Chapter Book Review - Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Ever felt that you just aren't quite -- right at something? That you are somehow falling short, and you may not know how, or why? I've certainly had that feeling many times in my life.( If you haven't had that feeling yet - and I can't imagine how you haven't -- let me assure you that parenting is one experience that will give you this impression time and time again. Woo boy!)

Those of us who have felt this way will absolutely relate to Albie, the protagonist in Lisa Graff's top-notch middle grade novel Absolutely Almost. Albie seems destined to go through life being not quite good enough at everything he does, to his great frustration. He can't seem to sort out why things he tries don't turn out the way he wants them to, and he seems to fall short in the estimation of the people he loves the most. But then Albie starts a new school, and gets a cool new babysitter - and suddenly Albie begins to realize that while he may not be great at math or reading, he's still perfectly great at being Albie.

I completely adored this novel, and it's all because of Albie. He's a fantastic character with a one-of-a-kind voice to match. Graff has drawn him splendidly, making him come alive on the page from the very first chapter. I love that Albie's passionate about things like donuts and excels at building models, even though he's often made to feel like his interests are somehow less appealing than others. (It's pretty clear that Albie has some delays, but Graff never defines or diagnoses - an aspect I really appreciated.) Your heart will go out to Albie, but don't pity him - though there are some really tough aspects of this book (bullies, his oblivious father), Albie's 100% the hero of this story. He transforms over the course of the book from bystander in his own life to a boy who knows where he's going, even if he's not quite there yet. 

Graff draws the reader into Albie's story through the ample use of humor and very realistic situations. She captures that sense of feeling powerless, when decisions that affect Albie's life are made without his input and he has to just go along with the ride. You'll cringe at some of the outcomes, but ultimately you'll end up cheering for a hero who's less Superman and more Captain Underpants -- and despite what Albie's mom thinks, that's pretty darn terrific. 

This is a terrific book to hand to kids who enjoyed Wonder or Counting by 7s, for a protagonist who is quirky and completely unique. Don't expect a neat resolution or a glossy happy ending from Absolutely Almost. It just wouldn't be true to the characters. But do expect a book with heart and soul, that will make readers think and feel, and most importantly help them put themselves in another's place. And expect to want donuts. . . lots and lots of donuts!

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff, published by Philomel Books

Ages 9-12

Source: Library

First lines: "'Not everybody can be the rock at the top of the rock pile.' That's what my Grandpa Park said to my mom once when they thought I was asleep, or just not listening, I don't know. But my ears work fine. 'There have to be some rocks at the bottom, to support those at the top.'"

Highly recommended

Chapter Book Review - The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

How do you find out about great books? That's a question people often ask me, and it's kind of weird for me to answer, really, because so much of my life is steeped in bookish-ness. I keep close tabs on the publishing industry for work, but also because I'm just plain nerdy, and I can't help myself. Along the way I've picked up a number of fantastic blogs and websites that I follow (someday I will write a detailed post of all of them, honest), as well as trade publications. And when I start to see the same title cropping up in all my usual haunts, well then, I feel sure it's a sign from above pointing me toward that particular book.

'Cause that's how fate works, right?

Today's title is one that I first heard about through the goddess of all kidlit bloggers, Betsy Bird, when her blog Fuse #8 premiered the trailer for The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern. I mean, that book trailer -- I defy anyone to watch that sucker and *not* want to start reading the book immediately. So I waited somewhat impatiently for the book to arrive at my library and then downed it in one sitting. And subsequently could not stop thinking about the book, it's that good. Definitely a sleeper hit of the year for me.

It's the voice of Maggie, the main character, that really stuck with me. Maggie's entirely original, unlike anyone else you're liable to run across in chapter books. She's self-assured and knows what she wants -- to be the president of the US, a Wall Street tycoon (starting with her first share of Coca-Cola stock) and also to fix her dad. Because the thing is, Maggie's dad's legs started to fall asleep a while back, and now they're all the way asleep. And some other stuff is happening too, like Maggie's mom getting a job at a hotel, Maggie's sort-of long-lost grandmother coming to visit, and Maggie's sister kissing a boy on the couch. Oh, and that guy Clyde who Maggie can't get out of her head. Wow, is middle school a crazy time -- you can understand why a girl gets upset when her Halloween candy stash runs low.

The Meaning of Maggie is Sovern's debut, but you can tell by the end of the first chapter that this author has some serious chops as far as novel-writing goes. She keeps the pace moving along, and strikes a nice balance between emotion and hilarity. Maggie's family is dealing with some tough stuff -- we find out about halfway through that her dad has MS, and it's getting progressively worse -- and kids who have been in a similar situation will find much to relate to here. But this is a great title for all kids, all people really, to read, in order to build empathy and help people understand what it's like to love someone with a disability. Maggie plainly adores her dad, and the toll his disease takes on her whole family is tough. But through it all, the family sticks together, and their bond just continues to grow.

