Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Thank you to Harry Abrams publishing for sending me a fourth copy of this, which I apparently won in a contest I cannot remember. The three I ordered was clearly not enough. One of my library helpers, a strong reader of complex fantasy, waited while I typed the cards for this one, so the appeal is apparently universal.

Just not to me. And remember, I'm a huge fan of Captain Underpants. Just don't get these at all.

I decided, however, that in this instance, my objections to the book probably make it more popular. I refused to take reserves on this, on the basis that the entire school would want to reserve it, and that would not end well. The children who happen upon a copy serendipitously are thrilled. There are a bunch of copies in the book fair if they are really desperate.

From the Publisher: Greg Heffley recounts his daily experiences during summer vacation as he tries to live out his ultimate fantasy of spending the days indoors playing video games with no responsibilities and no rules, despite his mother's attempts to pack the summer with outdoor activities and family fun.

This is Book Fair Week. Please remind me next year NOT to do this again!

Urban Fiction/Time Travel

Queen of the Yard, book three of the Denim Diaries by Damien Lee was an interesting book. It took some getting used to, because every day events were told in a realistic, matter-of-fact voice, but instead of Beany Malone cooking dinner and worrying about her dress for the big dance, it depicted inner-city girls beating up members of their own gang. That certainly got my attention, and I did very much like the fact that the characters were all struggling against obstacles but still trying to get to college. Also appreciated that "mature" subject matter was delicately handled. Patience is a gang leader but also an honor student. She believes that the gang helps her and her friends survive in their troubled neighborhood, but when she finds out that one of her own wants to kill her, she must make sure that her dreams of college are not jeopardized. There is some drinking, and Patience and her friend Denim each have intimate relationships with their boyfriends, and while these are not described graphically, these scenes are what make me question purchasing these books. These would be very popular, but more appropriate for high school.

Last year, when I had five heavy-duty fantasy fans gasping for a new book per day, I would have definitely purchased Jason Cockcroft's Counter Clockwise, but this year time travel has been a tough sell. Nathan's mother is killed by a bus on a London road, pitching his father into depression and inaction. When Nathan meets enormous Beefeater who seems to know him, and his father is sucked through the bathroom wall of their condemned apartment building, Nathan gets pulled into a world where he keeps repeating the past and trying to make it the way it should be, even though he's not entirely sure what that is. Plenty of action and adventure, a little goofiness, and good family relationships made this a fun book to read, and being set in London never hurts anything!

John Wilson Rules!

I've been recommending all of the John Wilson books that we have, even before reading them, (And in the Morning, Flames of a Tiger, Battle Scars, etc.) but when I do read them, I am so impressed. Never having been a boy, I don't get the fascination with war, but I know it is there. Perhaps boys read books about war for the same reason that girls like books about child abuse.

Four Steps to Death was so good, and so sad. Lots of action and explosions and deaths, but such a good message in the end. From the publisher: "The fates of three young men come together during the Battle of Stalingrad in Russia during World War II. " If you don't have it, just buy it.

I'm not putting a plot description because I got sidetracked reading Mr. Wilson's blog:

http://www.johnwilson-author.blogspot.com/

His "Eviscerating Noddy" post should be required reading for all young adult authors. Mr. Wilson gets what boys want to read. No introspective navel gazing voyages of self discovery. The funny thing is, something like Four Steps to Death is a hugely philosophical comment on the atrocity of war. The students still get that, but it's sugar coated in lots of death and destruction, so the medicine goes down. They're reading, they're learning, and they're getting that message. If the book is so dull that they won't pick it up, they don't.

Mr. Wilson, I bet Teletubbies makes a very loud, squeaky squish when they are stepped on!

What I Did Today

All I seemed to accomplish yesterday was to get one DVD player out of the box, labeled, and connected to a television. I felt that I needed to be more organized and work harder, so I kept track of most of what I did today. If nothing else, this shows that I am doing SOMETHING with my time.

