Notable Children's Books

Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington
Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County is a great story of will and determination as our young character tries over and over again to chase and catch her favorite chicken in the farm yard. The young girl has one goal in her life and that is to catch chickens. Her daily routine is always the same, eat breakfast, visit with Big Mama and then set out to catch the chickens even though she has been told not to by Big Mama. There is one chicken in particular that she is fascinated by. She has shiny feathers, and long feet. She spends her time looking for ways to try and trick her so she can be captured but is never successful. She also looks all over the farm trying to find out where she hides and spends her days. One day she finds her sitting on a nest of chicks and eggs in some tall grass. She is just inches away from her and knows that the chicken can be captured, but does not. She tells the mama chicken she is safe, she has a job to do and from that day on she spends her time feeding and caring for all the chickens. She works on protecting them from snakes and weasels. I enjoyed this story it brought back memories of being on the farm with my grandparents and picking eggs and finding her places a hen has gone to lay her eggs.




All I’ll Ever Want Christmas Doll by Patricia C. McKissack
This story takes during the depression on Christmas. Three sisters, Eddy Bernice, Laura Nell and Odessa Mae, were all wondering if Santy Claus would come to see them this year. Laura had wanted a Baby Betty dolls he saw in the newspaper but her sisters told her that would never happen so Laura decided to keep dreaming and wrote a letter to Santy Claus. On Christmas morning they receive a doll to share between the three sisters which of course caused a lot of problems. Neither of them wanted to share so father stepped in and told them to work it out among them selves. Laura told her sisters she was the one who wanted it the most, wrote the letter and never gave up dreaming so she deserved the doll and her sisters agreed. The whole day Laura spent playing with the doll that never really played back; she did not drink tea, laugh or clap at her stories or even sign with her. Laura got mad and decided to leave the doll all alone. Mama told her to invite her sisters inside to share in her tea party, she did and the three or should say the four of them made up and shared the doll. They spent the day singing and playing and all decided that that was the best Christmas ever.




A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Every character in the story has something that going wrong in their life on this particular day. Bird looses a feather, dog tangles her leash, fox looses mother, squirrel drops her nut in the water but all of a sudden everything turns around for them. Bird will fly higher than ever before, dog frees herself, squirrel finds a bigger nut and mama fox is right behind baby fox so everyone is happy again. When all of a sudden the lost yellow feather falls from the sky and a little girl finds it, puts it in her hair and says “what a good day!” The simplicity of the reading with its predictable text makes it a great book for our early readers. I love the illustrations in the book! They are bright and eye catching with colors that are appropriate for the setting.





Hello, Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lunde
What a great book for Science. This fiction book on bats is written in such a way that the reader thinks they are reading a story but in fact are getting factual information on bumblebee bats. Bumblebee bat is asked a series of questions such as how small are you, what you look like and eat how do you hear and fly. Bumblebee answers these questions giving some scientific background without the exact vocabulary word. The background illustrations are in a dark blue to stand for the night. I love the inside flat of the book jacket because it teases the reader by giving them some factual information on the bumblebee bat and then ask if they want it know more and if so, open the book and read. It also shows a picture of the bat’s actual size.




Little Rat Makes Music by Monika Bang-Campbell
Little Rat Makes Music is one of the chapter books in a series dedicated to the adventures of Little Rat. Little Rat’s parents loved music. Father had played many different instruments and at one time had been in a band while mother would sing all the time. They would go to concerts in the Community Hall and even in the city. Little Rat fell in love with the sounds of the violin. One afternoon Little Rat began her music lessons with the violin. She hated them! Finally, the day came for them to play their first note. It was not at all like Little Rat had heard or even imagined it would sound like when she played the first time. Practicing at home was something she totally disliked and would even through tantrums when she made a mistake. One day, Mrs.Wingbutton, her teacher, introduced her to a former student, Kitty, began to tutor her. This did not influence the practice time at home but things were getting better. One day Mrs. Wingbutton suggested that Little Rat and Kitty play at the Christmas show; Little Rat agreed and knew she would have to practice. Practice is what she did. When the night of the Christmas concert was magical and Little Rat for the first time truly heard music when she played and she even played with feeling. From that night one she would play the violin because she wanted to

2x2 Book List for 2008

Mr. Putter and Tabby See the Stars by Cynthia Rylant
Mr. Putter and Tabby See the Stars is a chapter book that will excite any struggling reader because when the finish reading it they are gratified that they have indeed completed reading a chapter book. Mr. Putter lives with his cat, Tabby and their favorite hobby is sleeping. They can sleep anywhere and everywhere and for a long while. One evening Mr. Putter and Tabby were invited over to Mrs. Teaberry’s house for dinner. Mrs. Teaberry lived next door to Mr. Putter with her dog Zeke. Later that night, Mr. Putter was unable to sleep because his stomach was upset after he ate several jelly rolls so he took Tabby and they went for a walk. On their walk Mr. Putter told Tabby all about the stars and big dipper and how he always wanted to ride in a rocket. On their way home from their walk they noticed Mrs. Teaberry outside in the yard with Zeke. They all sat down and visited until both Zeke and Mr. Putter’s stomachs felt better an went inside for a good night’s sleep. The next day, Zeke arrives with a note inviting Mr. Putter over again.






