Babymouse

Babymouse is a dreamer. Not the lay on your back, stare at the clouds dreaming of being an adult dreamer. Nope. She has a wild imagination and vivid fantasies of being the most popular and beautiful mouse in her school. In reality, her school already has one such creature, the Queen of the World, Miss Felicia Furrypaws. She has everything that Babymouse wants- devoted friends, fans, and purrfect whiskers. She is the epitome of cool, grade school style. As Babymouse clamors for an invite to Felicia’s sleepover, young tweens will relate to her desire to be part of the in-crowd and as the story draws to a close, they will be pleasantly relieved with the conclusion. This graphic novel series written by Newberry Award winning author Jennifer Holm and illustrated by her brother Matthew Holm will delight even older readers as Babymouse navigates friendships, family life with a pesky younger brother, and school hierarchies. Themes of self-acceptance and gratitude are sprinkled through the series, and covert moral lessons are entrenched in the clever, witty text and illustrations. Fans of the Sardine in outer space series or Ivy and Bean will be sure to enjoy the many adventures of Babymouse. 

Holm, J.(2005). Babymouse: Queen of the World. New York: Random House. 91 pages. ISBN: 978-0-375-93229-8.

Ages 9-12

Regarding the Bees

This is not a typical, boring story of middle school students preparing for a very important, life changing, standardized test. If the seventh graders of the Geyser Creek Middle School fail their BEE (Basic Education Evaluation) then they will have to repeat all of middle school. In addition, the student’s teacher is not helping them prepare for the test at all, he’s acting as principal. So, the class is being taught by Florence Waters, fountain designer and substitute teacher, from a distance. Ms. Waters corresponds with students via letters giving them their assignments while she is travelling for work. The story is told through the format of letters, notes, newspaper stories, memos, and transcripts. As the students correspond with Ms. Waters, they solicit her advice on matters of the heart as well as their schoolwork and the upcoming BEE’s. The class is invited to participate and compete in a spelling bee with a rival school, and when their teacher is found to be using unsavory methods, the students at Geyser Creek Middle School will have to learn about compassion.

This selection is a part of the Regarding the … Series and will delight younger and reluctant readers with it’s whimsical illustrations and format, while entertaining and engaging older readers with it’s plethora of puns- all bee related. By encouraging her students to be curious and engage with their subject in a meaningful way, Ms. Waters will inspire young readers to do the same. Fans of illustrated books and graphic novels such as Ottoline and Sardine will become enamored with the format and storylines created by the Klise sisters.

http://kateandsarahklise.com/

Further readings from the Klise sisters:
Regarding the Trees: A Splintered Saga Rooted in Secrets
Regarding the Sink: Where, Oh Where, Did Waters Go?
Letters from Camp
Over My Dead Body: 43 Old Cemetery Road

Klise, K. & Klise, M.S.(2007). Regarding the Bees: a lesson, in letters, on honey, dating, and other sticky subjects. Orlando: Harcourt. 122 pages. ISBN: 978-0-152-05711-4.
Ages 9-12

Al Capone Shines My Shoes (Book Trailer)

I’m pleased that the Newberry Award-Winning author Gennifer Choldenko continued the story of Matthew ‘Moose’ Flanagan, his friends, and his family on Alcatraz. The story picks just where Al Capone Does My Shirts ended, and now the favor Moose asked of Al Capone has to be repaid. Thoroughly frustrated and fearing for his family’s sanity, Moose had asked Al Capone to help get his sister Natalie into a special school for children with disabilities. “Your turn,” the note attached to his shirt simply said. So, Moose struggles to do as Capone asks, angering guards, the warden, and finally getting his friends and their father into trouble. As he puts his father’s job in jeopardy by doing as Capone asks, Moose becomes wiser and grows to understand the effect he has on people- particularly girls. From the tense beginning to the chilling conclusion, the themes of honesty, loyalty, and friendship reverberate instilling moral lessons without begin overly preachy. Overall, it is the trust and honesty of friends that prevails when individuals make mistakes.  

If readers haven’t been entertained by the previous story in the series, I would suggest reading Al Capone Does My Shirt first and rushing to your nearest library to put a copy of Choldenko’s newest books, No Passengers Beyond This Point, on hold. This work of historical fiction can stand on it’s own, but definitely holds more meaning as a sequel to the first book where familiar characters continue to develop and change. 

Choldenko, G. (2009). Al Capone Shines my Shoes. New York: Puffin Books . 304 pages. ISBN: 978-0-142-41718-8.

Ages 9-12.