4:40-4:50—Bike to Work
4:50-5:00—Straightened back work room and self (see bike ride, above)
5:00-5:30—Blogging
5:30- 6:15- Printing, sorting, and delivering overdue reports
6:15- 6:30-E mail (20 messages)
6:30-7:00- Database fixes and overdue paperwork
Consulted with language arts teachers on November requirements.
7:00-7:45- Assembling all equipment inventories in preparation for bar coding all equipment and entering it into Destiny database.
7:45—Roaming hall with cart to collect books, assembling chorus for…
8:00—Singing on announcements (Chorus chickened out)
8:05-Class (Class= 30 minutes and include 3 minute talk (about book fair), readers’ advisory and check out for 30 students. Followed always by study hall students, then checking in books.)
High school student shelver and new middle schooler arrive for training.
Show students how to use Publisher for Greek Gods Project (repeated throughout day)
Take money for two lost books.
9:06-Class
Put new barcodes on four books
E Mail Ancient Rome project rubric to 7th grade social studies teachers
10-Class
Consulted with MD teacher about having her students do an assessment in library
Fixed printer jam
Fiddled with work area set up, moved desks
Checking e mails (15)
Checking on book fair volunteers
Instructing parent volunteer on work to do
Disemboweling dead overhead for parts
Sharpening pencils
11:10- Class
11:35- Class
Fixed printer jam
Printed Rome Project papers
12:10- Class
12:30-1:00 Lunch, checked mail, conferred with teachers about Rome project
Rescheduling book fair visits because of assembly
1:10-Class E Mail (10)
Instructing second parent volunteer on work to do
Fixed printer jam
Helped teachers with laptop computers
2:00—Worked on updating inventory with students
Checked on book orders
2:45- Checked in all books
Filed all cards
Ran overdue report
Cleaned up library
3:30- Will leave. Really. Have a haircut, which is really work related, so I don't scare children!

Alane Ferguson

I'm not a fan of CSI-type crime shows, but the Alane Ferguson forensic mysteries about Cameryn Mahoney are excellent. The Christopher Killer, Angel of Death, Circle of Blood, and now, The Dying Breath all kept me on the edge of my seat, and even though these are all fairly graphic in the descriptions of dead bodies during investigations and autopsies, they are done in a didactic and factual way that makes the books seem educational rather than gross. Cameryn certainly sees her work that way-- she wants to be a forensic investigator, so approaches the clues in a purposeful and driven way, even when she herself is in danger. Her former boyfriend and psychopathic serial killer, Kyle, is after her, and is responsible for three more deaths in the community. Accompanied by deputy Justin (who is more of a romantic interest, although the difference in their ages-- 4 years-- is addressed carefully), she manages to track down Kyle, solve the method of murders, and escape with her life. This feels like it might be the last in the series, but I hope it's not. The tone and organization of these novels makes them okay for middle school, but they are forensic mysteries. I also love Ms. Ferguson's Overkill and the National Park Mysteries. (Done with her mother, Gloria Skurzynski. Which is just cool!)

Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver have 16 books out in the Hank Zipzer series. They are slightly young for middle school, since Hank is in 4th grade at the beginning, but so fast-paced and somehow charming that they do work. Not necessarily plot-driven, they are more anedoctal, with Hank getting caught in snafu after snafu. In I Got a "D" in Salami, Hank has to bring home a report card with all D's, so when the card gets thrown into a grinder and made into a batch of salami, he doesn't mind-- until he finds out that the salami is headed to a business owner who is interested in giving his mother's deli a huge contract. He tries to save the day, with catastrophically humorous results. Hank's learning difficulties are addressed, and these books are at a good level for students who might be struggling with similar problems. It was hard for me to buy these, since they are written by Fonzie, but Winkler brings his directorial talents to these books-- they do move along like a movie.

I picked up Jennifer Brown's The Hate List, since I have seen such positive reviews of it, and while it was very intriguing, I don't think it is a book for middle school. It is very intense, but it is also told in a somewhat confusing fashion via flashbacks. Again, I've been struggling with what makes a book more generally appealing to middle schoolers, and while books like Myers' Shooter or Strasser's Give a Boy a Gun are popular, the combination of factors (length, style, language, philosophical bent) make this one more of a high school book.

