The Wall by Peter Sis

One wouldn’t think a book about growing up behind the Iron Curtain under the thumb of the Soviet Army and an oppressive Czechoslovakian government that squashes any form of free thought or expression would make this website.

And you’d be right. Usually.

The Wall by Peter Sis is an exception.

It’s part picture book. The majority of the book is black and white. At first the only other color used is red, and only to illustrate the communist influence – stars, flags, banners, bandanas, missiles. Eventually, as news and ideas from the West creep into Czechoslovakia, so do colors into the book. American and British flags. Musicians. Sports figures. Artists. Yellow submarines. And as more ideas are expressed, the more the government attempts to squash them, returning the book to black and white and red, with only the occasional color, like subversive Western thought, sneaking in. The pictures, at first seemingly simplistic, offer more detail, often amazing and tiny details, with each reread.

It’s part history lesson. As Peter’s story is told across the bottom of the page, italicized writing in the margins tells the history of Czechoslovakia as Peter grows. Readers learn how the Soviets took control of the country and closed the borders, how communist ideals were demanded and enforced, and how children were brainwashed into believing this was the only acceptable way of life. Readers learn how people behind the Iron Curtain learned more about Western styles (long hair, blue jeans) and music (the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Rolling Stones) and culture (theater, poetry, and even the Harlem Globetrotters) and how the government tried to stop it all.

And it’s part memoir. A one-page introduction explains the formation of the Eastern Bloc countries after World War II. At the end is an explanation of what happened to Peter’s family during these years. Interspersed between are three two-page spreads of excerpts from his journals which include school lessons, sports memories, arrests, rock bands, censorship, and the beginnings of his art career. The earliest journal entry is dated 1954 and the last is dated June 1977. Also included are photographs, posters, historical documents, and additional drawings showing even more of the time period.

I just noticed another amazing detail. At the top left of each journal page is a picture of a brain. The first brain is all red – the young boy who knows only what he’s taught. The second brain has many colors – the young adult now exposed to new ideas and beginning to think for himself. The last brain is fully developed – the adult who now knows the freedom he desires, long forbidden.

No, a book about growing up behind the Iron Curtain would normally not be a one I’d recommend. But The Wall, through its many layers and incredible pictures, is a remarkable book and deserves recognition.

Minders of Make-Believe by Leonard S. Marcus

"What Shall the Children Read?"

That's the question, referencing the title of a 1939 book by Laura E. Richards, asked at the onset of Leonard S. Marcus' historical record of children's book publishing in America. Throughout history people have attempted to answer, and the funny thing is, no consensus has ever been reached. Opinions abound.

"What Shall the Children Read?" The only answer I know for sure after reading Minders of Make-Believe is this: Not this book.

Well, not the children anyway. But grown-up lovers of children's literature need to carve out a chunk of their allotted reading time and delve in. Starting with colonial America and ending at Hogwarts, Minders of Make-Believe covers books (and book covers, ba-dum-dum), publishers, authors, editors, printers, and pretty much anything else involved in children's literature.

The research is exhaustive, and I found myself wishing I could have been a fly on the wall or a worm in the book or...well, I found myself absorbing all of it and hoping for more. From stories of classics that were almost passed over to the behind the scenes work of editors to the stories of how authors got their start. I found all of it fascinating.

Watching how children's book publishing has changed over the years and how our culture, education, politics, parents...and oh yeah, kids...have influenced the industry makes me wonder what the future holds for children's books. But most exciting is the fact that we won't need to wait for Volume II. We'll get to watch it happen.

The Library by Sarah Stewart

Football and soccer. Sunshine. Wife and children. Teaching. These are the things that keep me from becoming eerily similar to Elizabeth Brown in The Library by Sarah Stewart.

(Okay, with a few differences. I did not enter the world dropping out of the sky. I'm generally not "skinny, nearsighted, and shy." My childhood was not filled exclusively with reading and books. And that whole girl/boy thing, of course.)