Like Wonder and Mockingbird, The Meaning of Maggie is a novel that can start conversations: about ability, difference, emotions and the meaning of "normal". Read this smart, sassy, very real novel now, then share it with every kid you know -- Maggie's the kind of girl who needs all the readers she can get.

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern, published by Chronicle Books
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Sample: "I'm feeling about a million things at this moment. And I guess the only thing I'm not feeling now is hungry because I just ate that entire Little Debbie even though I double swore to myself that I'd wait until Dad woke up to share it. But I couldn't help it. I'm tired. I slept on a floor last night. In a hospital waiting room. Next to my sister who kicked the dickens out of me with her perfect legs all night long."
Recommended

Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Summer is right around the corner, and that can only mean one thing - Summer Reading! If you've followed this blog for very long, you know that I was a very bookish child who has become a bookish adult with a serious soft spot for Summer Reading. It was my favorite time of year: curling up in a sunny spot with my dog and a good book, or making a pilgrimage to the bookmobile (later the library) only to emerge with a bag of books I could barely carry. I read everything that caught my fancy in those years, and many things that I never would have otherwise tried, but for the fact that I suddenly had plenty of leisure time to explore new literary worlds.

Heaven, for me, is books, no question.

And today's pick is one that the young me would have devoured, and then gone right back to for a second read-through. Kimberly Newton Fusco's previous books have garnered starred reviews and awards, and no wonder, because they are just amazing. But in her latest book, Beholding Bee, a WWII-era novel, Fusco has scored a home run - a character whose voice is so indelible and unforgettable that she draws you right into her story, and you never look back.

Bee has lived with Pauline ever since her parents died when she was three, and the traveling carnival where Pauline works is the only world Bee's ever known. It's not an easy life, and it's made tougher by the presence of Bee's "diamond", a prominent birthmark that draws the attention of everyone who comes to buy hot dogs from Pauline. Bee knows her diamond makes her special, but it sometimes seems too much to bear. And then things get even tougher: Pauline takes up with a boyfriend and leaves Bee behind to manage the hot dog cart all by herself. Bee takes as much as she can stand from unpleasant carnival boss Ellis. But finally she's had enough, so Bee and her dog Peabody, plus a piglet named Cordelia take off at a run, literally. And eventually Bee finds herself at a house that looks like gingerbread, where two quirky old ladies seem to have been expecting her. It's not what Bee bargained for, but it might just be everything she needs.

Beholding Bee is a historical novel for all kinds of kids, but especially for those who know what it's like to be an outsider. As an orphan and an outcast, Bee's developed a unique perspective on the world, and that informs her every decision in a way that makes her a character you can't help but root for. She reminds me so much of other strong girls in literature: Gilly Hopkins, for one, or Hollis Woods, even a younger Dicey Tillerman. She's got heart, but she's not fragile - Bee's a girl who has taken what life dishes out to her and keeps going, because she must. I love the complexity of this character, and Fusco never takes the easy way out for Bee, which makes me love her all the more.

Older readers will likely suss out some of the more mysterious elements a little sooner, but that doesn't take away from the pure enjoyment of the story. And believe me when I tell you that Bee's voice will linger in your mind: I finished this novel over a week ago, and I can't stop replaying Bee's story, thinking about her and the other characters in this vivid, unforgettable tale. With this effort, Fusco confirms her place on my list of writers I'll continue to look out for -- and I hope the Newbery committee feels the same.

Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco, published by Alfred A. Knopf
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Sample: "I hear one lady tell her girl I must have done something horrid to be stained all over my face like that. Or maybe my mama is the one who did something awful, or maybe my daddy, and I am the one being punished. . . . But Pauline holds me and whispers they are not right. Otherwise, why would I have a beautiful jewel on my cheek the color of a rose at dusk and they do not? / I do so like Pauline's way of looking at things."
Highly recommended

Chapter Book Review - Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker

The name Sara Pennypacker is probably most familiar for her early chapter book series Clementine. In these books, our high-spirited heroine seems always to land herself in the most outrageous kinds of trouble (cutting her best friend's hair off, for instance, and then coloring it back in with permanent marker). Clementine defines the word irrepressible, and it's all her poor parents can do to keep up with her. She's a lot of outrageous fun, a Ramona Quimby for the post-millenial set.

But if you're looking for a Clementine-esque character in Pennypacker's new novel, Summer of the Gypsy Moths, you may be a bit disappointed. While the author gives us two very strong girls in the form of Stella and Angel, and while there are some funny moments, Clementine these ladies definitely are not.