The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend
What is the perfect nest, for whom is it being built and why is it being build? That is the question being asked the reader is asking when they begin reading the first few pages of the book. Jack the cat is busy trying to build the “perfect” nest. He takes hay from the cow, a pillow from the porch swing, the hat from the dog and some scrap of wood. Jack wanted his nest to be dry, cozy and the right size. But the nest is not for him. He wants to lore in the perfect chicken so she could lay the perfect egg so he can fulfill his desire for the perfect omelet. Jack does not get one egg he ends up with three. Chicken, Duck and Goose all decide to lay their eggs in the nest and fight over whose nest it actually is. All three decide to sit in the nest on the eggs which now creates a new problem for Jack. He wants his eggs! He tries to scare all three out of the nest but they will not go. Finally he tells then that the neighboring farm has a bigger, better nest and they all head for the farm leaving their eggs behind. Jack is thrilled! Three meals with 3 different eggs but all the sudden the eggs start to hatch one a time and all three babies now consider Jack to be their mother. He tries to hide but they track him down. Finally he realized that need to be cared fore and he is the one that has to do it so all four fall asleep in the “perfect nest” and Jack realized that this is even better than having the “perfect omelet.”



Bean Thirteen by Matthew McElligott
Bean Thirteen is a precious book about superstition but can also be used to teach the concept of division. Ralph and Flora are beetles who are out picking beans for dinner when Flora decides to pick one more bean even though Ralph is protesting because that would mean they would have a total of 13 beans. Ralph is afraid that if the pick 13 beans because 13 is an unlucky number. Flora told him he was silly. At home they divide the piles in two and when the extra bean is left over, Flora tries to get Ralph to eat it and of course he refuses. They decide to invite a friend over and when they re divide the piles still there is the left over. Ralph is in total panic no matter how many friends they invite over the piles will not divide out equally. When the guests arrive each person takes the beans they wish to eat, each one took a different number, leaving the bowl empty. When everyone left, Ralph wondered who ate the 13th bean, Flora said if could have been anyone, even possibly Ralph which again makes him start to panic.





Imagine Harry by Kate and M. Sarah Klise
Friendship and what it truly means is the underlying theme of Imagine Harry. It is a story of the trust and caring that can be shared between two people. Little Rabbit and his best friend Harry do everything together from playing in the snow to rolling down the hills in the spring. Harry happens to be an imaginary friend that never leaves Little Rabbit’s side. When ever Little Rabbit does not want to do something such as taking a bath or eating brussels sprouts he blames it on Harry. Finally the time comes for Little Rabbit to go to school and when he asks if Harry can go his mother said all right but Harry would not have his own desk and have to be very quiet. Eventually Harry becomes a little less significant in Little Rabbit’s daily routine until one day Mother Rabbit asked about him and Little Rabbit said he moved out, got his own place without a phone and since he never learned to read and write they would not be hearing form him anymore. Little Rabbit never truly forgot about Harry especially when he was doing something with his new real friends that he and Harry had enjoyed.



Badger’s Fancy Meal by Keiko Kasza
Badger has plenty food but he is not satisfied. He dreams of a fancier meal so he ventures out of his den to look for something better. He finds three different meals, a mole taco, rat cheeseburger, rabbit banana split with hot fudge, however when he tried to capture them the escape and end up hiding in his den. Badger is feeling defeated and especially hungry when he angers a horse who kicks him through the air all the way back in to his hole. Upon returning to his hole he is pleased that he is home and has given up on the idea of a fancy meal and is going to settle for what he already ahs, but ALL of his food is gone and a note is left apologizing for dropping in and thanking him for the fancy food which they ate. This story is very entertaining and it can teach kids a lesson on not to wish for more than you currently have because that to could vanish.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner

There Is a Bird on Your Head! By Mo Willems
There Is a Bird on Your Head is a cute book for the emergent reader. The repetition will build reading fluency and the story’s plot is easily understood. The two main characters are two friends, and elephant and a pig. One day a bird decides to land on elephant’s head, and then another. Piggy explains that the two birds are love birds and now they are building a nest on your head. Elephant does not want this to happen but then 3 eggs end up in the nest and elephant becomes more agitated. As elephant declares he does not want 2 birds, a nest and eggs on his head, the eggs hatch. Elephant does not know what do to but he does know he does not want them on his head. So he asks piggy for help. Piggy suggests that he ask them to go someplace else, and they do. Elephant is excited, but piggy is not because he now has a family of birds and their nest living on his head.

The Schneider Family Book Award

Kami and the Yaks by: Andrea Stenn Stryer
Kami and the Yaks is a story based partially on factual information about a group of people called the Sherpas. This book was one that offers hope and inner strength and proves that one can overcome a disability. Kami is a young Sherpa boy who is deaf. He lives in Himalaya with his father and brother, Norgay. The family earns a living by taking hikers into the mountains on guided tours. One morning as they wake to load the yaks for a trip, they discover that the yaks are missing. Father and Norgay go out looking but Kami knows that the yaks like to go to the meadow and decides to go out on his own to find the yaks and bring the back home. Kami takes out a silver whistle which he received as a gift and starts to whistle, except Curly Horn does not come. Kami begins to hunt for the yaks despite the fact that a storm is brewing. Kami finds the yaks and realized that the littlest yak, White Spot, has her leg caught between two rocks. Kami runs home through the storm, fighting off the hail to his father. After he acts out what the situation is they all run back to rescue the yaks. When they are rescued, Kami, lead everyone home. Kami felt proud and extremely excited that he finally proved to his father he can be successful and helpful and he knew at the moment that his father was proud of him.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis
I enjoyed how the author took this important part of history and turned it into a graphic novel! History can be a subject that children think is boring, but when they see it presented in a friendlier version, like a cartoon, they will be more likely to read and retain the information. Not to mention since this is a factual account of one’s personal experience, students will be motivated to continue and possibly step out on their own and do a little research about one of the historical events mentioned. The author uses journal entries to illustrate how the government controlled his personal life and that of the others in the country from communist control to when censorship was lifted.

Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Winner

The Cat-Or How I Lost Eternity by Jutta Richter
Different. Interesting. Christine is a third grade girl who befriends an old white cat that wonders along the path which leads to Liza’s school. Christine blames her tardiness to school on the cat because it requires her to stop, pet, and visit every morning. When she is given a punishment by the principal to write 200 sentences the cat encourages her to change the wording so that she would not end up believing the cats don’t talk. The white cat has a way of persuading Liza into thinking and second guessing what the adults in her life are saying. Liza feels sorry for the neighbor’s German shepherd because he is caged all day and wants to befriend, she also wonders about her neighbor and if he is lonely and even the mice that the cat eats, but the white cat tells her they all deserve what they get. Finally one day Christine realizes that is more important to do and feel the right and stops listening to the cat and from that day on the cat did not meet her on the path to school. I stayed a little confused with the book. I think it is a little to high level for some readers. I think that the cat may have been used to symbolize Christine’s conscience or the devil trying to lead her to the dark side and in the end goodness won over

2008 Caldecott Medal Winner

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Watch out Chris Van Allsburg! The Mysteries of Harris Burdick came rushing into my mind as I read and saw the illustrations. This book gives you mystery, suspense, wonder and excitement all rolled up into one. The black and white illustrations bring mystery and suspense to the story through the amount of detail in each one and the use of light and dark shading. The main character is Hugo Cabret a 10 year old boy who is left to live with an uncle, after his father dies in a fire at the local museum. Before his father’s death, Hugo and his father found automaton in the attic of and were planning on restoring it one day. Hugo’s father was a clock maker and as he worked on the automaton kept notebooks of its design. Hugo and his uncle now lived in an apartment of the train station where he became an apprentice and learned to manage the clocks. One day his uncle did not return and Hugo was left to fend for himself. Fearing he would be found out and sent to an orphanage he hid in the apartment, maintaining the clocks, collecting his uncle’s paycheck, and stealing what he needed to survive. Hugo watches the happenings of the train station from behind the walls and one of the clocks. The only thing Hugo has left of to remember his father is the automaton and a notebook full of his drawings. One afternoon Hugo was caught trying to steal from the toy store when the shop keeper caught him and discovered the notebook of illustrations. The store keeper was intrigued, upset and nervous at the sign of the notebook and threatened to burn it. That night Hugo followed him home and made contact with a young girl who lived in the same house. She told him she would save his notebook and to go to the toy store tomorrow. Hugo did and was given back a pile of burnt paper. He was devastated only to learn later that the notebook was never burned and it was a trick. Hugo went back to the toy maker and told he knew it was a trick. Hugo ends up working for him to repay his debt. Eventually it is discovered that the automaton belonged to the toy maker and that he was a famous film maker. Eventually Hugo is found out and after a long chase ends up living with the store keeper and his wife.

2008 Pura Belpre Award Winners

The Poet Slave of Cuba-A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle
The Poet Slave of Cuba is the 2008 Pura Belpre award winner for best narrative. The story is like a time line of Juan’s life as a slave. Juan was born to slave parents, Maria and Toribio. Maria cares for her mistress Dona Beatriz while Toribio is a tailor. Dona takes Juan for her own allowing him to live in the palace but because he has the talent for memorizing verses, poems and plays, she uses him to entertain her guests. Juan’s parents are granted freedom and all their unborn children are also granted freedom because Juan was baptized as Dona’s son once she has passed away. Maria refuses to leave slavery because that would mean leaving her son behind with Dona, she to if free but not actually. However, all the promises and deals are broken once Dona dies. Juan is sent to live with his godparents where as he says free but not really free. Juan is mistreated at the hands of La Marquesa and through his many beatings and imprisonments she still finds peace in his verses. Each new page tells you of the pain and sorrow in Juan’s life, yet you must turn to the next part to see if something good, great becomes him. Yes, they do but they do not last long and then the abuse starts over again. This is a must read, and will open the eyes of it young reader’s that slavery not only affected African Americans but other cultures as well.

Los Gatos Black on Halloween written by Marisa Montes and Illustrated by Yui Morales
Los Gatos Black on Halloween is the 2008 Pura Belpre award winner for best illustration. In this picture book a black cat, Los Gatos, goes on a journey seeing all the frights that come out on Halloween, from witches, skeletons, pumpkins, ghosts, vampires and casa for a ball and finally the most scary of all the horrors, real humans. The illustrator uses light and dark colors to create a frightening dark and suspenseful image. The book uses rhyme to move the reader from one page to the next along with suspense. In fact, each scene of the novel does include a picture of the “black cat” as he travels through the night. The use of words written in Spanish also allows the reader to follow along with the story. This book could be used to help model writing a short story using a patten of events that is predictible.