But Elizabeth Brown has books, and she continues to acquire more. When she goes to school and unloads her books, they collapse the upper bunk - under the disapproving glare of one Leo Tolstoy, looking on from a poster on her wall. Virginia Woolf, sharing the wall space, simply looks away.

Elizabeth loans her books to friends, then collects those overdue on midnight raids. (Which I have never done, but ask my students, and they wouldn't put it past me.) While others go on dates, Elizabeth finds reading until the wee hours a more satisfying use of her time. She didn't spend much on snacks or clothing or other trivialities. Just books.

As Elizabeth grows older, watch the pictures of the interior of her house. The piles grow. There are books in corners, on desktops, in chairs, and in the hallway. Larger ones make great end tables. Eventually Elizabeth Brown comes to a grim realization. She simply cannot have one more book. Not one.

So what's a book lover to do when said book lover is no longer able acquire more books? Only a true book lover, fed for years by the creative ideas of the greatest authors, could come up with a solution that not only solves her problem, but allows countless others to share in the truly great treasure she has amassed over the years...and, of course, allows her to happily continue reading page after page after page.

Owen by Kevin Henkes

Owen by Kevin Henkes is for everyone who has their own Fuzzy. Owen's is a yellow blanket that, despite becoming not-so-Fuzzy over time, still remains his Fuzzy. A person's Fuzzy can take many forms, although soft and ideal for nighttime snuggling seems the status quo. Mine was Oscar the Grouch. Oscar got his tonsils out the same time I did and needed to have his pupils repainted after the originals wore off. Owen had Fuzzy.

Fuzzy's been on many travels. Inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs. Kitchen, backyard, bathroom, bathtub. Fuzzy enjoys the same drinks (orange juice, grape juice, and chocolate milk) and snacks (ice cream, peanut butter, and applesauce cake) as Owen and has the stains to prove it. Fuzzy goes where Owen goes. Barber, dentist...school?

Owen is getting older, and school is coming. Blankets are not allowed at school.

Mrs. Tweezers, the over-the-fence backyard neighbor, has all sorts of suggestions. The Blanket Fairy. The vinegar trick. Saying no. Of course, anyone who's had their own version of Fuzzy knows tricks do not work. Solutions work. And Owen's mom comes up with the Fuzziest of solutions. Owen keeps Fuzzy, Fuzzy accompanies Owen to school, and Mrs. Tweezers doesn't have even one critical word about it.

This Is Just to Say by Joyce Sidman

There are a number of things in life that are difficult. Earning straight A's. Learning an instrument. Being nice to your little brother. Staying positive when circumtances seem negative. Batting in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, two on, down by one.

And apologizing. Of course, if a person does get up the courage to apologize, then comes an equally difficult task. Forgiving.

Joyce Sidman has perfectly captured the emotions involved in This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. As Anthony K. says in the introduction, the book is a compilation of letters/poems of apology from each student and the responses received. The first half of the book includes the apologies, and the second half contains the corresponding responses.

Some apologies are for seemingly small infractions: stolen deserts, over-competetiveness in gym class, or rubbing a statue's nose. Some reveal emotions much deeper: the loss of a pet, the desire to live up to a parent's standard, and a child apologizing to her father, believing he left because of her imperfections.

Sometimes the apologies are funny ("Sorry, Ruebs, for belting you as hard as I could in dodge ball. I'd like to say I wouldn't do it again but I'd be lying."). The apologies are heart-wrenching ("I'm sorry, Daddy. Next time I'll be perfect."). Sometimes the apologies don't quite come out as apologies ("P.S. I notice you're not wearing that dress so much anymore. Green is not good on you, anyway. I like the new one, with the blue in it, which makes you look thinner.").

As hard as it is for the students to apologize, the responses show an equal amount of difficulty. A father spends thirty lines telling his son how proud he is of him, how he barely made it through school yet his son is one of the smart kids, how he barely tried academically yet his son accomplishes so much, and the last two lines say, "forget about the window it's ancient history." The whole class forgives an anonymous student who killed the class pet.

