Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Title:   Dairy of a Wimpy Kid

Author and Illustrator:  Jeff Kinney

Publisher: Amulet Books      Year: 2007

ISBN:  978-0-8109-9313-6

Genre: Fiction/Realistic/Humorous

This book is for Ages: 9-13

Awards:  Publisher’s Weekly Best Book, YALSA Top 10

AR Points: 3.0          

Subjects/Themes: Friends, School, Family

Plot Summary:  Greg Heffley is stuck in middle school, or the dumbest idea ever invented.  In his journal, not a diary, he records his thoughts on girls, Phys ed., taking care of his little brother, dealing with parents, video games, friends and all the stuff that can make the first year a middle school a bust.

Review:  Laugh out loud funny this book is fantastic.  I wish I had read this when my son was in middle school.  Jeff Kinney’s characters and situations involving Greg, Rowley, Rodrick, even Mom and Dad are brought to life by his lively illustrations. Greg is kind of a bully but in the end he proves that he is a true friend. 

If you like this book you may also like: the other books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also by Jeff Kinney.

The Secret World of Arrietty

Image courtesy of Secret World of Arrietty can be found here

Title:   The Secret World of Arrietty

Publisher:  Studio Ghibli (Disney U.S. Release)       Year: 2012

Media: Film    Rating: G

Ages: 6-12

Genre:  Fantasy

Subjects/Themes:  Self Reliance, Growing Up, Hope

Plot Summary:  Arrietty is a 14-year-old miniature girl whose family lives under the floorboards.  Secretly they borrow things small things that won’t be missed from the homeowner and her maid.    If a borrower is ever seen by a human, they have to move away.  Arrietty’s family hasn’t seen any other borrowers in a long time.  She wonders if maybe her family is the last of her kind.   One day when out in the garden, Arrietty is spotted by a young boy named Shawn.  Arrietty knows humans are dangerous, but she is intrigued by this new boy.  Shawn understands what it is like to be scared and alone.  Will getting to know Shawn be dangerous for Arrietty’s family?  

Review: Japanese Studio Ghibli presents a beautiful oasis in children’s animation a respite from the over hyped, over done films that Hollywood has churned out over the past few years.  Like the other films of Studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, The Secret World of Arrietty has thoughtful messages about loneliness, trust, perseverance and hope and for our young people.  All this is wrapped in a Japanese garden, where a strong and capable young miniature girl escapes with her life from predators like cats and birds.  Despite her diminutive size Arrietty has the courage to look fearlessly at her future and inspires Shawn to do the same.  This film has beautiful animation.   It is based on the Borrowers a series of novels by Mary Norton.

If you like this book you may also like:  Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away, also by Studio Ghibli.  The Borrowers by Mary Norton.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Title:   City of Ember

Author:  Jeanne DuPrau

Reader:  Wendy Dillon

Media: Digital Download

Publisher:  Listening Library; Unabridged edition   Year:  2006

ISBN:  978-0739331675

Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction

This book is for Ages: 9 up

Awards:  ALA Notable Book, Kirkus Editor’s Choice

AR Points:     9.0

Subjects/Themes:  Dystopia, Government Control, Courage, Family, Leadership,

Plot Summary:  Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow have just finished the 6^th grade and have new jobs.  Lina is a messenger, Doon works in the pipe works.  They live in the city of Ember in year 241.  Ember is a city without a sun or moon.  All light comes from lamps powered by a generator.  When the generator begins to fail Doon is convinced the city is in grave danger.  When Lina uncovers a mysterious message they work together to find a way to save the city.  

Review:   This book is one of the reasons dystopian or future imperfect books are so popular.  This is the perfect book for reader’s looking for something different.  The unabridged audio book version is enhanced with sound effects that bring the story to life.  This is a diverting book for listening to on your next road trip.

If you like this book you may also like:  The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. 

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

Title:   The Hunger Games

Author:  Suzanne Collins

Publisher:  Scholastic            Year: 2009 c2008

ISBN:  978-0-439-02352-8

Genre: Fiction/Adventure/Science Fiction

This book is for Ages: 12 up

Awards: Publisher’s Weekly Best Books, Kirkis Editor’s Choice, SLJ Best Book, California Young Reader Medal

AR Points:     15.0

 Subjects/Themes: Survival, Poverty, Trust, Government Control Dystopia

Plot Summary:  16 year-old Katniss Everdeen has been providing for her family since her father died five years ago.  She breaks the laws of the government of Panem everyday by hunting with her bow for fresh meat, and gathering fruits and vegetable in the woods.  When Katniss’ 12-year old sister Prim is chosen for the Hunger Games, a government-sponsored reality television competition where 12 boys and girls compete to the death, Katniss takes her place.   She and Peeta, the kind baker’s son, must travel to the Capitol and compete for their lives against others who are stronger and more cunning.  Can Katniss win the hunger games?  What about the others?  She likes, Peeta and even Rue the young competitor who reminds her so much of Prim.  Can she bring herself to fight them for her life?

Review:   Compelling novel with an action driven storyline.  The novel examines ideas of survival, government control, trust and even the reality of reality television.  Collins character is a very strong, very tough, young girl who will do whatever she must to survive.  I did not put this book down from the first page. Best for young adult audiences.