2008 Coretta Scott King Award Books-Author and Illustrator

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Elijah of Buxton is the 2008 Coretta Scott King award winner for best author. Elijah is an 11 year old boy who is famous for being the first African American born free in Buxton, Canada. Elijah is also known for the time when he was an infant and threw up all over Frederick Douglas in front of the whole town. Elijah’s mother tells him he is to fragile because he has a tendency to believe what ever anyone tells him even if he knows that it could not possibly be the truth. Mr. Leroy, a friend of Elijah’s, has worked and saved money to but the freedom of his family and bring them to Buxton. Mr. Leroy gives his money to the “preacher” to bring his family to Buxton, however, the man steals the money. Elijah and Mr. Leroy take off for America to hunt down the preacher, get the money back and buy the family’s freedom. On his trip to America Elijah learns first hand some of the horrors slavery offered and wonder if his parents suffered any of these. He ends up in a barn of slave traders where he sees slaves hanging form chains. He tries to free them but is unable and one of the female slaves gives him her baby girl and asks for her because she wants her to be raised in a free country and get an education. This journey helped Elijah learn about himself and that he is not as fragile as his mother had said. This historical fiction is written in a way that will keep students engaged because it is authentic, using dialect the slaves would have used and it is told from the eyes of a child. Christopher Paul Curtis is an author who is now on my radar and I will be getting my hands on other books written by him.
















Let it Shine-Three Favorite Spirituals by Ashley Bryan
Let it Shine is the 2008 Coretta Scott King award winner for best illustrator. The illustrations of the book eye catching with its bright colors and curved lines. The first spiritual is “This Little Light of Mine” and all the children hat are in the illustrations do not have descript facial features but are of all different colors which will show diversity of cultural. The second spiritual, “Oh, When The Saints Go Marching In” the illustrator used different shading techniques on the pages to shoe the different feelings felt throughout the song, lighter colors were for the happier verse and darker colors in the background for the part that mentions the stars disappeared. And finally, for He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands” the illustrator uses the size of the contrasting size of the animals the hands as they holding the seas, mountains, valleys, flowers and trees as large. The collage type illustrations will draw the readers’ attention to the detail based on the words of the songs. This is one audio book I would love to listen to!

Newberry Medal Winner and Honor Books

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
This novel is a breath of fresh air! Our main character Holling Hoodhood experiences prejudice and school bullying set in 1967 which compared to today are different. The characters are all dealing with discrimination, war and finding out where one’s place is in the world. Do we do right by our ambitions or do we do what has been predetermined by our families. Holling is uneasy with his father’s dreams to take over the family’s architect business when he graduates. The title Wednesday Wars comes from the fact that every Wednesday the children at the Junior High School leave for Jewish or Catholic lessons, except for Holling because he is Presbyterian. Immediately he feels that his teacher Mrs. Baker hates him and will make her life miserable. He is also being target by the school’s bully which he seems to defeat each and every time by some accidental fate. Every Wednesday he must stay in class and Mrs. Baker tries to make his life miserable, however the two become friends and Mrs. Baker teaches Holling important lessons of life through their readings of Shakespeare. Holling witnesses a series of events that influence him on what he should do in life and that life is not all about getting ahead and being the best, no under the counter dealings, or backstabbing, like his father does, but about caring about people and the cares and worries. Being a true friend and person having your own thoughts and finally standing up for what you believe


Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Hope? What is it? Where is it? These are the questions our main character, Frannie, has on a daily basis. Frannie is a sixth grade African American growing up in the 1970’s with her parents, deaf brother Sean. The novel discusses a time after segregation however tensions are still high between the blacks and whites and discussion of how the freeway splits the two parts of the city and how Frannie and her kind do not belong on the other side. School and home are the places of most of the stories action. The first major event is when a “new kid” arrives at school, one who is white and becomes the target for the bully, Trevor, who himself is dealing with issues of race and color because he is part African American and Anglo. Frannie finds her self defending the new kid and they soon become friends through a series of events. While at home Frannie deals with the issues that surround her brother’s deafness and how he is treated by the hearing girls who do not give him the time of day. Sean tells Frannie he wished that a bridge could be built over the freeway to connect both worlds, the she wants to experience and his world, a world of hearing and being accepted by others who hear. Frannie is also having to deal with the fact that her mother is pregnant and she is afraid that yet another baby will not make it and she will loose her mother for a while due to the darkness that will occur. Hope? Where is it? Frannie realized that hope is everywhere, it is like feathers that dift in and out of sight, it is there all the time and hope is different for everyone. This novel is very uplifting and letting you feel the characters and laugh with them. The author uses actual “jive” talk when she is allowing her characters to interact and some of the excerpts of our nation are discussed like the Black Panthers and the draft. With each chapter you will be drawn in and can’t wait to find out what the truth is behind the mystery.









Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schiltz
What a wonderful way to bring the past to live for a classroom on students. The author of this Newberry winner wrote short stories/plays for each of her students that is based on a scene from the middle ages and throughout the stories she teaches vocabulary and meaning of Medieval events and holidays. Throughout the book she also includes little mini lessons or what she calls Background information on different techniques such as the 3 field system of farming, the Crusades and others. What child would not want to read about ones’ first hunting experience, feeling inferior due to weight and size and wondering if you will ever be loved, being handed the responsibility of caring for one’s family after the death of your father, and alcoholism and abuse from the hands of a parent all while being exposed to the way Shakespeare would have written the events. The action, suspense and intrigue will keep any individual glued to the pages of this book.

