Book Review: The Terrible Two Gets Worse

Premise: Niles and Miles are back. This ranking team, known as The Terrible Two, are ready for another year of pranking their school, especially their power-loving principal, Principal Barkin. Unfortunately, one of their pranks leads Principal Barkin to losing his job, and now he's been replaced with a much more stern principal, who is out to shut down all pranking. 

Title: The Terrible Two Gets Worse
Author: Mac Barnett and Jory John
Length: 224 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 of 2 so far
Content appropriate for: Grades 3-5
Format: Digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: funny, easy-to-read, disappointing

I straight-up loved Book 1. It was so fun! I frequently recommend it to my 4th and 5th grade students who are looking for something funny to read, and so far they have all loved it. So, my students and I were super excited for Book 2. The first third or so totally lived up to my expectations. I Laughed Out Loud on almost every page. Unfortunately, I'll have to break the news to them that I didn't end up loving it, and that I'm not sure I'll get a copy for our classroom. Here's why -

The pranks in the first book were elaborate, creative, and harmless. There were awesome diagrams accompanying several, and they did a brilliant job of incorporating the cows of Yawnee Valley. The first book was outrageous, and that's why so many of us love it.

This second installment simply doesn't do the same things. The pranks are too typical, easy for kids to duplicate, and far from harmless. They put peppers in people's drinks, pull the fire alarm, and drop someone's pants. I've seen this book referred to as mean-spirited, and I totally agree. To make it worse, there are no cows! Where is the creativity? Where is the outrageousness? Where are the diagrams, a la Rube Goldberg???

Book Review: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Premise: Minli's family is poor, working in the fields all day for just enough food to eat. Enchanted by her father's folk tales, Minli sets off on a quest to find The Old Man of the Moon, who she believes can change her family's fortune.

Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Author: Grace Lin
Length: 278 pages
Genre: Fantasy / Folk Tale
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content appropriate for: Grades 3-5

Three adjectives that describe this book: easy to read, entertaining, mystical

In Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin weaves together traditional Chinese folktales with her own twists and additions to create a beautiful story that captures the beauty of this ancient genre. In the wonderful Author's Note at the end of the book, Lin explains where some of her inspiration came from, noting that it's sometimes difficult to parse out exactly which pieces in the book are traditional Chinese tales, which are her own invention, and which elements are a mix of the two.

Although this book is nearly 300 pages long, it reads incredibly quickly. I finished it in about a day. I think this speed is a mix of both short-ish chapters, and a well-crafted story. The writing is complete, with detail to develop world and character, but nothing extraneous.

The novel is littered with separate tales, interrupting the flow of the story. I found this odd, until they all started to fit together. In the end, these tales turned out to be one of my favorite elements. Reading this book was kind of like examining a quilt, where all the parts fit perfectly.

And Grace Lin's illustrations!? Oh man - this whole book is beautiful! If you can, get the print edition because the colors and layout are SO worth it!

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. From the traditional Chinese feel, so carefully crafted by a talented, modern author, to the outstanding character development and pacing, to the beautiful presentation of the story. I can see why this book won a Newberry Honor and continues to be placed on all kinds of reading and honors lists. Outstanding!

4.5 stars

Classics Review: The Black Stallion

Premise: After being shipwrecked together, Alec and a mostly-wild horse begin an impossible quest to train and compete in horse racing.

Title: The Black Stallion
Author: Walter Farley
Length: 224 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Classic
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 of 19
Content appropriate for: Grades 4-6

Three adjectives that describe this book: predictable, engaging, easy-to-read

I am in the middle of the Classics Club challenge to read 50 classics books in 5 years. Every so often the club hosts a Classics Spin in which a book is chosen randomly (ish). The Black Stallion is my book for Classics Spin #6 and it was listed as a "Book I'm Hesitant to Read." That's because I don't like horses, so I knew that The Black Stallion would be a real challenge for me.

Okay, enough stalling - here's my review:

I'm sure kids who love horses also love this book. It is very very horsey. I am freaked out by horses. Still, Black Stallion was a pretty engaging read. The plot drove forward without lingering on character development. That left the story thin and riddled with cultural stereotypes (the Italian immigrant, Tony, being the most offensive to me). Overall, I found myself more interested than I expected to be in the process of breaking a wild horse. Farley did a great job crafting Black and the scenes in which he interacted with young Alec.