And to the young lady who thinks her father's leaving was her fault? "You are perfect. So perfect. It's me who's not. None of the stupid things I have ever done are even close to being your fault."

Another interesting touch, and a realistic one, is that some people can't or don't respond. Others respond in their stead. Mr. Johnson, the custodian, offers words of comfort to Tenzin after Tenzin made the choice to put his dog to sleep. Jewel wrote a poem that included words from her father's letter. DaRon wrote in place of the Florence P. Scribner statue, namesake of the school. Tenzin wrote "for Anthony's mother, who said he was being ridiculous."

I don't think This Is Just to Say would be a hugely popular book for independent reading, but possibilities abound for classroom use. Most simply teachers can use it to discuss the importance of apologies and forgiveness, and of course as part of a poetry unit, but each poem could serve as a springboard to discussions of the topics they address.

Me? I think I'll include This Is Just to Say at the start of next school. And maybe I'll apologize to my previous classes for not stressing the importance of "I'm sorry," and "I forgive you," as much as I could have.

Wolves by Emily Gravett

I love kids like Rabbit. It's silent reading time in the classroom. These students get so absorbed in their book that they attempt to get up from their desk, traverse the classroom to the kleenex box, blow their nose one handed while crossing the room to the trash can (ignoring the one next to the kleenex box, incidentally), return to their desk, and attempt to place their bottom squarely upon the seat - and do it all without removing their eyes from their book or their book from in front of their face!

Ever see a kid walk into a wall? Trip on a classmate? Completely miss the trash with the used kleenex and not know she missed? Stop mid-stride and look up with an expression that says, "Why am I at the teacher's desk?"

That's nothing compared to Rabbit.

Rabbit went to the library. The book he found - Wolves - was totally interesting. Nonfiction at its informative best. Rabbit learned about how wolves live in packs, where they live, their body makeup, and what they eat, such as deer, bison, and moose, and smaller mammals like beavers, voles, and...and...

Well, as you can imagine, the next word brought Rabbit out of his book induced hypnosis. Unfortunately he didn't realize, totally engrossed in his book as he was, that as he learned about wolves, real wolves seemed to come to life right off the pages of his book!

And that was the last book Rabbit ever enjoyed.

But fear not, ye weak of heart! Lovers of rabbits and all things fuzzy, read on! Emily Grrrabbit offers an alternate ending featuring vegetarians, jam sandwiches, best friends, and happily ever after.

Either way let this be a lesson to all read-walkers everywhere. Use a bookmark. Watch where you're going. Pay attention to your surroundings. Use two hands to blow your nose. That's one great thing about books. They'll still be there after you walk home from the library or when you return to your desk. Mark your page, safely accomplish whatever task interrupted your reading, and live to read another day.

Otto's Orange Day by Frank Cammuso and Jay Lynch

Otto likes Orange. It's bold and strong and without it the world would be boring. So sayeth Otto the cat. As he's celebrating all things orange by singing his orange song, complete with some kickin' dance moves, the doorbell rings. He receives a package. An orange package containing an orange lamp. It's a gift from Aunt Sally Lee.

At Aunt Sally Lee's suggestion, Otto gives the lamp a good dusting off, releasing...do I really need to tell you? He rubbed the lamp!

Otto only gets one wish from this genie, and having been in the middle of an orange celebration, Otto's mind is thinking all orange, all the time. So he wishes everything was orange. Everything! How cool is this? It's great, until he starts noticing some problems. Like food. And traffic lights. And finding his house on a block of orange houses. Heck, he can't even get the blues anymore! But one wish is just that. One wish.

Desperate to right his wrongs, he calls Aunt Sally Lee who quickly comes over. They creatively come up with a solution involving a nickel, some pizza, and some carefully chosen words.