Top Ten Quick Picks for Young Adult Readers

Safe by Susan Shaw
Immediately I was drawn into this novel. The first scene takes you back in the past of Tracey and her father saying goodbye to her mother as they leave her funeral. The main character is a 13 year old girl named Tracey and it is the last day of school and summer fun is right around the corner. However, the summer plans change in an instance. While Tracey and her best friend Caroline walked home tragedy occurs. Once Caroline goes inside her house Tracey is left to walk alone just 6 houses from hers when suddenly she finds her self being thrown into the backseat of a car and then raped and dumped being left for dead. Caroline survives the incident, but know has to struggle with how to go on mentally and physically. She refused counseling and shuts her self off from her friends and activities because she feels that everyone just pities her and is not a true friend. Summer ends and she now must force her self to go back to school, so she plans on just being alone, not socializing or begin around anyone, even her best friend Caroline whom she told she could not be friends with anymore. She plan is going well until she has to complete a group assignment for her music class. Now she is forced to work with individuals. All goes well until one day she breaks. The boy who raped her is going in front of the judge to plea, her weekend was wrecked, she can’t remember the poem her mother used to tell her when all of a sudden the flood gates of emotion rupture causing her to run away from school. When she is finally found at her favorite spot, Monkey Mountain, and taken to the hospital she realized that she needs help, agrees to go to a new counselor and finally admits she was raped, it did not happen to another girl, and starts to make some sort of recovery when she realizes that she must grieve for everything that has occurred in her life. You will be swept on a roller coaster of emotion and will not want to put this novel down until you are at the end!

Thalia Belleza! Lessons in Lip gloss and Happiness by Thalia
This book is a how to manual for women and young girls. It focuses on techniques of how to care for ones self, both on the exterior and on the interior. Through this book young girls will learn how to care for their skin and how to be healthy with diet and exercise. The illustrations on how to correctly apply makeup appropriately with just the right amount of color and how to apply it for their face shape. Not only does it teach them how to apply the make up it gives them tips for cleansing their face daily. The book also gives them tips for hair care and styles. The book also touches on beauty tips and secrets for the older female as well. My preteen LOVED this book especially since she is starting to dabble with the idea of wearing makeup and styling her own hair. I thought it was interesting that I have been reminding her to wash her face daily and until she read the section on skin care did she finally understand, or was it that someone who knew better than Mom gave the suggestion. Toward the end of the book there is a section on plastic surgery and other methods one can seek out to enhance their outer appearance.

Quaking by Kathryn Erskine
AWESOME!! I have to admit I did not think I would enjoy this book because the cover gave me the impression of it being a dark, depressing novel. Boy was I wrong! The novel is full of hope and mystery. Matt, as she likes to be called is a 14 year old girl moving in with yet another foster family. She was left orphaned when her mother was murdered and her father was arrested for the murder. Through story the murder is revealed as Matt talks about the beast, her father, all and the physical abuse he dealt to her and her mother. She is very quiet and has built a wall around her heart and all of her emotions. Her cousin, Loopy, has brought her to some friends who have agreed to foster Mattie. Sam and Jessica are a young couple who also have a handicapped child, Rory, whom they are fostering as well. Matt has a plan to run away to Canada when she turns eighteen so she is going to be on her best behavior. Throughout the story Matt is witness to violence by the local bully, “The Rat,” and the major conflict is the war, there are sides for and against the continued fighting. Matt finally realizes that she has grown to care for her new family when their Quaker meeting place is going to be bombed by the bully and his gang who are pro war and killing. The suspense of what will happen next in the struggle will keep you on the edge of your seat as well and wondering will Matt fall in love with her family and decide not to run to Canada.

National Book Award

Varieties of Disturbance-Stories by Lydia Davis
This novel of short stories was not one of my favorite. I found it very difficult to get into and some of the stories did not make sense to me as I read. Basically there are different characters in each short story that have to deal with or not deal with personal struggles, worries or concerns in their personal life. I did find my self thinking about me when I read the short story that is named after the title of the book. Basically it is about a woman who finds her self trying to play peace maker, head problem solver, when her mother calls and tells her that she thinks she upset her brother, in turn she tries to make peace but can’t get in touch with her brother and then there is a domino effect when she calls her husband who tells her not to worry. The main character can’t help worrying and then becomes obsessed with the fact she now has everyone around her thinking about and worrying about the same issue. Another story deals with one man’s struggle to plan the perfect dinner party and yet he worries and second guesses the entire menu and evening’s event to almost driving me the reader crazy and I am sure himself. Overall, the book is a quick read, but if did not keep my attention throughout.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers

Indigo Summer by Monica McKayhan
What a wonderful breath of fresh air! This novel was a pleasant and easy read. Indigo faces the everyday challenges of entering high school with out her best friend, trying out for drill team, making new friends and yes—“the first boyfriend.” Indigo is the only child who is growing up in the typical middle class family where parents are happily married and very involved in her daily life. She makes a new friend in Tameka who does have married parents but a day who is always working and a mother who had her at the age of 16. Indigo becomes the girlfriend of the school’s star football player, Quincy, and her new next door neighbor, Marcus, who gets on her last nerve, even though she can’t stop thinking about him. Marcus and Indigo become friends and share secrets about their lives with each other. They are both amazed at how easy it is to be around each other and each secretly wants to be with one another. The twist in the story is that Marcus’ father evicted Indigo’s best friend, Jade, from the house next door and when Indigo finds out she will not forgive Marcus even though he had nothing to do with it. Indigo struggles with the fact that Quincy wants to have sex and after the first date and she told him no, he did not call for several days, finally after refusing to have sex with him again, he dumps her and she is devastated. Marcus who had warned Indigo about Quincy also has to deal with the fact that a 9 year old little boy, Justin, who he has grown quite fond of while tutoring him in math, passes away from a stroke caused by sickle cell anemia. Finally the story ends with the two of them happily together and able to share private thoughts and feelings. A true love story—is there a part 2??