My primary complaint is the way parents are handled in this book. Alec and his retired neighbor sneak off several days a week at midnight to ride the Black. They never tell his parents. They just say, "I hope they don't find out." And then when Alec finally tells them, they don't care. They just say okay and send him off to Chicago with two grown men they barely know! Really? Was that parenting in the 40s? Your kid does whatever he wants at all hours with strange adults and you don't know and don't care?

Book Review: V is for Villain

Premise: Brad's famous brother, Blake, is a superhero, but Brad doesn't have any awesome powers like strength or flight. Brad's only power is that he's really smart. Someday, he'd like those awesome powers to appear - then he can destroy villains like his father and brother. But Brad's newest friends have different ideas about who the real heroes are. And Brad might not be as under-powered as he thinks.

Title: V is for Villain
Author: Peter Moore
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone (as of now)
Content appropriate for: Grades 8-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Disney-Hyperion via Netgalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: action-packed, easy-to-read, gritty

V is for Villain is a fast-paced superhero novel. It has many tropes of the genre, so that makes it fairly predictable, especially in the beginning when Brad is feeling terrible about himself and his lack of appropriate powers. I enjoyed how V is for Villain delved into how these superheroes came to be. Much like the X-Men, there's quite a lot of talk about genetics, DNA, and computer programs.

However, one thing sets this book apart from others like it: The protagonist is actually a bit of an anti-hero.

Peter Moore does a terrific job of transitioning the reader toward a stance that almost takes pity on the villains, and sees arrogance in the heroes. As Brad begins to ally himself with "the enemy," we're not so sure that's the wrong decision. Moore really embraces fuzzy morals, and that makes V is for Villain quite intriguing.

The thing that brings this book down for me, other than some of the cliche teen elements, is that the world of the book was pretty underdeveloped. Since it was told from inside the elite world of superheroes, a lot of explanation was missing. For instance, it wasn't really clear how the Heroes interact with "Regulars."

3.5 stars

Kensuke's Kingdom

Premise: Eleven year old Michael is washed up on an island with his dog, Stella. At first they appear to be alone, but soon they realize that someone else is on the island with them. Is he an enemy or a friend? And how will they manage to get back home?

Title: Kensuke's Kingdom
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Length: 176 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction, survival
Series or Stand Alone: Stand alone
Format: Paperback in classroom library
Content appropriate for: Grades 4-7

Three adjectives that describe this book: believable, engaging, simple

Kensuke's Kingdom is a straight-forward survival story. Michael and his dog, Stella, are only able to survive on the island thanks to the help of a mysterious and possibly dangerous stranger was stranded there many years before.

Science + Detectives = Nick & Tesla's Robot Army Rampage

Premise: Nick and Tesla, twin brother and sister, solve crimes using science. When a pricey comic book is stolen, the twins build 4 different robots to support their investigation, find the thief, and save the comic book shop.

Title: Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage
Authors: Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith
Length: 224 pages
Genre: Mystery
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 of 3, although they can be read separately
Content Appropriate For: Grades 3-6
Format: Digital ARC thanks to Quirk Books via Edelweiss
Publication Date: February 4, 2014

Three adjectives that describe this book: believable, easy-to-read, fun (bonus: nerdy) 

What a great, new middle grades series! For those who enjoy traditional mysteries ~ crime, clues, suspects, witnesses ~ this is it. For those who enjoy realistic characters you can cheer for, this is it. Unlike many other kid-detective books, Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage is well-crafted, including the characters.

To support middle grade readers, the plot never wanders from the primary crime, yet the story is complex enough to include two twists and a town full of interesting characters. I also appreciated that among the 4 crime-solving friends is a girl and an African American boy. Plus, it's awesome how science was cool and fun, even for girls.

An added bonus in each of the Nick and Tesla books is that instructions are included so that kids can do the science work at home. In this edition, Nick and Tesla build 4 robots. The robots are made of mostly simple objects like coat hangers and plastic bottles, and clear illustrated directions are included. I can't wait to make some of these bots at home!

My only complaint is that the primary adult character, Uncle Newt, is a stereotypically Einstein scientist. He is also very socially awkward. I find this view of science to be very problematic, lending to kids' thinking that they cannot/should not/would not want to be scientists. Since I think this is a pretty major misstep, I've deducted an entire star. Still, I will definitely be getting this book for my classroom, and I'm looking forward to reading the other two books in this series.

