The Encyclopedia of Me

The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers is written just as the title suggests – in encyclopedia format. The main character, 8th grader Isadora (nicknamed Tink), tells the reader about all her life by writing an encyclopedia with personal terms from A to Z. She describes the challenges she has faced in being biracial and by having a brother who is autistic. She also describes the hurts feelings she encounters when her best friend begins to exclude her after years of friendship. Things become more complicated when she begins a relationship with her new neighbor, a skater boy named Kai. Readers will totally relate to Tink (especially the girls) – family drama, first kiss, and mean girls. This book is both touching and funny – a must read for middle school! Check out the 60 Sec Recap video...

Laugh with the Moon

I am a huge fan of Shana Burg’s A Thousand Never Evers so I couldn’t wait to read Laugh with the Moon which is on the Texas Bluebonnet Reading List 2013. The author transports her readers to Malawi, Africa, using her own experiences from having stayed there. Clare is grieving because her mom has died and her father is making her live in Africa with him while he works as a doctor providing care for those in need. She must adapt to her new environment: a new school with hundreds of children and no teaching supplies, a meager home with a mosquito net covering her bed to prevent disease, and learning a new language. She immediately realizes that she is surrounded by others who have lost even more than she has. She wants to ask a classmate and new friend named Memory how she is able to cope without a mother or a father. Tragedy strikes once again. Clare learns the biggest lesson of all. Another awesome book by a wonderful author! Click on the video below to hear the author tell you about her book.

Pie

My students love Sarah Weeks' novels - I can't wait to share her book, Pie, with them. This endearing novel is about doing the right thing, building community, helping others,and leaving your mark in this world. Alice's Aunt Polly was known for baking her delicious pies for others in the town without charging them a dime. When Aunt Polly dies suddenly, Alice's world is torn apart - not only because she misses her Aunt so much, but because the whole town is acting strange and some people want to fill her Aunt Polly's shoes and win the prestigious Blueberry Award. Aunt Polly had won the last 13 annual Blueberry Awards for her tasty pies. Even Alice's mother is bitter about Aunt Polly's giving ways and is determined to become an even better pie baker than her sister. When Aunt Polly's will is read, the town discovers that the secret pie crust recipe has been willed to Lardo (Aunt Polly's fat white cat) and Lardo has been willed to Alice. It is up to Alice and her cute classmate, Charlie, to find out who has broken into Aunt Polly's bake shop, stolen and drugged Lardo, and will stop at nothing to obtain the secret recipe. Alice learns something about herself in solving this mystery. I love that Weeks included a pie recipe at the beginning of each chapter - yum! Other wonderful reads by Weeks include As Simple as It Seems, Jumping the Scratch, Regular Guy, and So B. It.

The Adventures of Beanboy

My middle school students love books that combine text and comics/illustrations together to tell a story. Lisa Harkrader’s newest chapter book, The Adventures of Beanboy, is in that format. Seventh grader Tucker MacBean is a huge comic book fan which doesn’t make him high on the popular list at school. He and his best friend, Noah, frequently visit Caveman Comics for the latest H2O comic. Things have not been so great at home for Tucker – his father lives in another city, his mother is working during the day and taking college night classes, and he is responsible for taking care of his special needs little brother, Beecher, after school. Tucker decides the answer to his family’s burdens would be to win the H2O comic contest (the prize is a college scholarship – just what his mom needs), but he needs to attend Art Club after school to be successful. Tucker is relieved when his mother tells him that she has found someone to take care of Beecher after school. Tucker is surprised to find Sam Zawicki, a girl at his school who acts like his arch enemy, is Beecher’s new babysitter. Why is Sam always so angry with everyone? Did Sam’s brother steal from their middle school cooking class like everyone believes? When Tucker stands up for what is right, he becomes even more powerful than his favorite superhero. The comic part of the story portrays Tucker’s creative imagination and how his newly created character evolves. Another good book by Harkrader is Airball: My Life in Briefs.

The Fourth Stall

The Fourth Stall, Chris Rylander’s debut novel for children, describes a mini-mafia in a middle school run by 6th Grader Christian (goes by Mac – short for Macgyver) and his best friend, Vince (the brains behind the business). The location of their lucrative business is the fourth stall in an abandoned bathroom frequented by student customers needing help with various situations. This profitable business has earned Mac and Vince thousands of dollars over the years. The two have saved so long for the chance to see their favorite sports team, the Chicago Cubs, play in the World Series. Mac and Vince lose control of the business when a third grader named Fred asks them for protection from the dangerous Staples. People have heard outrageous stories about Staples and the horrific things he has done, but no one really believed he existed until now. Staples is determined to bring down Mac’s empire. Mac recruits the diverse “bad guys” of middle school to help defeat Staples before it’s too late. Guys will especially love this one…can’t wait to read book two.