In fact Stella, the narrator, is really more like a little adult than she is a girl of twelve. Most of that is due to Stella's familiarity with loss. She's had more than her fair share of it already, from the father she never knew to the grandmother who's now passed on. And Stella's mother - let's just say she's flighty at best, but far closer to neglectful. In fact, that's how Stella came to be living with her Great-aunt Louise, at the Linger Longer Summer Cottages on Cape Cod. Louise is the caretaker of the cottages, and of Stella too, now that her mother's run off yet again. And Louise has taken in another child besides, the mysterious Angel, who wants Stella to keep her distance at all times. Angel seems always poised to run, which Stella can't quite understand, since she thinks living at the Cape is the closest thing to perfect she's ever known.

And then a giant rock crashes through the clear glass that surrounds Stella's fragile world, and suddenly everything is a huge mess. Stella's used to relying on herself - she does, after all, take care of everything possible since her mother is so "restless" - but this is all very different. She needs someone else, and surprisingly enough she finds that someone in Angel. Oh, Angel's resistent to the idea at first also, but the two girls are forced to pull together in order to survive, literally. And soon they are faced with the hard truth: like it or not, there's more that unites them than sharing a roof at Linger Longer.

I won't say more (though I'm itching to) because I don't want to give away everything. Suffice it to say that these two girls are some of the fiercest seen in kidlit since Gilly Hopkins. Just when you think that they're presented with truly insurmountable odds, they manage to pull through, by working together. And in that is the real lesson, that life is difficult and the deck is often stacked against us, so we need to find strength wherever we can. Even if that's in someone we always thought we couldn't stand. When Stella comes to realize that her mother isn't just scatter-brained, but really has some emotional issues, it's a hard moment for her and for us. And as we get to know Angel, find out more about her Portuguese heritage and see the pain that drives her deep inside her shell, we come to recognize her beauty also.

Stella and Angel are high-risk kids, no question. And Pennypacker doesn't shy away from revealing that to readers, letting us see the difficult bits a little at a time. Don't be fooled by the gauzy, wistful cover art - there are some really hard moments in this book, especially at the beginning. But that to me is the real test of great writing, that an author can blindside you with events you never anticipated and you still hang on for the whole wild ride. There are a ton of quietly moving scenes in this novel, scenes that make you think about the whole notion of family and trust, and ultimately to consider what bonds really hold us most deeply.

Pair this with books like Katherine Paterson's The Same Stuff as Stars or Patricia Reilly Giff's Pictures of Hollis Woods for more about foster kids in difficult situations. And I won't be at all surprised come Newbery time if this isn't at least on the short list - it's that fine of a novel.

Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker, published by Balzer + Bray
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Sample: "I looked over the cottages. Here were five homes to prove myself on. Below, in our backyard, were Louise's blueberry bushes. My mother's blueberry bushes. Mine, too, now. I felt a good iron-bone, lead-blood heaviness settle me into the floorboards. I couldn't tell Angel any of this, either. / I turned. 'Because, this place?' I said instead. 'I'm not leaving it.'"
Highly recommended

Chapter Book Review - Wonder by RJ Palacio

"I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go."

Thus begins RJ Palacio's Wonder, an aptly named middle-grade novel that just may be my favorite book of 2012.

And that's saying something, because I've read some fantastic stuff this past year. But Wonder is like nothing else -- funny, heartbreaking, emotional, and absolutely an all-around incredible piece of work. I've seen a lot of hype about this one in the blogosphere, and having just turned the last page, I can tell you that all that high praise is richly deserved.

Wonder is Palacio's debut, and it's hard to know where she'll go from here, because she's definitely set a high mark for herself. The novel tells the story of August "Auggie" Pullman, who is in every way a pretty normal fifth grader, with the usual interests of a boy his age. But there's one thing very, very different about Auggie - he was born with a rare genetic disorder that manifests itself in a "craniofacial abnormality", as his older sister Via describes it. Auggie and his family have spent their lives dealing with Auggie's condition, through multiple surgeries and treatments to the looks and whispered comments from others when they first see Auggie. And the Pullmans have gotten pretty good at handling all of it.

But when Auggie starts fifth grade, his parents decide it's time for real school. No more homeschooling with his mom. Auggie's not sure he's ready, and he's more than a little nervous about how things will go with the other kids. Will he make any friends? Will the other kids ever get past Auggie's face and look at who he really, really is?

Palacio completely nails the experience of being the one who doesn't blend into the crowd. And still, she never makes Auggie a pathetic character or someone to be pitied - far from it. Writing from the point of view of Auggie, as well as several other pivotal characters, she tells Auggie's story as it impacts everyone. His presence at Beecher Prep not only changes Auggie's life, but many other people's as well, in ways that no one could have foreseen when the school year started. The reader begins to understand how Auggie's face serves as a mirror to all those around him; looking at Auggie, you see yourself in unexpected ways. How each character deals with that unexpected reaction provides the narrative drive for the story, and is what makes this an outstanding novel for everyone, not just middle schoolers. I'm hard pressed to think of a book that exemplifies the experience of empathy in such a way, by showing what it looks in real life, not after-school specials.