Since this is an important and well-done novel about school shootings and bullying, here are some glowing reviews about the book:
School Library Journal
Life in the Thumb
Presenting Lenore
Karin the Librarian

The W Authors

Mildred Pitts Walter's Second Daughter (1996) is out of print, but the copy I have is in very good shape. It tells roughly the same story as Anderson's Chains. Lizzie and her older sister Bett are slaves during the Revolutionary War. They have lost their father and mother and even their names-- Aissa and Fatou. The book follows their story (based on a real one) from Aissa's birth until the time that Fatou and her husband sue their owners for their freedom. The fact that the slaves wanted to fight on the side of the British is one of those always surprising facts that people don't think about, but the British were going to give the slaves their freedom. If you have a copy of this on the shelves, pull it out for 8th graders who are studying this era.

Yoko Kawashima Watkin's fictionalized autobiography, So Far From the Bamboo Grove (1986) is still available in paperback, and is the riveting tale of her experiences as a Japanese child stuck in Korea at the end of World War II. She, her mother, and older sister all must flee their home quickly and manage to make their way to Japan, but it is far from easy. Her older brother also makes his way there, since Korean feelings about Japanese were not kindly during this time period. This book made me feel grateful for everything that I have, and for the fact that I don't live in a war-torn country.

I keep thinking that there have to be more than four Regular Guy (2002) books by Sarah Weeks, but there aren't. Her recent efforts have been for younger children, but these goofy tales of Guy and his wacky mother are popular. In this installment, Guy's best friend Buzz is hit by a car while riding his bike, and while Guy is waiting at the hospital to see how his friend is doing, he remembers the course of events that made them best friends.

Since I am almost the whole way through the alphabet, I did treat myself to the newest First Kisses book, The Boyfriend Game by Stephanie Davis. *Sigh* This was a wonderful romance book. Trisha is focused on soccer and doesn't care about boys-- until she meets Graham. He doesn't want to worry about girls, is an awesome soccer player, and helps Trisha train so that she can make the varsity team. But he's hot. And Trisha "like" likes him. But he doesn't like her that way. But maybe he does. It's perfect-- that balance between wanting to accomplish something and still being completely distracted by a member of the opposite sex. Davis never portrays Trisha as weak and stupidly girly, and in the end, she gets both the guy AND the varsity team spot. This makes my list for top romantic books along with Girlfriend Material, Along for the Ride, and Fifteen. My only complaint-- why did they change from the green cover, which would match the other books in this series?

And our levy passed by a narrow margin. Thank goodness.

A Variety of Books

Ben M. Baglio's Animal Ark Books are something that I bought a lot of at the thrift store when my children were in about 3rd grade. A Scholastic series, I assumed they were harmless fluff involving animals. Spaniel in a Stocking was bought by the summer intervention program and housed in my library, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. Mandy lives with her parents, veterinarians who run a clinic in England. A huge winter storm is approaching around Christmas time, and Mandy is excited, until it almost stops some animals from getting proper care. I liked especially how the book discussed animal health issues, like not giving chocolate to dogs, spaniels having hip dysplasia, and birds eating things that make them sick. I usually have a number of 6th graders who are interested in animals, and this is great.

Working my way through the entire opus of Fred Bowen, but it's hard because his books are usually all checked out! Picked up The Final Cut, and it is the same nice mixture of problem, sport, and historical fact that the other Bowen books I have read are. Why does his publisher only release them in paperback, though? This is criminal. In this book, four friends who have played basketball together for years find themselves in competition when they try out for the basketball team. I liked the end notes on Michael Jordan, and how he wasn't a great player when he first started.

Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio's What the World Eats was absolutely fascinating. The two visited 25 families in a variety of locations, took photos of them in their kitchen or eating area with a week's worth of food, and also compiled statistics and facts about the country. Every well-to-do US child needs to read this book if they get the least bit whiny. This is a great companion book to Material World, and would be a good book to use in social studies to point out the differences in other countries. I particularly liked how rural China and urban China were both represented. I think there is an adult version of this that includes more countries, and I will be looking for that as well.