Dragonwings

Prolific writer and Newberry Honor winner, Laurence Yep created this classic tale in the early 1970’s. Moon Shadow Lee is an 8 year old by who travels from his native China to live with his father in San Francisco’s Chinatown district in the early 1900’s. He loves and respects his father, believes him to be clever and brave. When he moves to San Francisco, he and his father live with family as his father works for the family laundry business, but soon they branch out on their own so his father, Windrider, can start a repair business. As he endures the mockery of others, and the hardships of being an impoverished immigrant, Moon Shadow stands by his father in his pursuit to build a machine that can fly. At the heart of the story lies the love and respect of a child for his father, the rich traditions of Chinese culture, and how tenacity and perseverance pay off. This is a story for dreamers, who yearn to read about different cultures or perhaps hear about their own culture from another perspective. I would recommend this selection to older tweens 10 and up who are fans of the historical fiction. Although this selection is part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles it stands strongly as a story on its own. 

Yep, L. (1975).  Dragonwings. New York: Harper & Row. 248 pages. ISBN: 978-0-064-40085-5.

Ages 9-12

Further reading:

Golden Mountain Chronicles

1. The Serpent's Children (1849)
2. Mountain Light (1855)
3. Dragon's Gate (1867)
4. The Traitor (1885)
5. Dragonwings (1903)
6. Dragon Road (1939)
7. Child of the Owl (1960)
8. Sea Glass (1970) –
9. Thief of Hearts (1995)

Gender Blender [Book Trailer]

When Ms. Andre asks her Health Class what the gender traits of girls and boys are, the responses are the typical stereotypical sexist fare. This is middle school, after all and one can’t expect much more. So, she assigns a project that she hopes will remedy the situation and allow the opposite gender a deeper understanding of what it takes to be them. When the girl/boy pairs are announced Emma and Tom are less than elated to be stuck with each other. They used to be best friends, before middle school and before they started being interested in the opposite sex. During an argument after school, the two collide and are knocked unconscious. When she wakes up, Emma hears screaming from the boy’s locker room and she runs in to find Tom, no herself, staring into a mirror, screaming in horror. When she looks into the mirror herself, she sees Tom. This humorous, laugh out loud comedic twist on Freaky Friday will keep readers engaged well past their bedtime. Tom and Emma   each struggle with different body issues, challenging experiences of the opposite sex that bring all of their assumptions into question, and different social hierarchies. Each gets a new outlook on the opposite gender as they hang out with one another’s friends and get to hear the secret back room talk they’ve always been curious about. The end result is a funny story that will challenge the reader’s assumptions about the opposite sex, and hopefully engage thoughtful discussion of gender stereotypes. This is a story that both male and female readers will be entertained by and I would recommend it both.

Nelson, B. (2006). Gender Blender. New York: Delacorte Press. 182 pages. ISBN:  978-0-385-90937-2.

Ages 9-12.

Hugging the Rock

Written entirely in short poems, this novel covers some pretty heavy ground- the dissolution of a family, family secrets, and mental illness. Rachel is a young adolescent who comes home to her mother packing her car to leave- her rationale makes no sense and Rachel has a difficult time understanding why she would leave. In the moment, Rachel’s father is hardly any better at explaining the situation and instead of trying, the retreats into himself. A lot of the novel is about Rachel dealing with the loss of her mother in the everyday sense- she used to make all the noise in the house, from whistling to crying, she did everything. Eventually Rachel and her father begin to interact more and spend time with one another and find that they can help each other move on past the loss. This character study is quite serious and may not be for every tween reader, but for one coming to terms with a dysfunctional family including family members suffering from mental illness, this could be an important tool for them. I would recommend this to older tweens ages 11 and up although some publications recommend for ages 9-12.  Overall, the story is a sad one, but there is a glimmer of hope when Rachel begins to see that not everyone’s lives are as perfect as they seem, not everyone’s lives are normal, and that she and her father are building a pretty decent relationship. 

Taylor Brown, S. (2008). Hugging the Rock. Berkeley: Tricycle Press. 170 pages. ISBN: 978-1-582-46180-9.

Ages 9-12.

Smile

Smile is Telgemeier’s autobiographical, graphic novel account of her middle school years. In sixth grade she trips and the subsequent fall results in the loss of her two front teeth. Over the next few years, she suffers through numerous surgeries and repairs aggravated by the simple fact that she is an adolescent- not only does she have to deal with the normal pre-pubescent fare, she has to deal with head gear, false teeth, and the rearrangement of her remaining incisors. Along the way, she experiences difficulties in her relationships with friends and family as well as all the glory of puberty- changing and maturing bodies, crushes on the opposite sex, and the increasing expectations and judgments of her family. Her graphic novel is the modern equivalent to Judy Blume novels in the 1980’s- she understands the terrain, because she has lived there, experienced the pain, and come out on the other side a stronger, more whole person. I would strongly recommend this title to any tween dealing with challenging circumstances, especially young girls. The amount of pain, suffering, and ridicule the author has to endure throughout the course of the story is enough to make the faint of heart cringe, but the outcome is worthwhile. The reader will be comforted with the knowledge that the author is a successful author/illustrator and is living a happy and comfortable life. 

Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). Smile. New York: Graphix. 213 pages. ISBN: 978-0-545-13205-3.

Ages 9-12