The center point around which Auggie's story turns is a quote by Wayne Dyer: "When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind." It's one thing to talk to our kids about bullying, about the importance of standing up for others and not joining in with the crowd. It's another to show them what bullying looks like. This is a book that can do that, without preaching or shutting kids down. I know it's one that I'll be reading with Sprout when he's older.

Share Wonder with the kids in your life, but read it yourself first. Auggie Pullman is someone you'll want to know.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Ages 9-13
Source: Library
Sample: "The thing is, when I was little, I never minded meeting new kids because all the kids I met were really little, too. What's cool about really little kids is that they don't say stuff to try to hurt your feelings, even though sometimes they do say stuff that hurts your feelings. But they don't actually know what they're saying. Big kids, though: they know what they're saying."
Highly recommended

Bonus: Hear what inspired the novel, as NPR interviews author R.J. Palacio

More reviews:
Jen Robinson's Book Page
Fuse #8
100 Scope Notes
More Than True
Abby the Librarian

Novel in Verse - The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

This is Ivan.

Ivan is a lowland gorilla from Zaire. For 27 years, Ivan lived in an exhibit at a circus-themed shopping center in Tacoma, Washington. He had no other gorillas for companionship, and his only exposure to the world was his view through the glass at shoppers who came to watch him. He lost his twin sister en route from Zaire, and when she died he was utterly alone. In this photo Ivan is relatively young, yet you can already see the loneliness burning behind his eyes.

Having seen Ivan in person as a kid, I always felt a connection to his story. I remember it vividly - the darkness of his enclosure, the lurid jungle-type painting on his wall, and the sad resignation in his body language. In 1994, animal advocates began campaigning for Ivan's release, and he was eventually transferred to Zoo Atlanta, where he lives today a very different life from that of his early years.

Ivan is the subject of the beautifully written new book by Katherine Applegate, The One and Only Ivan. In this novel, Applegate takes her inspiration from Ivan's story, and spins a world for Ivan that is compelling and heart-breaking, and entirely told from his point of view. Applegate populates Ivan's world with non-gorilla companions: Stella the elephant, Bob the stray dog, Julia, the daughter of the night janitor. Together this friends help Ivan survive his loneliness. Stella remembers a life before captivity, and her reminscences encourage Ivan to search the dim corners of his mind for his own memories. Bob keeps Ivan company, sneaking into Ivan's enclosure at night to sleep on Ivan's chest. Julia reaches out to Ivan, recognizing his need to create and providing him with art supplies that he uses to capture his world  -- and eventually negotiate for his own new future.

Applegate tells Ivan's story as a novel-in-verse. This is a technique that can work incredibly well in the right setting -- Inside Out and Back Again, for instance -- and as a means to relate Ivan's history, it's the perfect style. In short, vivid bursts, we learn about Ivan's daily life, his loves and his heartaches. There's humor here, and pathos too, and between it all some important questions are raised about humans and what we value most. Applegate does not vilify Ivan's owner Mack, who is entirely fictional. Rather, she presents Mack as sad and confused, someone who does love Ivan but really does not know how to display his love in a way that's good for the magnificent gorilla who is under his care.

Applegate never talks down to her readers, never sugar-coats the story or implies that Ivan's situation is going to be easily resolved. The narrative brings up some incredibly important discussion points, and kids and adults alike will find themselves moved and inspired by Ivan's story. Most importantly, we learn that it's never too late for life to change for the better -- and that sometimes, when it seems impossible to hope for yourself, the hope you have for another will carry you through. The One and Only Ivan is an amazing story and a powerful addition to the canon of children's literature about animals. Read this for yourself, share it with the kiddos in your life, buy it for your library. Just don't expect to ever forget the book - or Ivan himself.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, published by HarperCollins
Ages 9-13
Source: Library
Sample: "I know what most humans think. They think gorillas don't have imaginations. They think gorillas don't have imaginations. They think we don't remember our pasts or ponder our futures. / Come to think of it, I suppose they have a point. Mostly I think about what is, not what could be. / I've learned not to get my hopes up."
Highly recommended

Bonus: check out The One and Only Ivan website for more information about Ivan, the book and author Katherine Applegate

Novel in Verse - Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Rarely am I at a loss to describe a book, or even to write a review of it.

Rarely does an author so take my breath away that upon finishing her work, I am immediately moved to reread it.

Rarely does a book like Thanhha Lai's come along.

If you haven't read a novel-in-verse, you may be put off by the format. I was, for a very long time, until reading Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust. In a word, that book was stunning - it captures the experience of living in Dust Bowl Oklahoma in a voice that is spare and beautiful. Since then I've read a few others, but none quite comes close to Lai's Inside Out and Back Again.

