This is a fascinating book about the worst tornadoes in history! With historical facts and captivating photographs, this story will capture the attention of storm lovers and tornado chasers! Filled with maps, photographs, fact check boxes, a glossary, and a page that lists other book and internet resources in which information about tornadoes can be found, this book is a great informational source for those who want to learn about tornadoes and their destructive power.
DPiazza, Francesca Davis TITLE: Friend Me! RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Twenty-First Century Books 2012 PRICE: $33.00
ISBN: 9780761358695 INTEREST: 8-10
ILLUSTRATOR: NA PAGES: 112
For someone born in 1994, there were only 634 websites on the Internet. By the time the student turned 18, there were over 200 million. Social networks have advanced from strings of beads, hieroglyphics and printing presses to instant internet interactions. Early communications took longer and were very time consuming. Many times the news was months old before the reader has access to it. Now, we are able to respond and interact with friends and family with the click of a button. The downside is too many people are lost without their internet and messaging capabilities.
REVIEWER: Tina Campbell, Toutle Lake JR/SR High School
Duke, Kate TITLE: Ready for Pumpkins RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0-375-87068-2 INTEREST LEVEL: K-2 ILLUSTRATOR: Kate Duke PAGES: 31
Everyone loves pumpkins, even Herky, the guinea pig! This first grade class pet loves the students in his classroom but longs to have the freedom to plant a garden. He finally gets that chance when the classroom teacher takes him home for summer vacation. With some clever thinking and a new friend, Herky’s wishes become a reality! Youngsters will enjoy the adventures of this loveable guinea pig. A fun read for the fall season!
REVIEWER: Rachel Kerker, St. Helens Elementary
Dunn, Mary TITLE: Piranhas RATING: R PUBLISHER: Capstone PRICE: $18.49
This is an easy non-fiction book for the emergent reader. It gives simple facts about piranhas, and each fact has beautiful photos to go along with it. This book would even be a great book for first time research paper.
REVIEWER: Tracy Robinson, Kessler Elementary
Eamer, Claire TITLE: The World in Your Lunch Box: The Wacky History and… RATING: R
This fun and informative text takes a look at the history and other fun facts associated with common lunch items. Opening with a challenge from a fictitious cooking teacher the reader is taken on journey through a common week of lunch items, broken into seven chapters, each associated with a day of the week. Ranging from ham sandwiches to pizza the history of each food item is provided as well as facts about how it is processed, grown or used. The colorful and humorous illustrations complement the text. Older readers will enjoy it in its entirety. This would make a good read aloud for younger readers.
REVIEWER: Debby Iverson, Coweeman Middle School
Engelbreit, Mary TITLE: Mary Engelbreit’s Nutcracker RATING: R+
PUBLISHER: Harper, 2011 PRICE: $17.99
ISBN: 978-0-06-088579-3 INTEREST LEVEL: PreK-3
ILLUSTRATOR: Mary Engelbreit PAGES:
This is a delightful rendition of the Nutcracker. I had just attended a Nutcracker a few days before with my 6 year old daughter when I received this
book. This book brought the storyline to light for her; it has all the magical mystery but is written in a way that children can follow and understand.
The illustrations are colorful and highly detailed in a way that brings more life to the story than typically illustrated. This was a delight to read and
really portrayed a sense of the holiday season.
REVIEWER: Holly James, Barnes Elementary School, Kelso, WA
Fefa has what the doctor diagnoses as word-blindness, or dyslexia. She so wants to read, but the words don’t sit still on the page for her, they jumble themselves up and frustrate her. When her mother gives her a book with blank pages to fill, she tells her, ‘Think of this little book as a garden, throw wildflower seeds all over each page and let the words sprout like seedlings.’ She struggles not only with her word-blindness but also with the uncertainness of life, as all families in her area are susceptible to wild bandits spiriting away children for ransom. This is an inspiring story of individual and familial struggle and the perseverance to prevail. An Author’s Note at the back states that ‘The Wild Book’ is a work of fiction inspired by stories from her maternal grandmother’s childhood.
PUBLISHER: G. P. Putnam/ Penguin, 2012 PRICE: $17.99
ISBN: 9780399256684 INTEREST: 9 up
ILLUSTRATOR: PAGES: 309
In a not too distant future, diminishing natural resources, specifically, oil, have led to panic, riots, hording, laws, and pollution. 16 year-old Faye is being sent to an educational facility which is something like a reform school prison for kids run by cruel and manipulative adults with a secret agenda. The premise is great. The setting is creepy. The possibility of romance is there. However, just as the story gets going, it starts to break apart. Faye has visions and hears voices. She and several other students wake up with red stained hands and nobody seems to know what happened in the night. The title rather gives the story away so when Faye finally realizes she has special powers, it is not exactly an “ah, ha” moment for the reader. However, what is confusing is the relationship the other “special” students have with her. This book had potential but needed a few more edits by readers who didn’t have anyone to explain the plot to them before hand. Kids will pick this up for the cover which unfortunately, makes it look like a different book than the one they start to read.