4 stars

Abbreviated Review: Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

An abbrieviated reviews are just shorter and use a more simple format. Here we go:

Premise: Readers follow Grace, an American girl of Taiwanese heritage, through the course of one year as she struggles to integrate her two cultures... She and her two sisters are the only Taiwanese-American children at school until Melody arrives. The girls become friends and their common backgrounds illuminate further differences between the American and Taiwanese cultures. (From School Library Journal)

This novel is a great read for those in grades 3-5. I really like the way it handled the experience of being the only child of a particular culture (in this case, Taiwanese) in a school group. Grace/Pacy is really struggling to understand how she can be both American AND Taiwanese.

This book had been on my shelf for a long time, but I avoided it because I thought it might be too preachy. Man - I was really missing out! Grace Lin deftly balances the questions of identity with typical experiences such as friendship, boys, and school projects. She also does a fabulous job of keeping Chinese-American culture diverse, rather than giving in to the temptation of making it a monolith. But my favorite thing was the humor. I laughed out loud. The voice of the story is a middle grades girl, and boy did Grace Lin nail that young voice. Also, my 5th grade students really enjoy this novel. Nicely done!

4 stars

Saving the World! Spirit Animals 2: Hunted

Premise: In the world of Erdas, only a rare few are able to summon a spirit animal the way Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan have. The bond they share with their animals is a partnership that allows them to access more-than-human abilities. These four young heroes have barely had time to come together as a team, but now they face a brutal confrontation against an enemy who will break any rule to defeat them. Modified premise from Scholastic

Title: Hunted
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Length: 192 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 in the Spirit Animals series. Seven titles are planned.
Content Appropriate For: Grades 3-5
Format: eARC thanks to netgalley and Scholastic. Publication date 1.7.2014

Three adjectives that describe this book: action-packed, adventurous, easy-to-read

Spirit Animals is the third multi-author interactive series from Scholastic (39 Clues and Infinity Ring are the others). The 39 Clues remains very popular with middle-graders, and Scholastic is hoping to repeat that success with Spirit Animals.

Warning: Some YA readers will try out individual titles thanks to the well-loved authors of each book - Brandon Mull, Maggie Stiefvater, and Garth Nix are books 1-3. However, one must remember that these authors are writing in a very specific construct so the books are more an exploration of plot and character, than an expose of author style. You have been warned.

My fifth graders really enjoyed Book 1: Wild Born by Brandon Mull. I think they will like this installment, Hunted, even more. This title is adventurous action from page one. The complex character development that marred the first half of book one is absent in Hunted and Stiefvater really just follows the characters from one fever-pitched encounter to another.

Still, these books lack depth. There's not much character development or world-building. I think this is by design, though. The decision to make these books thin makes them more accessible to emerging middle-grade readers, and makes it easier for the multi-author approach to work. Scholastic has made this series into a multimedia, interactive experience using the Spirit Animals game.

I'm excited about Book 3 - Blood Ties because Garth Nix is the author and I love him. Maybe he'll be able to take the series a bit deeper. Or maybe I should listen to my own warning!

3.5 stars

Classics Review - Because of Winn-Dixie

Premise: India Opal and her father, the preacher, have just moved to the small town of Naomi, Florida and Opal wants to make some friends. Soon, she finds a stray dog, names him Winn-Dixie, and starts getting to know the eclectic people in her new town.

Title: Because of Winn-Dixie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Length: 182 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand alone
Content appropriate for: Grades 2-5
3 adjectives that describe this book: sweet, easy-to-read, simple

Because of Winn-Dixie is my first read for The Classics Club. My entire list of classics to read is composed of children's books and I'm looking forward to filling this gap in my reading. Because of Winn-Dixie is a simple read, the text is sparse and the plot is straight-forward. I've read a few other books by Kate DiCamillo (Tiger Rising and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane). Like these other titles, Because of Winn-Dixie features a main character that is struggling with loneliness. Opal's mother left when she was three years old and, now, Opal is constantly wondering about her.

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Premise: Kyra, a sixteen-year old highly-skilled Potions Master, is on the run. While fleeing from the authorities, she also must find and assassinate the princess. Unfortunately, the princess is also Kyra's best friend and the entire is kingdom is on the look-out for her since she failed in her first assassination attempt.

