience and how the content of what is written needs to be taken into account.

The Boy Who Lived

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  Directed by David Yates.  2010.

My brother and I went to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on Thanksgiving night.  It's funny to think that we began reading the books as tweens, and are now we are going to see the movies as adults.

I've always felt that the movies would be hard to follow if a viewer had not read the books.  However, there are no books for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the amount of story depth is about equal, however reading the Harry Potter books and then viewing the movies creates a type of experience (you could round it out by going to the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter).

There is more of a nature theme in this movie in contrast to the other films that took place at the Gothic Hogwarts.  It's a bleak type of nature symbolizing Harry, Ron and Hermione fighting against the elements of evil, that could resemble a dreary world.  In the film it was interesting to see the representation of Ron's psychological battle with the horcrux.  I wondered if this new dimension to his personality (in contrast to Harry and Hermione who are not as affected) was inspired by Rowling's work at Amnesty International as a young person, hearing the stories of how political refugees dealt with the horrors they had endured, something she discusses in her Commencement speech at Harvard.



The film is rated PG-13, however I feel that the film would be fine for sixth graders who have read the book and are familiar with the storyline.

Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinny.  Amulet Books.  2008.

Greg is back.  He filled up his last journal, so his mom bought him a new one.  As the title indicates, this book focuses more on the relationship between Greg and his brother Rodrick, or to put it bluntly, the reasons why Rodrick makes Greg's life miserable.

While the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid was more laugh out loud funny Rodrick Rules is funny in a more cringe worthy sort of way.  The way Rodrick and Greg treat one another is heartless, but realistic.  It's the way you treat someone you know is stuck with you for life no matter what.  The Invisible Chirag joke is especially painful to read about, it's so painful laughing is required.  The worst part is that that plot line in the book truly reminded me of middle school, especially the way the principal handles the entire situation toward the end of the story.

There are some laugh out loud moments in this installment of the series, too, like the exchange with the French pen pal, the glass eye and Greg getting locked in the basement during the one house party the Heffleys' will ever probably throw (the lack of girls at a sophomore boy's house party was an awesome touch).  Oh, and don't forget Dungeons and Dragons.  Mrs. Heffley takes it to a whole new level, and she's just getting started on ways to ruin her sons' lives.

Greg may not be the world's best role model, but who wants to read about a good role model anyway, didn't we all start reading voraciously as tweens to learn about characters who were the exact opposite?  Or maybe that was just me.

Appropriate for 4th to 7th graders.
ATOS Book Level: 5.2
AR Points: 3.0

My Savior

. . .is NoveList K-8.  The original NoveList also has a section for tween and teen literature.  It's a great place to go to search for books when a patron asks for books based on a general theme, or when they like a certain book and want other books from a similar genre.  This is also a great place to go for "If You Like This Title Try These Books . . ." lists.  It's also helpful for staying current on the most recent titles and trends shaking up the YA literature world.  One of my favorite parts in the Awards category, where different book awards are listed from every state.  This is a fun way to find books that have received recognition, but may be a little more under the radar than books receiving national book awards.  If you don't want to be bombarded with the price listings and commercialism of the big box book store websites, NoveList is the place to receive the same information, plus much more.

Many public library websites offer NoveList K-8 and NoveList for anyone with a library card number for that particular library system.

Lions and Dinosaurs and Sharks, Oi Vey!

Encyclopedia Prehistorica series (Dinosaurs; Mega-Beasts; Sharks and Other Sea Monsters) by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart.  Candlewick.  2006.

Pop-up books are a major reason why printed text is still relevant.  I mean, my blog can do many things, play music, link to other websites, show film footage, let anyone with a computer and internet connection know my thoughts about tween literature, but it cannot do what the image above demonstrates, not yet at least.  Really, is there anything better than the sound of cardboard scratching together to create a paper sculpture when you open the page of a pop-up book?  A lot of tweens who come into the Children's Room absolutely love it.  It's the one time I hear older tween squeal with delight, that and when they get to watch a Justin Bieber video after a long day at school.

The first time a couple of sixth graders asked me about our pop-up book collection I was pleasantly surprised and a little confused.  Weren't pop-up books for little kids?  After handing over one of the Enclopedia Prehistoria books and watching these tweens go off to a corner to entertain themselves with 3D illustrations of seemingly mythical creatures that happen to actually be real (much better than the second grader who wanted books on dragons the other day; when I showed him the dragon section explained that he wanted photographs of dragons, and was not satisfied with the dinosaur section or my status as a nonbeliever) I realized that my concept of pop-up books being for small children was messed up.  Little kids rip up pop-up books.  Tweens appreciate the tangible object of something that took time and energy and is tucked away under a book cover like a secret.

I love the discreet covers for the books in this series, like field journals from the Victorian era.  It's a way for a tween to tote around their own personal natural history museum.

Appropriate for tweens of all ages.
Not listed on the AR website.  

Cuddle Up; Review: The Cupid Chronicles

The Cupid Chronicles (The Wedding Planner's Daughter #2) by Coleen Murtagh Paratore.  Aladdin.
2008.

The Cupid Chronicles the second book in The Wedding Planner's Daughter series feels like the tween cozy mystery, minus the mystery.  I want to visit Cape Cod and hang out with these people with a few weeks, and in some ways, isn't a book that accomplishes that desire even better?  I don't have to pack or spend the money, I just open the book and am transported to Bramble.

Thirteen year old Willa, the series's main character, does have her share of problems-her crush on Joey, trying to save the town library (I loved that part!), and getting along with her new dad, but she's a problem solver and is good at asking for advice in order to formulate successful plans.  In this book, the story revolves around trying to save the library and the Midwinter's Night Ball that takes place in a barn, yes a barn, rather than your typical stinky gym.  The sense of community fostered throughout the story sends a message about the importance of altruism without being preachy.  The Shakespeare quotes at the start of each chapter are fun.  Also, this is the only book from the series I have read.  It's the second book, but I didn't feel lost in terms of plot line and characters.  I look forward to reading the other books from the series.

Appropriate for middle school girls.
ATOS book level: 3.8
AR Book Points: 5.0