Reviewer: Patti Tjomsland, Mark Morris High School
Everett, J.H. & Scott-Waters, Marilyn TITLE: Creepy Castles, Dark Dungeons, and Powerful Places RATING: A+
There were many things about this selection that I like and a few that confused me. The authors are obviously very knowledgeable about castles and life in the middle ages and were able to convey a lot of information in a very palatable manner. I appreciate the artwork both on the cover and throughout the book. The spine-tingling flavor will attract our reluctant readers. I especially enjoyed the many diagrams labeled with vocabulary words. The titles confused me a bit. I was expecting more stories of haunting rather than concentrating on the buildings. I expected to hear directly from the ghosts and even though it said that we did, I somehow missed it. My thought is that the series title Haunted Histories should be less prominent on the cover so that the readers will understand that the book is less about the ghosts and more about castles, dungeons and palaces.
Only those who listen to the audiobook version of this tale get the benefit of hearing the author discuss how carefully she researched the setting for this uncommonly rich novel. The sea folk of this story are nothing like the benign character from the Disney movie. Although the name Syrenka is attached to Polish folklore, this Syrenka of this tale is a mermaid of the immortal variety who gives up her immortality in order to be with the man she loves. Syrenka’s story is told parallel to the story of Hester Goodwin, a beautiful young woman who has sworn off love entirely out of fear. The women in her family die shortly after giving birth to daughters, and while Hester loves and respects her stepmother, she does not want to leave her own daughter motherless. A series of unusual encounters with a minister, a childhood friend named Linnie, and a mysterious man named Ezra set Hester on the trail of a mystery that is a tapestry of tangled threads. The town of Plymouth, Massachusetts provides the history that spans from the 1600s to the 1800s to the present, and the curse that only Hester can lift. Ancient lore and magic permeate this incredible story, and like those ancient tales, rape and violence are a part of the telling. The intertwining of plot lines as well as the careful rendering of the dialects take what is quantitatively not such difficult text (7.0 GE/780L) a qualitatively much more complex story. This is a sophisticated story that can easily cross the barriers of YA fiction into adult reading. The book, in both print and audio formats, is a work of art, and is one that I will be nominating to YALSA for best fiction and audiobook.
REVIEWER: Jodi Kruse, R. A. Long High School, http://krusereviews.wordpress.com
Feinstein, John TITLE: Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics RATING: R
Teen sports writers Susan Carol and her boyfriend Stevie, find themselves in an unusual position. Instead of writing about others at the upcoming Olympics, Susan Carol will be swimming in them! Susan Carol has qualified for two events and her father has been nearly brainwashed by their aggressive team of agents. The darker side of sports emerges as sponsors begin lining up other athletes who are also “marketable” and capable of possible winning gold medals. After Susan Carol wins a silver medal, losing to a non-glamorous teammate, the agents get really busy, going so far as to get her teammate disqualified after she wins the next event so that Susan Carol can win gold. Stevie unearths the shading dealings and the correct medals are awarded. This is another great sport read from this author. His detailed and in-depth knowledge of the sport make it a fascinating and realistic mystery.
REVIEWER: Debby Iverson, Coweeman Middle School.
Fleming, Candace TITLE: On the Day I Died: Stories From the Grave RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Schwarts & Wade, 2012 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0375867811 INTEREST: 6 up
ILLUSTRATOR: PAGES: 199
After midnight, driving too fast, Mike has to slam on his brakes when he sees a girl in road. It’s a little obvious to the reader, but not to Mike, that she is a ghost. He drops her off at her house and when he goes back to check on her, discovers she has been dead 56 years! This leads him to a graveyard just for teens and as the night passes, a number of the dead residents tell the stories of their deaths. All of them are creepy. Several of them are based on tradition horror, such as The Monkey’s Paw and The Yellow Wallpaper. At the back of the book, the author has extensive notes on where she got the ideas for her stories, which make great starting points with student authors. My least favorite of the stories was probably one about a Catholic school girl who earns the reputation as a liar and then no one believes her when she discovers who the arsonists is who burned down a school. She is just an irritating character. On the other hand, the over-the-top science fiction story about “insta-pets” who become carnivorous monsters, eating the neighbor’s dog, is hilarious. Dark and creepy are the stories of Edgar and Rich. If you enjoy audio, a full cast reads for the Listening Library audio production of this book and they do an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. Read one or read them all; an overall above average collection of creepy!
Reviewer: Patti Tjomsland, Mark Morris High School
Stickman Odyssey book 2. Zozimos continues his journey to reclaim the throne in Sticatha. His Uncle Nestor is determined to help him unseat his evil stepmother and become King. Zozimos’ journey is difficult and his own ineptness adds to his problems. It turns out that his love interest, Alexa, is actually his stepsister and as her penance she takes her eyes out. Zozimos reaches Sticatha and realizes his stepmother wasn’t the problem after all; it was his evil Uncle Nestor who wants to become King himself. Nestor rounds up an army to try to take Sticatha. Zozimos unites the people of Sticatha and they defeat Nestor. This humorous graphic novel is done in simple “stickman” black and white illustrations and will appeal to a broad upper elementary and middle school audience.
Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Coweeman Middle School
Ford, Michael TITLE: The Poisoned House RATING: R PUBLISHER: Albert Whitman & Co. PRICE: $8.99
The year is 1850 in London, almost a year since Abigail Tanner’s mother died. Abigail is now 15 years old and a house servant in the Greave Hall. She must put up with Mrs. Cotton who is a harsh ruler of authority and makes Abigail’s life miserable, especially after Abigail tries to run away. The whole household is troubled. The widowed master of the house stays in his room and has fits of madness. His son, Samuel, is coming home from the war and has to have his leg cut off, but he has always treated Abigail like a little sister since they were raised together. Some of her fellow servants are kind and others aren’t, but she has to trust some of them with her secrets, which turn out to not be a good idea. There are many household secrets which a ghost presence is trying to reveal. Abigail thinks the ghost is her mother and she tries to find out what message her mother has for her. This is a story of mystery, intrigue, and ghosts. The ending was unique and answered all the questions a reader would have.
REVIEWER: Vicki White, Cascade Middle School
Frederick, Shane TITLE: Speed Training for Teen Athletes RATING: A
Do you want to increase your speed and agility? Then this book is for you! Filled with quick and easy exercises, this book will help athletes become more fit and equipped to handle their sport. This book also offers nutrition tips to help athletes increase their strength and stamina. Geared towards athletes, you don’t have to be one to benefit from this book. Anyone looking to increase their athleticism and nutrition will find this book useful and informative.
REVIEWER: Rachel Kerker, St. Helens Elementary
Freeman, Tor TITLE: Olive and the Big Secret RATING: R
Sometimes secrets are really difficult to keep and once told they can spread like wildfire. This circuitous story gives the lesson of keeping secrets in a fun and easy format. It is great for foreshadowing as your students can guess what is going to happen next. The illustrations are fun and the inside cover gives hints to the ‘secret’. I enjoyed this read very much.
Rhonda Lowe, Castle Rock Elementary
Friend, Natasha TITLE: My Life in Black and White RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Viking/Penguin, 2012 PRICE: $8.99
ISBN: 978-0670784943 INTEREST: 8 up
ILLUSTRATOR: PAGES: 294
Lexi is known for her beauty. She’s invited to parties so boys will show up, just because she is so pretty. It seems like her life is set, all because of her looks, good things happen for her. Then at a party, she finds her boyfriend, Ryan, and her best friend, Taylor, hooking up behind her back. In shock she runs downstairs and gets a ride with Taylor’s brother who loses control of the car and Lexi goes through the windshield. Her face is a mess with a skin graft and multiple scars. Her friends only seem to come visit to get the latest look for the gossip mill and she’s not speaking to Taylor or Ryan. The story follows her anger and recovery, with the difficulty of returning to school part of her struggle. She meets Theo when she tries to hide in the photo darkroom; he has his own story and he introduces her to boxing. There are so few books with girls boxing, that I wish that this had been a bit bigger part of the story, however this allows Lexi to vent her anger, get back in shape and achieve self-esteem that doesn’t revolve around her looks. She also begins to realize she doesn’t know her older sister at all. I loved the way she realizes that Ruthie really is more than a band geek. The author has quite a few threads in this character driven story but she manages to tie them all together. Some girls may wonder at Lexi’s decision to try to forgive Taylor, but their relationship is still rocky at the end of the book. A good look at how one small decision can change lives. This is a first release in paperback.
Reviewer: Patti Tjomsland, Mark Morris High School
Gal, Susan TITLE: Day by Day RATING: A PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf ã 2012 PRICE: $16.99
ISBN: 978-0-375-96959-1 INTEREST LEVEL: Pre-K-2nd ILLUSTRATOR: same PAGES: 31
The pigs pack up and move west in a car similar to the Beverly Hillbillies car in the old TV show. What happens out west? Things that happened to those that came by covered wagon to the west. They farmed, had house raisings, and dances. In the end, the repetitive day by day or brick by brick in a singsong way is the best part of the book. The illustrations are not very kid friendly. There are chalky, pastels and the pigs are sweet but lack intensity of color that draw young children in. Also, the designed time period is not easily identified nor very relatable. When I couple that with the chuckles on the page that read, “Layer by layer, pigs shed their clothes,” I know I will not be using this as a read aloud very soon.
REVIEWER: Tyra K. Smith, Head Start/EHS/ECEAP
Geist, Ken TITLE: Who’s Who? RATING: R
PUBLISHER: Feiwel @ 2012 PRICE: 16.99
ISBN: 9780312644376 INTEREST LEVEL: Kdg-3rd
ILLUSTRATOR: Henry Cole PAGES: UNP
Illustrator Henry Cole’s unmistakable illustrations usually mean hilarity ahead. Mr. Cole’s fans will not be disappointed. Ken Geist’s retelling of the poem :Over in the Meadow” by Olive Wordsworth is a hand-clapping foot-stomping sure fire treat for primary students. The only thing missing is the music to the song in the back of the book.