Title: Poison
Author: Bridget Zinn
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone
Content Appropriate for: Grades 4-8
Format: This ARC was provided by Disney Hyperion Books through Netgalley
Release Date: March 12, 2013

4 stars

3 adjectives that describe this book: fun, easy-to-read, whimsical

Poison is a super fun read. It fully deserves that wonderful, eye-catching cover. The main characters are unique, fun, and well-developed. At first I thought Poison was going to be fairly typical - a fantasy novel about a girl who kicks some butt. Basically a simpler version of Graceling, just with less intense and without the raciness. Luckily, I was wrong. Bridget Zinn has created a story that stands on it's own.

While Kyra is indeed a main character who can disable her assailants in moments, she is much different than other popular female protagonists in recent YA fantasy. Kyra is conflicted about her talents, actively seeking to ignore some of her more deadly potential. Yet, she isn't afraid to defend herself and her kingdom from the richly populated world of Poison. Most uniquely, though, Kyra is funny. She finds herself in ridiculous situations (likes crossing a river in lacy underwear with a pig on her head). Also, the rapport between she and Fred, her traveling companion, was chock-full of witty barbs at one another. I have never chuckled so much in a fantasy adventure.

The humor, however, doesn't take away from the intense adventuring, questing, and intrigue of the story. Poison is a fun, quick read, even though the lengthy and too-frequent flashbacks made me impatient. There are goblins, witches, invisibility spells, fun disguises, and witty exchanges among the characters. It will certainly keep you wanting to read more.

Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith

Premise: When their parents are lost in an accident, thirteen-year old twins Marty and Grace are whisked away to live with their Uncle Wolfe - an uncle they didn't even know they had! The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is an anthropologist who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct. (from Goodreads)

Title: Cryptid Hunters
Author: Roland Smith
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Series or Stand-Alone: Book 1 of 3 in the Marty and Grace series
Content appropriate for: Grades 4-7

4 stars

3 adjectives that describe this book: engaging, easy-to-read, captivating

This book made me think about starting a list of Awesome, But Little-Known Middle Grades Books. Cryptid Hunters would be near the top of that list! This book was packed with lots of action, deliciously vicious villains, and fabulous settings. There were several things I really loved about this book. Just for fun, I think I'll share them in list form:

* Cool technology

* A sweet treehouse

* A boy who's an artist

* A girl who's really smart

* Some surprising twists

* Villains and heroes tracking each other in the jungle

* An awesome library

* Scientists in the field

At the start of this book I thought it would, certainly, qualify as 5 stars. However, I deducted a star because the actual creature at the center of the story doesn't make much of an appearance. I had hoped we would get to spend time with mythical beasties. Still, I am already reading the second book in the series, Tentacles, which follows a hunt for the Kraken. Hopefully there will be more beastiness!

Update - My fifth graders LOVE both Cryptid Hunters and Tentacles. They are being passed around my classroom joyously. Tentacles DID, indeed, include more beasties. I actually liked it better than the first book. Feel free to read my review of Tentacles.

Normalish by Margaret Lesh

Premise: Written as a journal, this book follows the life of Stacy in her freshman year of high school. Like most freshman girls she feels awkward, uncertain, and is obsessed with boys. Stacy is also dealing with the recent death of her father and her sister's emerging mental illness.

Title: Normalish
Author: Margaret Lesh
Length: 211 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content Appropriate for: Grades 7-10

3 stars

 

Three adjectives that describe this book are: easy-to-read, predictable, unexpected

Okay - so it's weird to list both predictable and unexpected. "How is that possible?" you ask.
Predictable: Ninth grade girls think about boys a lot. Social drama happens.
Unexpected: I expected to hate this book. Hate. I actually kind of enjoyed it. Therefore, it was unexpected.

I read this book for both the Stand Alone Reading Challenge and the Eclectic Reader Challenge.
I'm sure you've noticed that realistic fiction is not my usual genre. Especially not journal-books about high school girls. But I actually enjoyed this book more than I expected. There's actually a lot more to this book than I expected. Yes there's lots of stuff about boys, but I appreciated how Margaret Lesh built in issues of mental health to even out some of the boy-crazy stuff. It was a nice feel-good book without being too syrupy and while still being realistic.

I usually read books that suck me in and don't let go, but I found that the format of journal entries allowed me to pop in and read a few pages at a time. It turned out to be a nice change of pace.