My Name is Not Easy

My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson is a National Book Award Finalist. Edwardson draws on her strong knowledge of Alaska's history and environment. This story told through multiple narrators –Luke, Chickie, Sonny, Donna, and Amiq –children of various races (White, Indian, and Eskimo) sent a long way from their villages to Sacred Heart Catholic boarding school. All of the preteens’ families have been assured their children will receive a good education. No one can imagine at what cost. Luke begins the story by saying that he had to use the name, Luke, because his “name is not easy”. The students must give up their home language and speak only English. The integration of the Indians and the Eskimos is difficult at first as the students separate into packs. The story follows them from 1960 – 1964. Facing hardships brings the teens together and they soon find that School has become home for some of them. I appreciate that Edwardson used real-life situations that many Indian and Eskimo children had to face during that time in order to get an education. Some readers may have a difficult time at first keeping up with the characters as their stories are shared, but it is worth the effort. Another good book by Edwardson is Blessing’s Bead.

The Summer Before Boys

Nora Raleigh Baskin’s The Summer Before Boys is a reflective novel about growing up and the difficulties military kids have in the absence of their parent during wartime. Julia, the narrator of the story, is Eliza’s aunt although they are both twelve-years-old. It is summer and Julia’s mother, a member of the National Guard, has been deployed to Iraq for the past ten months. Julia spends weekdays with Eliza, anxiously anticipating her mother’s return from war. The storyline bounces back and forth between Julia and Eliza’s summer expeditions, the statistics of military women and the loss of lives during the different United States conflicts, and the time Julia spent in counseling with Peter (a boy whose father also served in Iraq). Although Julia wants a normal summer and hopes to get to know a boy named Michael better, her mother’s welfare is always on her mind. When Julia chooses meeting Michael over spending time with Eliza, Eliza’s safety is in jeopardy and their friendship may never be the same. My niece has had to live with the fear of her father’s well-being while he served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. She is currently in 7th grade and she probably cannot talk about that time without getting emotional. Thank you to Nora Raleigh Baskin for sharing the stories of our military children – they fight a different battle on the home front, but it is no less of a fight. Thanks for also dedicating this book to the brave men and women in our armed forces and their children. This is going on my sixth grade reading list next year. Other great books by Baskin include Anything But Typical, Basketball (or Something like It), and The Truth About my Bat Mitzvah.

Eight Keys

I absolutely love books about relationships, growing up, and overcoming losses in the characters’ lives. Eight Keys by Suzanne Lafleur is my kind of book. I am so thankful that some of my sixth graders kept telling me that I needed to read it. Elise and Franklin have been friends for years. It has always been easy for them to find ways to keep themselves entertained. When the two begin their first year at a big middle school, things begin to change between them. Elise is bullied by a girl named Amanda from the very first day. She feels like her friendship with Franklin doesn’t help the situation. Elise’s mother died giving birth to her and her father died a few years after that from cancer. Her father’s older brother and his wife have raised Elise in a warm house in the country with a huge barn. Her father wrote her a letter for each of her birthdays through the age of twelve. After her twelfth birthday, she discovers keys, one at a time, which will open eight locked doors in the second floor of the barn. Each room, her father’s final gifts, will change her life forever. Read this book to understand what it truly means to be a friend. Eight Keys is going on my 6th Grade Reading List next year. Another great book by Suzanne Lafleur is Love, Aubrey.

True (...sort of)

I had been waiting a long time for Katherine Hannigan to write another book after Ida B(one of my favorite reads). Imagine my excitement when I opened up my Junior Library Guild selection of the month - True(...sort of)! I loved this book as much as her first novel. The storyline centers on three unique characters. Delly has been in trouble her entire life. The whole town knows she is trouble. She has created her own vocabulary to get through her "dellyventure"-ous life. Brud goes to a private school in town and he loves playing basketball more than anything. He knows that his mouth will never work as fast as his brain wants the words to come out. Delly's and Brud's lives will change when a scrawny, pale girl named Ferris moves into town. Ferris, easily mistaken for a boy, doesn't talk and she has one rule - no one is allowed to touch her. Read True(...sort of) to find out how Delly and Brud become part of Ferris's life when she doesn't even say a word. Although this book will move you to tears, you will celebrate along with characters when their lives change for the better. This is a book you will want to share with others! If you haven't read Ida B (Hannigan's first novel), what are you waiting for?
Click on the video below to listen to the author tell you about her touching book.

The Absolute Value of Mike

The Absolute Value of Mike is Kathryn Erskine’s most recent novel about a boy learning how to get his father to accept him for who he is. Mike has always had trouble with math, but his father is determined that he can make him a better student. Although his dad is a genius when it comes to mathematical problems, Mike has had to be the parent in many ways since his mother died when he was just six years old. When Mike’s father leaves to teach math for six weeks in Romania, Mike is sent to live with his elderly distant relatives, Poppy and Moo, who have recently lost their son in a car accident. Mike’s father believes that Mike will be helping Poppy work on an engineering project. Mike deals with many issues once he arrives in the town of Downover. For one, Moo’s eyesight and hearing doesn’t exactly make for safe driving…she is in her eighties after all. Secondly, Poppy, grieving for his son, only sits in his chair and eats scrapple. Mike soon realizes that he must step up to help the town in their quest to adopt a boy named Misha who reminds Mike of himself. Will Mike be able to pull the huge task off? What will happen when Mike’s father finds out that he isn’t working on an engineering project after all? Read this humorous novel that deals with serious matters in which people with different attributes come together for others in need. I like how each chapter of the book has a mathematical term with a definition that applies to what happens in the story. Kathryn Erskine’s other book, Mockingbird, received the National book Award.