If you like this book you may also like:  City of Ember

When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Title:   When You Reach Me

Author:  Rebecca Stead

Reader: Cynthia Holloway

Publisher: Listening Library  Year:  2009

ISBN:  978-0739380727

Media: Digital Download

Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction/Realistic Fiction

This book is for Ages: 10 – adult

Awards: Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book, YALSA Top Ten

AR Points:     6.0

Subjects/Themes: Time Travel, Family Life, Friendship, Bullies.

Plot Summary:  6^th graders, Miranda and Sal have been best friends for a long time.  One day on the way home from school, Sal gets punched by a strange boy in a camouflage coat.  Sal doesn’t want to hang out with Miranda anymore. Miranda’s life is made even stranger when the spare key to her apartment is stolen, and she starts finding mysterious notes around her apartment, notes about someone coming to save her friend’s life.  Miranda is scared.  Which friend’s life need saving?  Who has been in her apartment?  How does the mysterious note writer know so much about her life?

Review:  Depicting the quiet growth of Miranda, this book is strongly related to Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time.  Stead’s characters will remind you of friends from school.  The story is well paced and builds to reveal the mystery.  The real story is about the possibilities and travel we can take as we journey through life.  Stead has created a book with depth and heart that is worth reading more than once. 

If you like this book you may also like:  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.

Worth by A. LaFaye

Title:   Worth

Author:  A. La Faye

Publisher: Scholastic             Year:  2006 c2004

ISBN:  978-0439-91342-3

Genre: Historical Fiction

This book is for Ages: 9-12

Awards: Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

 AR Points:     4.0

 Subjects/Themes: Family Life/Orphans/Frontier Life

Plot Summary:  11-year-old Nate is hurrying to help his father bring in the hay as a violent storm hits their farm.  A flash of lightning as bright as the sun changes Nate’s life forever.  Unable to help on the family farm Nate feels bad.  His Pa won’t even look at him.  When Pa adopts an orphan boy named John Worth, Nate feels unloved and useless.  What role can Nate have on the farm?  Worth is a city boy with no experience working a farm.  He is treated like a servant, and can’t seem to do anything right.  When the ranchers and farmers start feuding, tensions are high as sabotage damages the family farm.  Can the boys work together to save their farm and create a family where they both belong? 

Review:  Nate and his family have trouble accepting his replacement and new brother.  Worth is an interesting and exciting story about life on the frontier in the late 1800’s including: immigrants, and range feuds.  The book has an exciting climax.  That will leave you wanting more. 

If you like this book you may also like:  The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan.

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman

Title:   Odd and the Frost Giants

Author:  Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Harper Collins Audio       Year: 2009 c2008

ISBN:  9780061962622

Genre: Fiction/Adventure/Fantasy/Folklore

This book is for Ages: 8-12

AR Points:     2.0

Subjects/Themes: Norse Mythology, Norway, Heroes, Giants, Gods

Plot Summary:  Odd is a 12-year-old who always has had some very bad luck,  His father was killed on a Viking expedition, A tree fell on his leg and crushed it, so now he walks with a crutch.  Despite the cold winter weather Odd runs away to live in his father’s hunting cabin.  Odd saves a bear that is trapped by a tree.  The bear, a fox and an eagle follow him to the cabin and tell him a wondrous tale.  Together they go on adventure to the land of Asgard where Odd must defeat the Frost Giants so that spring can return to the land.  

Review: This novella is wonderful.  Written and performed by Neil Gaiman, author of The Graveyard Book.  Gaiman shares a wondrous tale that left me dreaming of Thor, Odin and Loki, and hoping for more.  I have seen the illustrations from the print version of this book.  They are beautiful and imaginative.  Print or Audio this book is a winner.

If you like this book you may also like:  The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman;

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - Universal Pictures

Title:   Dr.Seuss’ The Lorax

Publisher: Universal Pictures Year: 2012

Media: Film    Rating: PG

Genre:  Fantasy

Subjects/Themes:  Environment

Plot Summary:  Ted has a crush on Audrey.  She loves trees.  At least she thinks she does.  She has never actually seen a tree.  In fact, no one in Thneedville has seen a real tree.  Thneedville is full or plastic replicas of nature, from the beach to the ski slopes.  Thneedville is a manufactured environment where fresh air must be purchased.  Determined to win Audrey’s heart, Ted must travel outside the city walls to the house of the once-ler to discover what happened to all the trees and find a way to bring nature back to Thneedville.

Review: Dr. Seuss’ Lorax is an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1971 book the Lorax.  The film is a riot of color.  Thneedville, the Truffula Trees, and creatures are true to the imaginative style of the book.  Zach Efron and Taylor Swift provide the voices for Ted and Audrey.  Zach is a quick-witted, fast talking boy, like some of the middle school boys you know.  His partner-in-crime is his Grandmother, voiced by Betty White.  As loving grandmothers are known to do, she craftily helps him escape family game day and other tricky spots throughout his adventure.  The tale of the Once-ler and the Lorax has more than the book.  The screen writers added an additional villain, but, they took out the quiet reflection that Dr. Seuss’ book inspired. While this version of the Lorax is created for audiences who are used to processing information at breakneck speed and it shows, It is a fun rendition of the beloved children’s book, it introduces this generation to a marvelous story with a responsible theme.