Lai's debut novel (winner of the National Book Award) is a story based on her own experience, that of ten-year-old Ha, who with her family escapes Saigon in the wake of the Vietnam War. Ha's life is marked by loss - her father went missing in action before Ha's first birthday, her mother has drawn gradually away with the stress of supporting the whole family. And now the war - Ha's best friend flees with her family, and the loss continues. At last it becomes clear that Ha's family also must go, but with no clear idea exactly where they will end up. The escape, the boat journey, the terror of floating aimlessly with no rescue in sight - this is all part of Ha's story, as is her arrival in a strange land called Alabama, where not even a taste of her favorite fruit can bring back the feeling of her homeland.

Lai tells Ha's story with a fierce tenderness that speaks to the personal nature of the tale. Her decision to write the novel in verse is, in my estimation, a brilliant one, as it allows for the kind of stark imagery that brings the entire experience to vivid life. Bursts of humor break the tension, but never do we forget that this is a journey not only of physicality, but also of identity and of learning to find one's place in a strange land.

Like Lai's prose, Ha herself instantly captures you. She's sneakily brilliant: on the first morning of the new year, Ha tells us, male feet should touch the floor first, for luck -- but Ha wants to be the first, so she creeps her toe out of the covers to tap the ground. She's determined: her strength shines through every line, every thought, every vignette. Though the world she knew gradually slips away from her, Ha clings to her faith in herself and her family. Never does her beautiful, bright determination waver, never does her spirit become worn away.

I read this in one quick burst -- I couldn't help it -- but then went back and read shorter portions, savoring the language, the imagery, the sense of place and time and personality. This is a gorgeously written portrait of a girl whose experience echoes over and over in refugees the world over. Absolutely compelling - one of my new favorites.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, published by HarperCollins
Ages 9 up
Source: Library
Sample: "Water, water, water / everywhere / making me think / land is just something / I once knew / like / napping on a hammock / bathing without salt / watching Mother write / laughing for no reason / kicking up powdery dirt / and / wearing clean nightclothes / smelling of the sun."
Highly recommended

Bonus: Thanhha Lai's interview with Publisher's Weekly

Chapter Book Review - Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

So wouldn't it be great if you could hand your child a thrilling, well-crafted, engrossing novel in which neither race nor adoption were the driving force behind the plot?

Thought so.

If you'd like to do just that, Anne Ursu's Breadcrumbs is a must-have. I was excited to read this one not only because the main character, Hazel, is part of a multiracial family formed by adoption, but also because I've read and loved Ursu's adult novels Spilling Clarence and The Disapparation of James. Both were favorite handsells back in my retail days, for the clever mixing of intriguing characters and fantastical turns of everyday reality.

And Ursu didn't disappoint me in Breadcrumbs, which I think is a strong contender for the Newbery this year (please please please). In the book, Hazel and Jack are two peas in a pod, sharing everything from a love of fantasy to a talent at superhero baseball (a game of their own invention). But one day Jack just -- goes away. Oh, he's there in body, all right, but he's no more Hazel's best friend than a stranger on the street. Jack just looks right through Hazel like he doesn't even see her. Hazel's crushed, and she can't accept what her mother tells her, that "these things happen". And when Jack disappears for real, Hazel doesn't believe for one second that he's with his elderly Aunt Bernice. No, Hazel's going to get to the bottom of this -- and for that, she must set off into the frigid Minnesota woods to rescue her very best friend.

Now, I could go on and on about all the things there are to love about Breadcrumbs, from the way Ursu interweaves fantasy into common events and how she turns fairytale conventions upside down, while never betraying their essence. Particularly well-done are the scenes once Hazel enters the woods, so evocative that I was amazed to look up from reading them and find myself at home tucked up in bed. But what many readers will take away from Breadcrumbs is the sense of holding fast to your sense of self and letting that be your compass. Hazel never wavers from the notion that Jack, the real Jack is still in there, and that he needs her now even more than he ever has. Quite a commentary on growing up but not away, this one.

Breadcrumbs is that rare thing, a novel that's not genre- (or gender) defined, neither wholly fictive nor entirely true. Honestly, I can't say enough about this smart, funny, surprising novel, which I found so compelling that I truly regretted turning the last page. For kids who feel on the outside, either because of something like adoption, or because they're finding their way across that looming chasm between childhood and growing up, Breadcrumbs will be a great gift. And if you feel that way as an adult? Guess what -- it'll speak to you too.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, published by HarperCollins
Ages 10-13
Source: Library
Sample Quote: "Hazel blinked. It occurred to her that Mikaela was being nice to her. She did not know how to react, for when your heart has been poisoned and someone picks a dandelion for you -- because it is bright and yellow and you seem like you could use something like that -- all you can do is contemplate the funny ways of weeds."
Highly recommended

Want to read more? Check out this guest post from Anne Ursu at The Book Smugglers blog, or visit her official author site.

