Great Books, part 3

I usually go for the dead teens books. However, last year's "No more dead teens" group really must have meant it because there were no dead teen books this year. So I chose "An Element of Danger".

1. In Epoch by Timothy Carter, everyone is going to die. Because the world is going to end. Vincent has been waiting for this, since his parent's religion has been proclaiming the end of the world for years. However, he discovers that it really is going to happen when he starts to see elves, pixies, and demons. And he learns that every civilization has its epoch and when it's over, it's over. Usually, there are portals that transport creatures from the ending epoch away, however this time something is blocking the portals and Vincent and his friends can't find out why, it's the end of everyone. I liked this story. I thought it was clever and unique. I'd recommend it to those who like fantasy and well as teens into rebellions.
2. In Boot Camp by Todd Strasser, Garrett, an incredibly bright teenager, is kidnapped in the middle of the night sent to a juvenile detention facility for delinquent teens. His parents have arranged this because he skips school once in awhile, breaks curfew, and won't stop dating his former teacher, who is 8 years his senior. A Lake Harmony, teens must admit their mistakes and confirm to their parents expectations to be released. If they don't, they will stay there until they are 18. Garrett is forced to endure both physical and mental abuse. This story is very powerful and is a strong and disturbing indictment of the boot camps that have sprung up all over the world.
3. In Right Behind You by Gail Giles, 14 year old Kip McFarland has spent the last 4 years in a psychiatric ward for violent offenders. When he was 9, he killed a young friend after setting him on fire. After his release, "Wade" moves to Indianna, but life is too good and his secret is revealed. Forced to relocate once again to Texas, Wade wants to trust Sam, his beautiful neighbor, who has her own past. But will she ever accept him for what he is? This is an interesting story told as the story is revealed to Sam. I thought it worked well.
4. This year's Kevin Brooks contribution is Being. This is the story of 16 year old Robert who goes to the hospital for a routine endoscopy (are endoscopy's really routine for 16 year olds?). Once there, he discovers that he is not human and mysterious people are after him. I thought the story dragged, especially after Robert and Eddi skip to Spain. I don't want to reveal too much, but the ending was really awful. I don't know why all the violence, especially when no answers resulted. No who is Robert, no who are these people after him. Not satisfying at all. After a pretty good start, there was so much potential in the story, but none of it was realized. I did not enjoy as much as last year's much more powerful, and equally violent, but fully wrapped up Road of the Dead.

Great Books, part 2

When choosing my Great Picture Books group, I usually try to look for a theme or topic that I think will contain books I can use in drop-in story times. I usually try for some sort of animal group (you can almost always find a book or two to use with animal books). This year, there didn't seem to be an animal group, so I chose "Home Sweet Home".

1. In Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk, Sam is a mouse who lives in a library. One day he decides to write his own book. He leaves it in the collection where it is found by the librarian. Sam continues to do this and his books become very popular. When asked to come and meet the children, Sam does something to encourage the author in everyone to emerge. This is a cute story with bright and vivid illustrations. A little long for the typical story time, but would be good to use with a kindergarten - second grade class.
2. In The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend, Jack the cat is hungry for omelets, so he builds the perfect nest to attract a chicken to supply him with some eggs. It's the perfect plan until a chicken, a duck, and a goose all lay claim to the nest, leaving Jack many more complications than he anticipated. Nice illustrations, fun use of language and not too long. This would work well for a drop-in.
3. In Some Dog by Mary Casanova, George has had a wonderful life as with his owners and they find him very special. All that is threatened by the arrival of a stray puppy who is full of mischief and energy. Can George compete with Zippity? A nice story. Maybe a tad bit long. Could be used with an older group.
4. Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine is based on the true story of Henry Brown, a slave who first loses his parents and then his wife and children. With nothing to lose and help from the underground railroad, Henry shuts himself into a packing crate and is mailed to freedom in the north. A very powerful and inspiring story, beautifully illustrated. Would be a good choice for an elementary school age program. Would be good for Black History Month programs.
5. Stealing Home by Robert Burleigh is two stories in one. First it is a simple descriptive story of how Jackie Robinson stole home plate during game one of the 1955 World Series. It is also the story, told in baseball card fact boxes on each page of Robinson's integration into Major League Baseball. Nicely illustrated. The layout is a little complex in that I needed to read the facts separate from the story or else the story got lost for me. I'd recommend this as a one on one read with a child/student.

Great Books, part 1

I have started reading for the Great Books Workshop in April. This is an annual workshop featuring a noted children's author or illustrator as the speaker (this year, Bruce Coville) and 3 discussion sessions. What this means for my reading project is that I'm stepping away from adult genres and am taking a look at some children's titles.