Diamonds In The Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney
This is a tale about deception and hope. Jared’s parents have volunteered to host a refugee family, the Amabo family, from Africa as part of their church work. Jared is resentful of having to share his room with the arriving teen boy and sees the family as an intrusion into his life. When the family arrives, Jared becomes suspicious immediately of the four refugees because, according to Jared, they do not interact like a true family.
Jared soon learns that in Africa, people are traded as property, innocent people being enslaved and incarcerated in large prisons due to the ‘blood” diamond trade. Unbeknownst to Jared, one of the murdering diamond traders, Victor, arrived on the plane with the Amabos, but was separated from them in the airport. It is not long before Jared discovers that the teenage boy, with whom he is sharing his room, is storing two boxes of these valuable diamonds. What he doesn’t know is Victor is on a search to find the Amabo family, and the diamonds.
Meanwhile, Jared’s sister Mopsy has taken on the mute Amabo daughter, Alike as her special project. She interacts with Alake, feeding, and dressing the girl, never knowing the horrors that the girl endured at the hands of Victor. In the book’s climax, Victor finds Mopsy and Alake alone at Jared‘s home. He wants the diamonds but Alake creates a plan. She lures Victor out to the breakwater near their home. She tricks Victor into joining her on this jetty and then heaves him into the icy depths of the ocean.
Jared realizes that, although not a biological family, the Amabos is truly in need of their American hosts’ help and the comfort of living in a free, safe country. Diamonds in the Shadow connects to young readers because it is a topic of which few know much about, told in a way that is familiar and relatable. Although we as Americans can relate to the mission work of our churches and public organizations, we often are leery of the unknown in other cultures. This book gives a glimpse into the atrocities that are truly occurring throughout the world, but puts it on a much more personal lever, making each character human.
I would recommend this book to adolescent readers, but would caution that it paints some graphic images and does not sugar-coat the horrible acts that occur world-wide. We know these American characters, Jared and Mopsy, and the author does an excellent job making us just as suspicious of the African family. Diamonds in the Shadow is both disturbing and relatable under the same dust jacket.

Best Books for Young Adults

Before I Die by Jenny Downham
The teenage “BUCKET LIST!” Grab your tissues—especially for the end of the novel! This book keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what event would be next on Tessa’s list. Tessa has leukemia and is trying to live her teenage life in a matter of months because her time is winding down. Yes, as for all teenagers she wants to experience for the first time driving, dancing, sex, drugs, breaking the law and of course falling in love. Tessa of course learns valuable lessons along the way. She is aided in her illegal deeds by her BFF, Zoey, who is no “angel.” Through out her list of 10, Tessa realized that the most important things were not on her list, like listening to you little brother, love for family and friends and of course true love. In the beginning she is ready to die, just simply get it over with, however as she transforms from being bitter and feeling self pity, she wants to prolong her life so she can be there for her family. Tessa like many teenagers rebels against her father because he is extremely overprotective and her mother for leaving them when she was young for another man. This novel is filled with exciting adventure and touching heart felt moments. Tessa leaves letters for the people closets to her before she dies telling them what she wants for them when she is gone—Yes—tissue time. Before I Die is definitely a book the girls will enjoy, it may be a little to “mushy” for the guys, however it can teach them how to be there for someone that you care about who is going through a similar situation.


















Derby Girl by Shauna Cross

A YA novel with a Texas connection! This is not your typical high school novel of the popular group against the outcasts, nonconformist. Bliss Cavendar is your typical 16year old girl who feels her parents don’t understand her. She is not the beauty queen her mom wants her to be, she likes thrift shop t-shirts and her blue dyed hair. She is caught in the struggle to do what her mom wishes while hiding her secret identity, Babe Ruthless and her true of love Roller Derby, which she has been playing behind her parents back. Her best friend Pash, also an outsider, has helped her with her secret until one evening she feels dumped! Bliss starts to let her responsibilities of “Best Friend” go after she becomes involved with Oliver, the musician she finally gives up her virginity for. She is in love! However, it turns out Oliver is not and was only in it for one thing. Finally, one afternoon the lies are revealed and Bliss runs away from home, after three days of being gone and learning that Oliver is cheating on her, she ends up and home where she and her mother do some sort of bonding. Bliss gives in and competes in the Miss. Bluebonnet pageant, only to be surprised by her Mom’s change of heart and she actually gets to roller derby! I was so intrigued by the Texas connection that I had to Goggle if there was an actual Bodeen, Texas and did Bluebonnet actually refer to Blue Bell. This book has strong language and would definitely be for older readers. I hope to see another novel by Cross based on her experiences as a Roller Derby star!






What They Found: Love on 145th Street by Walter Dean Myers
This novel revolves around the community of Harlem and deals with the struggles facing several individuals to survive in their day to day life. Each and every chapter has a new character and a new struggle; however the struggles always seem to center around being on the right or wrong side of the law, dealing with poverty and trying to make the government checks last to the end of the month, unwed mothers who have and the way the characters perceive themselves, teen sex, drugs and violence. I enjoyed the chapters with Noee and Abeni’s family. They always stayed true to them selves and wanted to become something by going to college but always keeping their family roots centered. The one character, Letha and her son Amiri really got to me. Letha was a young, unwed mother trying her best to raise her son all alone, without the help of her family when one day a neighbor, Billy, asked if he could paint her portrait. When the portrait she could not believe it was her, she never did not perceive herself as pretty and capable of love and could not believe that another individual would see her in that light as well. She had the assumption that she was only good for one thing and that was letting guys have their way with her, and from that moment on whenever she felt down she would hold her baby and look at her self in the mirror and see herself differently.



Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Lloyd Jones dresses himself in the first-person, female narrator Matilda. Matilda is a young teenage girl who, seemingly at first, lives at a far-away time on a far-away island. The reader learns, however, that though Matilda's world is separated from ours by water and a blockade, she is a very modern character. Her tropical island existence is one of sacrifice, fear, loss, and war - until Mr. Watts, AKA Pop Eye and the only remaining white man on the island, acts as substitute teacher to the native island children. He admittedly doesn't know everything, but he does know Mister Dickens and introduces the children to Mister Pip. At first, Mister Pip and his great expectations are an escape for the children. Then, the story becomes a source of harsh disagreement for one mother for a stint; then a unifying element for the rebels and villagers as they listen to Mr. Watts' and Mister Pip's lives woven together; next, two sacrifices of love; and finally, a journey for Matilda who must rise out of ashes like a phoenix and piece her life together as she learns more of the lives of the two men who inspire her - Mister Pip (Dickens) and Mr. Watts - and taught her "how to reimagine the world, and to see the possibility of change, to welcome it into our lives" (245).




The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sheerman Alexie
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a story which touches on the personal struggles of a young boy, Arnold Spirit, as he tries to find out where he belongs in the world and how he will end up once he is left on his own. I have to admit, I had a real hard time getting into the novel, a slow start, but once Arnold made his big decision to go out into the “White world” the story kept me intrigued. Arnold grew up on an Indian Reservation and was the one everyone tortured and picked on because of some of his physical disabilities and speech impediment. He seldom ventured outside his home unless he was with his best friend Rowdy, who protected him against all the other bullies. Life on the reservation was a constant struggle of poverty and drunkenness. Arnold never knew when his father would take off of days on drinking and spending what little money his family had for food. After being told to get off the reservation by Mr. P, a high school teacher, Arnold made a decision to leave the reservation school and go to a school in Reardan, an all white school. He was now considered a traitor by all the other Indians and had to deal with the struggles on both sides of the world, the white and Indian. While in Reardan he did become someone people liked, made the basketball team and had friends even a girlfriend, Penelope. Arnold thought it was amazing that in his own world he was on the bottom of the food chain, but here in a foreign, “white world” he was somebody and he felt like someone and every there believed in his abilities. After the deaths of his grandmother, sister and friend Eugene, Arnold decides he will never stay on the reservation, he will go someplace in life, he will become someone, no matter where he was he would not forget his roots and always pray and hope others would leave the reservation because he did not want the Indian culture to die with all those who had no hope and were to afraid to leave.

Michael L. Printz Awards

Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox
Dreamquake, the sequel to Dreamhunter, begins as a nightmare, literally. On St. Lazarus’s Eve, wealthy citizens gather at the Rainbow Opera for a traditional sharing of the Homecoming dream by dreamhunter, Grace Tiebold, and end up being buried alive! However, that part is in their minds, but chaos ensues as they wake from the nightmare bloodied and battered trying to break free from the coffin that someone has placed them into in their minds.
It is quickly realized that someone has overshadowed Grace’s transmission of a dream, but whom? And why? In Grace’s eyes, her niece Laura, a novice dreamhunter and her own daughter Rose’s best friend, is the apparent suspect. She’s upset at the disappearance of her father, Tziga, and has seemed very distant. She also was present that night at the Opera House. And now notes show up that take responsibility, but are signed by someone named Lazarus.
After the incident, all dreamhunters are gathered to be taken to the Place (where dreams come from) to overwrite the nightmare, and Rose sees Laura being secretly carried off by a sand creature with the word NOWN written across the back of his neck. She ends up at her Aunt Marta’s, but is quickly taken, per her aunt’s request, to the Temple, to be placed under the care of Father Roy and the Grand Patriarch, who “were always speaking out against dreamhunters and dream palaces.”
To Laura’s surprise, and joy, she is taken to meet her father, Tziga, who she believed to be dead. He had begun to question the Regulatory Body over his belief that they were regularly using nightmares on the convicts as punishment and\or incentive to follow the rules, work harder, etc, which he considered inhumane. Laura’s family reunites, as does Rose & Laura, and now they are determined to find out what is happening within the borders of the Place. And with Nown’s help, Laura discovers & gains evidence that camp has been set up Inside and missing dreamhunters and convicts are being used while in deep Contentment.
Laura narrowly returns to her family, and the entire family, with the help of her friend and now love, Sandy, returns to a seemingly normal existence as the Secretary of Interior fears that his secret will be revealed. The plan is to kidnap Sandy and use his dream powers against the others. But a thwarted plan leads to a devastating fire at the Presentation Ball, where Rose narrowly escapes with her life and Nown ends up falling into the depths of the fire while following Laura’s order to rescue Rose. And Sandy never makes it out (or does he?).
Determined now more than ever to reveal the evil plan of the Regulatory Body and Cas Doran, the Hames and Tiebolds work to override Contentment and reveal the truth to the Grand Patriarch and others. In fact, Aunt Marta is the one who finally makes it to Judge Seresin with the film and reveals Doran’s plan. “Cas Doran and his Regulatory Body have been loading captive dreamhunters with a dream that makes anyone who has it stupid and incautious with happiness. Doran has begun to use this dream to control people in the capital…So far he’s contrived to have a dream-narcotized Congress pass legislation to extend the presidential term. And he is hunting down and trying to eliminate, or permanently dream-drug, anyone he thinks will spoil his plans.” And while this is going on, Laura finally comes to the full realization that the Place is a Nown…something created by someone…that the dreams are only visions of the real future, and by discovering the one who created it, Lazarus Hame, the Place ceases to exist.
The story concludes with the family intact, Sandy returning as he had been dragged off to the Place, and the revelation that Sandy and Laura would have a son. Laura and Lazarus have married and have a daughter, and the act of dreamhunting no longer exists. I’m truly not sure about Lazarus, but feel he must have been Sandy & Laura’s son from the future…but now, as Laura declares, “God has given us a new world to live in – like the Gate. There is a first time for everything.”
As hooked as I became in the last third of this novel, I know I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read Dreamhunter. And it might have been helpful to realize before finishing the novel that a “Glossary” existed following the epilogue that would have made terms a little more clear. Interesting, puzzling…definitely a different world.