Chapter Book Review - Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis

Right over our back fence is a patch of land that the owners have pretty much left alone. There's a  plum tree, some grapevines, and blackberries galore. This jumble of wildness presses itself into our fence, bursting over the top and shoving aside random boards in its untameable chaos.

We love it.

And it was this very wildness that I thought of from the first pages of Wildwood, the richly imaginative new novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. The book is set in Portland, OR, but a Portland unlike that most people know, one bordered by the fierce forest known as the Impassable Wilderness. Residents know to avoid these woods entirely. Prue McKeel and Curtis Mehlberg aren't sure just why, as their parents never really talk about it -- but when Prue's baby brother Mac is snatched by a murder of crows who fly into the Impassable Wildness, suddenly everything changes. Prue is determined to get her brother back, and Curtis is equally set on helping her, so, somewhat trepidatiously, into the Wilderness they go.

What they find is something they are completely unprepared for. Armies of talking coyotes, regiments of birds, deposed rulers trying to regain power, and always, everywhere, wildness and magic. Prue and Curtis soon are in the thick of it, trying to piece together which side they should be fighting for and just how Mac could disappear like he did. And the deeper Prue and Curtis get into the woods, the more they discover about themselves, their families, and how dense the wildness really is.

Wildwood is the kind of book that fantasy lovers long for, vividly detailed and fantastically suspenseful. Meloy's writing is offset perfectly by Ellis's illustrations, whimsical and just a bit dangerous. I love the use of color plates inset at points throughout the story -- it reminds me of old editions of the Oz books that I used to pore over. And, in fact, Wildwood owes a lot to L. Frank Baum, C.S. Lewis and even Lewis Carroll, as readers of these authors will find much that's familiar but also a completely new departure in this novel. Curtis in particular was quite reminiscent of Edmund from Narnia, at least at first, but then Curtis's own character emerges and we can see that he's definitely a personality all his own. My favorite bit was the bandits, especially the Bandit King Brendan, that rakish devil.

I can't wait for the next entry in this series, to catch up with Prue and Curtis and visit Wildwood once more. Share this with anyone who loves magic, mystery and epic adventure -- whether you read it aloud or they jump in all your own, Wildwood is one to curl up with on a stormy winter night (and keep reading long past your bedtime!).

Wildwood by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis; published by Balzer + Bray
Ages 9 up
Source: Library
Sample quote: "'Impassable Wilderness? Oh boy, would that it were. I might have a little more time at home. Nah, I don't know who told you that, but you Outside folk have got it all wrong. 'Course, you're the first of your kind I've ever seen here, so it stands to reason that no one ever made an effort to find out about the Wood -- Wild, North, or South.' He looked at Prue and smiled. 'Seems like you just might be our first pioneer, Port-Land Prue.'"
Highly recommended

For more about Wildwood, check out this interview with Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis!

Link Love - William Joyce, Mock Newberys and Ian Falconer's New Yorker

Another week gone by and more links to be had. Start clicking!

~ First up, William Joyce's new picture book The Man in the Moon released this week. I haven't read it yet but took a minute to flip through, and as expected the art is amazing. Seriously, this is a feast for the eyes and is the kind of thing curious kids (and adults) will pore over. For more info about Joyce and the Guardians of Childhood, check out this issue of Shelf Awareness's Maximum Shelf.

~ Celebrate Roald Dahl this month! It's hard to imagine a world without Roald Dahl's characters -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and of course James and the Giant Peach. (or my personal fave, the underappreciated Danny the Champion of the World). You can honor Dahl's creations by sending a virtual peach -- or, see Dahl illustrator Quentin Blake virtually live on September 28. Scrumptious!

~ Last week I posted about ways you can help hurricane-damaged libraries. Check out Kate Messner's blog for an update -- and thanks to all who are participating.

~ If there's one thing I'm passionate about, it's reading aloud to Sprout. Seriously, it's a rare night that we miss it, and I'm determined to keep that up as long as possible. I firmly believe that reading aloud is the kind of project that's more marathon than sprint, and Read Aloud Dad has a little something to say about that this week too.

~ Along the same lines, a writer reflects on her time working with struggling readers as a parent volunteer. Her conclusions, and the reality of what she experienced, may be somewhat surprising. From School Library Journal.

~ On to fun stuff: It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Book blogs abound, in all subject categories and possible permutations. Events like this give us a chance to step back and examine what's happening on other blogs and what trends other bloggers are embracing. Plus, you can find some new favorite reads -- win win! Check out the site and vote for your faves in various categories.