Finally, a disappointment and irritation. Ordered Tera Lynn Childs' sequel to Oh. My. Gods., Goddess Boot Camp, because the first was a fun mix of cross country and Greek mythology. I'm about half way through, and I am not joking when I say that I may write to Dutton Books and ask for my money back, because the editing is so poor. Childs and her editor obviously do not understand the verb "to smite", laboring under the mistaken belief that the verb is "to smote", but insist upon using it again and again anyway. Argh! Even my 16 year old knew that the principal parts of the verb were smite, smote, smitten, not smote, smoted, smoted. As she said, "get smoted" just sounds very wrong and should have set off some grammatical bells in someone's head, sending them to something like Curme's English Grammar, just to be sure. Childs and her editor need to be teached something.

Philosophical Musing #2

Why is it that we all want to be noticed by the universe? Jen Robinson's page alerted me to this article in School Library Journal about book bloggers. Why do I want to be on this list? Isn't it enough to keep doing my job and hope that I have some effect on the students at my school?

This article did raise interesting points. To what end do bloggers write? Do they hope to influence publishing? Sell more books? Wow. I keep hoping that authors will write more skateboarding books, but I don't think I'll make it happen.

Why I blog? I've said it before, but I guess it's always good to remember-- I read a huge number of books. The blog helps me remember and gives my students a way to make sure I am doing my job. My hope is that teachers and librarians who don't have time to read as many books will use my blog as a tool to know more about books than they do, and perhaps introduce them to some good books they can then use with their children.

But wouldn't it be nice to be on the cover of School Library Journal? Congratulations to the bloggers who are. The more good people we have commenting on books, the easier it is for the rest of us to keep on top of the huge number of new books that are coming out.

Wolfson's Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Wolfson's new book will be wonderful to have in February, when all the 7th graders want depressing fiction. You think you have it bad? At least you are not Amanda, a young gymnast who dies of a head injury sustained during a meet. And you're not Dani, who was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body and struggles just to have enough energy and breath to get through the day. Fortunately for Dani, she gets a heart transplant which improves her health greatly. Unfortunately, Amanda's family is still reeling from her death, but her brother Tyler reaches out to the transplant recipients in letters. This was a good, realistic portrayal of both the recipients and the donor family, and was very touching. Like Koss' Side Effects, it seemed realistic and not overly sentimental. This author's What I Call Life is also very good. Warning: A couple gratuitous uses of the f-word, but since this novel has so much to recommend it, I will buy it anyway.

Michelle Cooper's A Brief History of Montmaray read like... something I've read before. Phyllis Whitney? Rumer Godden's Greengage Summer? Very intriguing and atmospheric. Sophie FitzOsborne lives on the small island of Montmaray, a kingdom off the coast of Spain, with her mad uncle, the king, her cousin, younger sister, and housekeeper. The family is quickly running out of money, and life on the island is becoming untenable. Sophie would like to go have her debut in London, but doesn't want to leave the island. However, World War II is starting to cause difficulties, and German soldiers land on the island, complicating things even further. This had an overwhelming feeling of place and time that the reader knows is absolutely doomed. Shades of Brideshead Revisited? This would make a fabulous BBC television program. That said, I can't really think of any students to whom I would hand this.

On the flip side is John Ford's The Morgue and Me. Decent noir mystery, lots of action, but just wasn't absorbing to me. (From the publisher: "Eighteen-year-old Christopher, who plans to be a spy, learns of a murder cover-up through his summer job as a morgue assistant and teams up with Tina, a gorgeous newspaper reporter, to investigate, despite great danger.") However, the cover and title are fabulous, young adult mysteries are really hard to find, so this will be popular. Nothing really objectionable; a tiny bit racy, but in a way that will make students enjoy it.

A lot of the titles I have come across lately strike me as more interesting to high school students. Good stuff, just don't think that any of my students would get into it. Can't explain why, which is bothering me. One example is Claire Zulkey's An Off Year, which has a fabulous cover. Great story, too-- Cecily gets to college and decides that she's just not staying, so she goes home to try to figure out what to do with her life. Perhaps it's just that middle schoolers aren't thinking quite that far ahead yet. Reading about surviving high school is something they like. This is my philosophical pondering for the day.