If you like this movie you may also like:  Fern Gully – the Last Rainforest (1992), The Road to El Dorado (2000),  The Lorax (1972)

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

Title:   The Great Gilly Hopkins

Author:  Katherine Paterson

Publisher: Scholastic             Year:  1995 c1978

ISBN:  0-590-61389-8

Genre: Realistic Fiction

This book is for Ages: 9-13

Awards: Newbery Honor Book

 AR Points:     5.0

 Subjects/Themes: Family Life/Orphans 

Plot Summary:  11-year-old Gilly Hopkins is on her way to her third foster home.  She knows the social worker must be telling her mother all kinds of lies to keep her mother from coming to get her.  Gilly is determined to contact her mother so she can escape from this ugly dirty foster home.  Her new foster mother Mamie Trotter is a huge hippopotamus woman and William Earnest is a freaky kid who is afraid of everything.  Gilly plans her escape but is slowly drawn into this strange family.  When rescue finally comes, it’s not quite what Gilly expected.  

Review:  Did you ever feel like life was unfair.  So does Gilly.  Sometimes she handles things well and sometimes not.  But she does her best to take care of herself.  This is a moving story about family, love, and the hardships of real life. 

If you like this book you may also like:  Holes, by Louis Sachar The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Title:   The Whipping Boy

Author:  Sid Fleischman

Illustrator: Peter Sis

Publisher: Greenwillow Books          Year:  1986

ISBN:  0-688-06216-4

Genre: Fiction/Adventure

This book is for Ages: 8-12

Awards:  Newbery Medal; SLJ Best Book; ALA Notable Book

AR Points:     2.0

Subjects/Themes: Adventure/Robbers and Outlaws/Family Life/Orphans

Plot Summary:  A young orphan boy named Jemmy used to live in the sewers catching rats until he became the Whipping Boy.  Whenever Prince Brat, I mean, Prince Horace is bad Jemmy is whipped.  Jemmy can’t understand why Prince Brat is such a rotten kid.  Prince Brat forces Jemmy to run away with him.  The boys are captured by cutthroat bandits, encounter gigantic roaring bears and seek shelter in the sewer filled with rats. 

Review:   This book is fun and full of adventure.  Prince Brat is a horrible child.   Jemmy doesn’t realize how lucky he is.  They both learn about who they are in this wonderful and wild story.  Sid Fleishman melds humor, adventure and understanding into his story.  The black and white illustrations created by Peter Sis are captivating.

If you like this book you may also like:  Shield of Stars by Hilari Bell, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W.R. Philbrick, or   The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Sleznick,

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

Title:   A Tale of Two Castles

Author:  Gail Carson Levine

Publisher: Harper       Year:  2011

ISBN:  978-0-06-122965-7  

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

This book is for Ages: 10-14

AR Points:     9.0

Subjects/Themes: Dragons/Royalty/Identity

Plot Summary:  12-year-old Elodie is leaving her family to seek a weaving apprenticeship in the Town of Two Castles.  Her parents warn her about dragons, ogres, and white sepulchers.  Elodie arrives in town to find there are no weaving apprenticeships available, unless she can pay for one.  She is not too disappointed because she really wants to be a mansioner- an actress.  But when the head of the acting troupe rejects her because she cannot pay, and her only copper is stolen, Elodie has no place to go.  When the beautiful dragon Menoree offers Elodie food and a warm, safe place to sleep, Elodie accepts.  Even if it means she must act like a servant in the ogre’s castle to help Menoree solve a mystery.

Review:  Gail Carson Levine stays true to her style with this sweet new tale that reminds us not to judge a dragon, ogre, princess or apprentice by how they look.  

If you like this book you may also like:  Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman

Title:   The Schwa was Here

Author:  Neal Shusterman

Publisher: Puffin Books        Year:  2004

ISBN:  0-525-47182-0

Genre: Realistic Fiction

This book is for Ages: 12-adult

Awards: Horn Book Award; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; ALA Notable Book

 AR Points:     9.0

 Subjects/Themes: Family Life/Friendships/Blindness/Identity

Plot Summary:  Brooklyn Eight-grader Antsy (Anthony Bonano) meets the Schwa, the invisible boy that sits next to him in science class.  The Schwa is real but nobody seems to notice him.   Antsy decides to help the Schwa use his invisibility to their financial benefit.  They charge a fee for feats of invisibility like sneaking papers into the teacher’s correction pile and stealing a dog bowl from the town’s most powerful recluse.  But both boys are looking for something more neither wants to be invisible anymore.

Review:  Do you ever feel invisible?  Shusterman provides insight into the mischievous and sometimes heartbreaking invisible lives of young people.  This book is a quick read that my son and I really enjoyed.  It is a great story with insights about the young person’s search for recognition.

If you like this book you may also like:  Antsy Does Time by Neal Schusterman