~ Speaking of voting, it's also just about time for the Mock Newberys to start up. Got any personal picks or secret hopes for serious contenders? I'm always fascinated to see not only who's nominated but what great reads don't make the cut -- and how close the Mock Newberys come to the real thing. Bookmark Heavy Medal now.

~ I really, truly love Ian Falconer. Olivia is the kind of book that works on several levels, both for kids and for adults. Best of all, the illustrations give a cheeky nod to old masters and are a great way to introduce kids to some spectacular artwork (although I find the TV adaptation books just unfortunate). Fuse #8 takes a look at Falconer's New Yorker covers, and as expected there's more here than meets the eye. I especially love the ESOL -- heh heh.

~ And finally, I'd be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the anniversary that's on all our minds today. Ten years ago the world changed for America. And we will never be the same again. For Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers, 9/11 sparked a desire to examine what patriotism meant to them. The result, We Are America, is simply breathtaking, inspiring, and unifying.

Chapter Book Review - Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

Tess Brooks is superstitious. She comes by it naturally, as the daughter of a lobsterman who lives on a small island off the coast of Maine. Good luck and bad are all intertwined with Tess's life in and around boats. When the state threatens to shut down her island school, the residents of the island decide to meet the minimum attendance numbers by taking in foster children. And since the Brooks family would have to move to the mainland if this experiment doesn't work, Tess is wishing harder than ever that things will go in their favor. But Aaron Spinney isn't anything like the foster kids Tess has read about in books, and it's pretty obvious that they are going to need more than good luck to make things turn out the way everyone hopes.

Cynthia Lord struck gold with her Newbery-honor winning debut Rules, and Touch Blue is a sophomore effort that delivers. The people she writes about are representative of those you might find on an island like Bethsaida; characters that are quirky and yet lovable at the same time. Everyone knows everyone else's business here, and as Tess puts it, that's both good (if you need help) and bad (if you want to keep something to yourself). Tess and her sister Libby are typical island kids, skilled at working the grapevine to get what they want and used to living in a community that's just like one big extended family. Everyone takes part in island-wide picnics and celebrations that sound like something out of time gone by. Readers might long for the beautiful surroundings that the Brooks girls enjoy, and even the most land-locked will relish Lord's vivid descriptions of the ocean. 

Aaron Spinney is the character that brings tension into the Brooks' happy lives, both by virtue of the need for his presence (the island families must keep enrollment up or the school will close) and because of his troubled past. Aaron's been through a lot, going into foster care after his grandmother's death and his mother's loss of her parental rights. He does not want to be on Bethsaida, and he makes that plain right away. No matter how much Tess tries to engage Aaron in island life, he isn't convinced. Since he entered the system, Aaron's lived in several homes; it pains Tess that he talks about his placements by number, and she worries that their home will be just another stop in the progression for Aaron. Tess is determined to make a difference for Aaron, and that determination leads her into areas that will ultimately make things even tougher for everyone. There's a great lesson in this, about good intentions that lead to unwise actions, and this adds to the realism not only of the plot but also of the characters.

Lord does an extraordinary job of making her characters multi-dimensional. Tess is conflicted over her desire to help Aaron and her selfish wish to be able to stay on Bethsaida. Aaron is driven by his need to reconnect with his past, even as he wants to build a future. Tess's parents, like most of the adults, aren't perfect either, which is enormously reassuring (I can't stand it when fictional parents always know what to do and are completely clued in to what their kids are feeling -- so not the way life actually is!). Eben Calder, Tess's nemesis, is less finely drawn. He's antagonistic towards Aaron and generally tries to make Tess's life miserable, but his motivations for doing so aren't immediately apparent (though we do get some hint of it as the novel unfolds). Still, this is a small detail in an otherwise finely rendered novel, one that the majority of readers will be willing to overlook.

Overall Touch Blue is an honest and realistic novel about the complexities of forming a family, and deciding what's really important in the quest to be true to yourself. For me this is on par with Pictures of Hollis Woods or The Great Gilly Hopkins as an authentic look at the experience of foster families from all angles.

Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord, published by Scholastic Press
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Sample quote "Standing on the road beside Aaron, I don't tell him he hurt my feelings. I don't ask why he doesn't try even a little. I don't point out that he has to live somewhere, and at least we want him. And I don't admit the thing I'm most scared of."
Recommended

Chapter Book Review: Junonia by Kevin Henkes

The phrase "instant classic" is so overused that it's just about totally meaningless, but I'm in favor of resurrecting it for one recent read, Kevin Henkes' Junonia. A junonia, for those not in the know (which I wasn't) is a type of seashell, one that is so rare that it is highly prized among shell collectors. And in Henkes' novel, ten-year-old Alice Rice is such a collector, who hopes that this year her vacation to Sanibel Island, Florida will yield her the precious find.

