Ivy + Bean

At the heart of the series from award winning author, Annie Barrows, is the friendship between two young girls. The two characters are Ivy and Bean as the title suggests, from the cover of the first book in the series, they appear to be best buddies, but they haven’t always been friends. Bean’s mother suggests that she play with her neighbor Ivy calling her a ‘nice’ little girl- she is, after all, the same age and lives just across the street. ‘Nice’ is just another word for ‘boring’ thinks Bean. The two girls couldn’t be more different- Ivy is quiet, plays by herself, and carries a big book with her everywhere and Bean is loud, full of ideas and schemes, and plays with all the kids in the neighborhood, old and young. One day something changes- while Bean is acting on a plot to annoy her older sister Nancy things go very wrong- Ivy comes to her rescue. That big book she carries around with her isn’t a book of fairytales, it’s a book of spells and directions on being a proper witch. She proves that she is just as crafty and mischievous as Bean. And thus, their friendship is born. Young tween readers between 8-9 will be enamored with the detailed illustrations, snappy dialog, and overall fun, adventurous nature of the stories. Fans of Babymouse and Ellie McDoodle: New Kid in School will surely enjoy this series.

http://www.anniebarrows.com/ivyandbean/

Barrows, A. (2006) Ivy + Bean. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. 120 pages. ISBN: 978-0-81184-909-8.

Ages 6-10

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

The Bad Beginning

In the very beginning of the story, the narrator warns that this is not a good story, but a sad, miserable story and if the reader is faint of heart it would be best to quit reading. This is perhaps the best beginning to any story- talk about engaging adolescent readers! What better way to pique their interest than tell them, yeah, I bet you wouldn’t like this story and imply that if they stop reading, then they’re not adventurous.  

The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1 has just about everything a young reader could ask for- a wicked villain to despise, three fabulous protagonists to fall in love with, so that any reader will find one that they identify with, and a solid story full of mystery, adventure, injustice, and a small glimmer of hope. The Baudelaire children, Violet- a 14 year old budding inventor/engineer, Klaus- a 12 year old avid reader/researcher, and Sunny- a noisy & orally fixated toddler, are orphaned when their parents are killed in a fire that consumes their home and all of their worldly possessions. As dictated by their parents will, they go to live with their nearest relative within their city- Count Olaf. From the moment they set foot in his old, run-down mansion, something is not quite right. The Count treats the children horribly, exploiting them for their ability to do menial labor, and scarcely feeding or clothing them. They know that something is not quite right and after they learn of his plans to steal their inheritance, they leap into action. One of the main themes of the story is that when you face problems, there is always a solution- be tenacious and do research. 

The series consists of 13 volumes enough to keep an avid reader engaged for at least a summer, at most an entire year. The story is engaging and fast paced enough to keep reluctant readers turning the pages. The author also explains larger, more nuanced words to readers within the text, simply stating after the word that in this context it means, xyz. I would recommend this selection to tween readers in search of mystery and mischief from ages 9 and up. 

Snickett, L. (1999). The Bad Beginning. New York: HarperCollins. 162 pages. ISBN: 978-0-064-40766-3.
Ages  9+

Further reading in the Series of Unfortunate Events:

1. The Bad Beginning

2. The Reptile Room

3. The Wide Window

4. The Miserable Mill

5. The Austere Academy

6. The Ersatz Elevator

7. The Vile Village

8. The Hostile Hospital

9. The Carnivorous Carnival

10. The Slippery Slope

11. The Grim Grotto

12. The Penultimate Peril

13. The End

My name is Maria Isabel

Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez starts her first day at a new school, in a new city, where they speak a different language. After introducing herself to her new teacher, the teacher off-handedly says that they’ll have to call her Mary because they already have two Marias in the classroom. Not knowing what to say, Maria complies, but has trouble responding to a name that isn’t hers. She is chided for not responding when called, and when she fails to respond to her teacher’s words when being assigned parts in a pageant, she is left out. Instead of being honest with her family, she leads them to believe that she is participating and when the deception is revealed she is humiliated. Her story is one of a Puerto Rican family struggling in a new world in search of a better life, while maintaining a sense of their Latin American heritage. All is not lost for Maria, for she is able to redeem herself through writing a persuasive essay where she reveals her desire and reasons for wanting to be called by her full and proper name. The story is written in short chapters with accompanying black and white illustrations and will serve to engage younger tween readers up to 10 years old. The story is an exploration of the themes of love and honor as well as an introduction to Latin American culture. I would recommend this selection to young tweens who are interested in reading realistic fiction as well as youth struggling with their own cultural identities. 

Ada, A.F. (1993). My name is Maria Isabel. New York: Atheneum. 57 pages. ISBN: 9780689315176.

Ages 8-10

Camille McPhee fell under the bus

Camille McPhee is eleven years old and unlucky. Her best friend moved to Japan, her cat is lost, she is tormented by bullies, and as the title suggests- she slips and falls under her school bus. Although she’s not badly hurt, Camille slinks back home and takes a day off of school. Middle school is not as much fun without her best friend. So, she worries- about not getting hearing anything from her best friend, about her parents not getting along, and about lost cat Checkers. At school, Camille decides to be a loner despite friendship attempts from her neighbor Polly. Even though she has determined that her life is not very fun, and quite unfair she trudges on enduring her parents trial separation, being called ‘soccerball head’ by school bullies, and toting her cooler full of food to stave off hypoglycemic attacks. Her mother calls her hopeful, but Camille is merely biding her time. The story is full of humor, mostly at Camille’s expense, but sometimes at the expense of others leading Camille to the conclusion that life is not as easy for everyone else as she thinks. Even though some of the events experienced by Camille are quite heavy for the middle school set, they are dealt with straight forward in an unflinchingly honest way relieving them of their weight. I would highly recommend this selection to a tween who is having a bad day- reading about other people’s problems always makes me feel ten times better. 

Tracy, K. (2009). Camille McPhee fell under the bus. New York: Delacorte Press. 293 pages. ISBN: 978-0-385-73687-9.

Ages 9-12.

Darkwood

Although the story has many of the hallmarks of traditional fairytales and children’s stories- the orphan, an eerie prophecy, and a very dark and spooky woods, this is a highly original, engaging story. The orphan in question is one Annie Trewitt and she lives with her aunt and uncle in Howland- a place where darkness falls fast, one minute it’s light out, the next it’s pitch black. The residents of Howland live in constant fear of the kinderstalk, which are described as large black creatures that prey on townsfolk, their children, and livestock. When she over hears her aunt and uncle discussing a plot to turn her over to the kinderstalk as a sacrifice, she devises her escape. Accompanied by her cats Isadore and Prue, Annie makes her way into the woods, away from her evil aunt and uncle, and toward something more dangerous than she could ever  imagine. This coming of age story is about bravery and looking inside oneself for the answers we should all rely on- our instincts. I would highly recommend this selection to fans of Avi and Allie Condie’s Matched. This is Ms. Breen’s first and only novel for adolescent audiences- a sequel is in the works.

www.mebreen.com

Breen, M.E. (2009). Darkwood. New York: Bloomsbury. 273 pages. ISBN: 978-1-599-90259-3.

Ages 11+

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