This month I tackled my "Great Books for Kids" books. This category is for upper elementary and middle school books. I chose the "Little Intrigues" group.

1. The case of the left-handed lady by Nancy Springer features 14 year old Enola Holmes (the younger sister of Sherlock) trying to evade discovery by her brothers (since she is living on her own) and trying to locate the missing Lady Cecily. Enola is extremely clever and capable and does "quite well on her own". I like this book and think that it will appeal to middle school girls looking for an independent heroine who is having a great adventure.

2. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LeFevers features another clever, capable and independent heroine. This time it is 11 year old Theodosia, who spends most of her time in the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London, where her father is head curator and her mother is traveling the world (currently concentrating in Egypt) looking for artifacts. Theodosia can feel the black magic emanating from the artifacts and must embark on a true adventure to recover and return a most powerful amulet, the Heart of Egypt. There a little Indiana Jones feel to this one and enough skulduggery that boys, able to look beyond the female title character, may enjoy this as well as the girls will.

3. In The Theft & the Miracle by Rebecca Wade, 12 year old Hannah Price is not particularly popular. She is a little overweight and acne prone. And she is a wonderful artist. One day she finds shelter from the rain in the local cathedral and, as if in a trance, draws a remarkable likeness of a statue of the Virgin and Child. The next day the Child is stolen and Hannah is caught up in the effort to find it before it is destroyed. This is an interesting story and was a quick read. It has an underlying message of esteem and self acceptance which may be of interest to girls of this age.

4. The Secret of the Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story by Peter Lane Taylor chronicles the true story of a group of Ukrainian Jews who survived the Holocaust by moving into a series of gypsum caves. The book details an expedition to explore the caves and recover artifacts with the true story and recollections of the survivors themselves. Photographs document both time periods. This is a tremendous story of people working together to ensure the survival of the whole group. It is almost unimaginable to conceive of how they accomplished this. A good story for the history and the inspiration for both boys and girls.

Non Fiction

Inspired by Deborah's universe books, this month I listened to a Non Fiction title. I decided to try the bestseller, Marley & Me: life and love with the world's worst dog, by John Grogan. Despite the fact that I am in no way, shape, or form a dog person, I really did enjoy the book. The episodes flowed smoothly and painted a wonderful portrait of this crazy dog. He sort of reminded me of my neighbor's dog . . . and also of my kids in a way. I really felt like I knew the dog and I definitely had to brush back the tears when it was time for Marley to go. As it's bestseller status will attest, many people are already familiar with this book. But it is definitely one to recommend - for the dog people, for the cat people, for the relationship people - which, when you think about it, it just about everyone.

Romance

This month I decided to read a romance book. I decided to read a romance paperback series book, because, to my recollection, I have never read any series books before.

So I went right for the jugular with a Harlequin Blaze book. This series if one of the most explicit of the paperback series (as evidence by the lack of clothes on the cover). It is true what they teach you in those reader's advisory classes.

I read Baby, It's Cold Outside, by Cathy Yardley (see, it had a holiday theme and everything), in which hot shot Colin returns to his small hometown and has a fling with local golden girl Emily. Will the one night stand turn into something more? Of course it does. That's the whole point of romance novels, isn't it?

It was a quick read, an okay diversion from the holiday madness of mid-December. Would recommend to those looking for something more explicit.

Mysteries

For November I read a Mystery. I do cross over into this genre once in awhile, so I picked an author/series I hadn't read before. I listened to "A" is for Alibi by Sue Grafton. It was a pretty good story that did keep me interested. I'm not so great at figuring it all out, and I was kept guessing on this one. I can see why the series is so popular and the customers have plenty to chose from since the series is up to "T", which is due out this week.

I wasn't so thrilled with the reader of this tape. She seemed to me to be trying too hard to play the unemotional, hard-boiled PI. It was a little too much for my taste.

Endless Universe

Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang by Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok
Instead of a "big bang" where time and space sprang into existence 14 billion years ago, the authors postulate a cyclical universe that has always existed and will continue to exist. The authors theorize there have been countless big bangs -- calling this M theory. This theory says the universe contains objects called "branes" (short for membranes). Two branes engage in an endless cycle of "collision, rebound, stretching and collision again."
I understand virtually nothing of the rationale behind this new theory except that it is intriguing to me that this theory apparently answers the multitude of questions/problems that arise when considering the Big Bang model. Even Stephen Hawking calls it "a challenging alternative to the accepted picture of the Big Bang and the future of the universe."