Alice has been coming to Sanibel Island on vacation almost since she can remember, and she loves the rhythm and predictability of the island. Her parents always rent the same cabin, the same neighbors are usually there, and her birthday is always the highlight of the trip. But this year, it seems that nothing will go according to plan. Old friends can't make it and new friends don't live up to Alice's expectations. Especially vexing is six-year-old Mallory, who wants to do everything Alice does and whose tantrums seem to ruin everything that would otherwise be so perfect.

Henkes' novel is one of those quiet, gentle plots that unfolds just like the ebb and flow of the tides. The conflict within Alice provides the greatest tension, as she wrestles with the reality of her trip, and how things have turned out differently from her ideal version. I think there's a lot here that speaks to kids of a certain type, the kind of child who craves routine and precision and is somewhat undone when actual events don't match up to expectation. And isn't that all of us, at some time or another?

Or maybe it was just me, but I can see how watching Alice deal with the way things change in this pivotal year would offer a number of opportunities to talk with kids who are themselves undergoing change. Whether that change stems from adding another family member, a move, changing schools or moving up a grade, or just getting older, Junonia is a book that will help kids see how change, though unsettling and not easy, can also bring about a lot of positives.

And in any case, Junonia is a pitch-perfect choice for reading aloud, a book whose subtle rhythms would make for the perfect bedtime read, whether on vacation at the beach (I wish!) or snuggled up together at home.

Junonia by Kevin Henkes, published by Greenwillow
Ages 8 up
Source: Library
Sample quote: "After all, she was going to be ten. Finding a junonia would be the perfect gift. She picked up one of her new tulip shells and turned it in the light. It was covered with bluish gray and brown markings. Its inner surface was lustrous. . . . It was many things, but it wasn't a junonia." (pp 87-88)
Highly recommended

YA Review - Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

You know when you read a novel, and almost from the first chapter you know it's going to be one of those that stays with you, the kind you recommend to everyone and end up rereading just for the pleasure of it?

Yep, I love that too.

Confession time: I have not read Gary Schmidt's Newbery Honor book The Wednesday Wars, despite the high acclaim it has received AND despite the fact that I actually own a copy, somewhere. And so I'm not sure why exactly I moved Schmidt's new novel, Okay for Now, up to the top of my TBR list, so much so that I brought it along on vacation. But many thanks to the mysterious forces at work that led me to do so, because wow, is this an incredible book.

For Doug Swieteck, moving to a new town just makes his crummy life that much harder. There's his brother Christopher, he of the "twisted criminal mind" who torments Doug at every opportunity. There's school, where Doug will do almost anything to hide his difficulty reading. And there's his father, whose abusive nature gets worse now that he has a regular drinking buddy. It all adds up to be just about more than Doug can bear.

But then beauty enters Doug's life, in the form of an original John James Audubon book at the Marysville Public Library. Doug is captivated by the prints and Audubon's technique, and compelled to learn all of what it takes to capture the images as vividly as Audubon does. And wouldn't you know it, those birds begin to crack the hard shell Doug has formed around himself, and before long there are new friends (a girl!), books to read, relationships with adults, and all kinds of good things taking the place of beatings and desperateness.

It's not all rosy and it's not all easy. There are still "wrong days", the kind of day when Doug just doesn't try to approach his father for anything. And there are still things that Doug makes a mess of, and that make a mess of him. But the difference is that there's hope there now, where it wasn't before, and maybe things will start to turn around, just a little, because suddenly Doug knows he has a lot of people on his side.

Okay for Now pulls together pieces -- Audubon prints, domestic abuse, Joe Pepitone's jacket, a Broadway play, learning disabilities -- that in any other author's hands would be little more than a disconnected jumble. But Schmidt knows what he's doing here, and he makes it all flow together like only the best storytellers can. It works, in that indefinable magic way that really fine novels do, so the reader is never aware of the machinations behind the scenes.

Gary Schmidt is more than just a great writer, he's a great writer for kids. There is a huge difference after all, because adults will give even the most unintelligible mess of a novel a chance on the basis of critical acclaim or a friend's recommendation. But kids -- kids are different. Grab them right away, make them care and then keep on making them care, or they are on to something else. Schmidt knows how to make kids see beyond the surface. We know from the start that there's a lot Doug isn't telling us, a great deal of pain he is hiding behind his tough exterior. And I think that is something many boys will relate to, the societal pressure to hide their real feelings under a veneer of "I don't care" bravado.

I'll be extremely surprised if Okay for Now doesn't make the Newbery list this year. It's certainly going to be on my personal short list. What I do know is this is one I will save for Sprout when he's old enough, anticipating his objections with a note that says "I know. Just read it."

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt, Clarion Books

Ages 10 up

Sample quote: "This bird was falling and there wasn't a single thing in the world that cared at all. It was the most terrifying picture I had ever seen. The most beautiful."
Highly recommended