One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke
This novel teaches all of us that no matter who we come in contact with during our lives, we should treat them with respect and decency because you never know when they may reappear in your life. This novel definitely brings the phenomenon of 6 degrees to life. The main character is Lily Samson, a typical high school student, here older brother Lonnie, who is always starting projects but never finishing, her mother, Dr. Marigold Samson, who runs a day care center for elders, and her two grandparents, May and Stanley. Other characters that play an important role in the story are Clara, her mother Rose and her father as well as Mrs. Nightingale. Lily is considered the sensible family member who is always trying to keep everything in order. Each member of the family has some personal struggle they must overcome and as they find the answers to their struggle they end up back to where it all began –with family. Grandpa and Lonnie have a huge argument and Lonnie is basically kicked out of the family, so he moves away to live in a boarding house where he takes a course in college on writing and meets Clara, who ends up being his girlfriend. Lonnie struggles with

White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Sym, a 14 year old girl fixated on the unknown continent of Antarctica and an explorer who met his fate there some 90 years earlier, goes on a journey with her favorite “Uncle Victor” (her father’s business partner & best friend) and has no idea that the love of the explorer, Titus Oates, will be the very thing that saves her.
The novel begins with an awkward teen trying to make sense of her world after losing her father, who she felt never loved her anyway, and dealing with personal struggles, like her significant loss of hearing and her inability to communicate well. As Sym herself puts it, “I don’t know if I’m stupid. I might as well be. When I open my mouth, nothing intelligent comes out. Inside my head I’m as articulate as anything, look. But try to get a thought out and it’s like pushing raw potatoes through a sieve.” However, Uncle Victor always comes to the rescue; the one who has always believed in her and who has always given her something that no else ever has; the dream of Antarctica. And since her father’s death, she has created a world of her own with the knowledge that her uncle has poured into her about this bleak wilderness and the relationship she has built in her mind with this secret confidant, Captain Oates.
When Uncle Victor decides to take Sym on a vacation to Paris, and Mum has lost her passport, it’s just the two of them. To her surprise, her “uncle” has even bigger plans for them: an expedition of their own, with a few chosen Pengwing travelers, fulfilling her dearest wish to travel south to Antarctica! After meeting up with the strange bunch, including a journalist, a would-be author, a bird enthusiast, and a father and son from Norway, they finally arrive in the great white expanse. And this is where the true expedition is revealed: the search for Symmes’s Hole, “the entrance to a hollow planet,” “worlds within worlds,” and from what Uncle Victor has emphatically decided, “inhabited.”
The journey continues after many of the travelers mysteriously become ill and the plane that makes daily visits with food and communication from the outside world blows up. Even when the film crew that Manfred Bruch, the Norwegian, has promised to document Uncle Victor’s discovery doesn’t arrive, Victor is insistent that he, Sym, Bruch and his teenage son, Sigurd, continue on the journey to this “geographical soft spot, like that hole in a newborn baby’s head.” And for Sym, a new possibility urged her on. Could Titus possibly be alive and well since his body was never discovered after that fateful Polar Expedition over 90 years ago?
However, what Sym sadly discovers over time is that her Uncle Victor, this self-absorbed, obsessed man is the reason for all of the difficulties she’s faced; the death of her father and his seeming lack of love for his daughter; her hearing loss (created by the treatments he gave her as a child to build up her immunities to help repopulate the underground world with our sweet Sigurd); the sickness (and even death) of fellow travelers; and her impending doom as they have no ability or resources to return to civilization after setting out on the trek for the new world. Why should they? They would never have to return anyway. And to continue to the disappointment, the young man who has now touched her heart in a way that only Titus has before is a con, along with the man claiming to be his father. They were in it for the money that Uncle Victor promised, and now Manfred has lost his life after Victor’s discovery, and Sigurd has run off with the only means of getting them back to civilization.
In the end, Victor’s discovery is only that it’s a deep drop to death inside the massive ice of the Antarctic. And the only gleam of hope is that by a chance miracle, and Titus’ voice insisting that she push on, Sym happens upon the broken-down transport with a scared Sigurd fighting to stay warm and alive. And when a chance sighting of a sled somersaulting over the ice by a plane leads to their rescue, Sym realizes that life will continue now that she can see it truly for the first time.
This novel is a page-turner, and one that I didn’t want to put down. What begins as something from the science-fiction shelves turns into realistic fiction that makes you ask at the end about the life that Sym can now lead. And finally, is Titus truly a figment of her imagination? That discovery will be left to the reader.

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