Otto's Orange Day is a great book for emerging readers. This Toon-Book has a simple story, engaging pictures (personally, I like Otto's dancing ability), and plenty of laughs for the K-2 crowd. Here's hoping Frank Cammuso and Jay Lynch bring us more of Otto's comic book adventures.

Taking Care of Terrific by Lois Lowry

Every bookstore in Boston has at least one copy of every book featuring Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, the Boston Tea Party, and about a gazillion copies of Make Way for Ducklings. But try finding a copy of Taking Care of Terrific and you're out of luck. (But here's a big shout out to the Boston Public Library which had a copy on the shelves where I was able to quickly review it on our last morning there.)

Founding Fathers: Good.
Ducklings: Good.
Stealing the Famed Swan Boats: Uh, apparently not so good.

Enid hates her name, and face it, you don't blame her. Especially if you were fourteen. Enid. Putrid, sordid, horrid, acrid, viscid, squalid, and worst of all, fetid. Enid. She lives two blocks west of the Public Garden on Marlborough Street with her parents and Mrs. Kolodny, the housekeeper who gives her more attention than both parents combined. One summer morning, out of the blue, Enid gets a phone call asking her to babysit afternoons for a 4-year-old.

Joshua Warwick Cameron IV. With a name like that it only fits he'd get babysitter named Enid.

Joshua lives on West Cedar Street, a couple blocks north of the Public Garden. Each afternoon, while Joshua's mother has her harpsichord lesson or tea with friends or plays tennis, Enid and Joshua go to the Public Garden. Except they don't really go. Cynthia and Tom Terrific go. That's who Enid and Joshua become when they cross Chestnut Street.

Afternoons are spent breaking the rules Ms. Cameron has put into place. They pet dogs, eat popsicles, pick up worms and caterpillars, and talk to strangers. Without that last one, they'd have never met Hawk the saxophone player or a bag lady who knows a great place to pee at the Ritz-Carlton. Of course they'd have never organized a bag lady protest of the popsicle cart guy or the great Swan Boat heist of '83 either.

If you babysat a boy who has never eaten pizza or popsicles, what would you do? What if he never got candy or had never taken a bubble bath? What if he'd never ridden the Swan Boats?

Her plan doesn't go as planned. No matter how cute a 4-year-old is, when he's heir to the Cameron Fortune, "borrowing" him to ride the Swan Boats in the middle of the night suddenly sounds a lot like kidnapping. And kidnapping brings police and TV cameras and bright lights and lawyers and negotiating and being in your bedroom for a week. Or more.

There are a number of dated references (Donahue, Bo Derek in "10," Jane Pauley on the Today Show, and Saturday nights watching The Love Boat and Fantasy Island) but readers should be able to think, "Donahue. Hmm. Sounds like Dr. Phil." (And I rather enjoyed the brief flashbacks.)

After all is said and done, Joshua survives the ordeal unscathed (actually, he's better off for it), and Enid successfully helps numerous people flourish and bloom like newly trimmed flowers once neglected. All with popsicles and Swan Boats.

Stealing the Famed Swan Boats: Still, probably, not so good, but in this story, it's just what these friends need.

Below you can see pictures of houses on Marlborough Street (Enid lives on the fifth floor), a house on West Cedar Street as viewed from Acorn Street (two views), and the statue of George Washington in the Boston Public Garden. (No, I don't know who that is with the blue umbrella.)

Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasserman

First and foremost, let’s get this straight. Hacking does not mean strictly computers. Sure, computers might be involved, but this isn’t a use-my-computer-to-get-inside-your-computer story. Let Max explain: “Hacks. Not pranks. Never pranks. Pranks are for amateurs. But a hack…you’re playing in a different league. Higher profile. Higher stakes. Higher calling. Worthy targets, long-term planning, technically sophisticated and precise execution – and a noble purpose. You want to make a statement, stand up for the right side. You want to take someone down who really deserves it.”

So. Hacking Harvard. And everyone has a good reason.

Eric: His father, a Harvard economics professor, feels engineering is nothing but playtoys. Child prodigies like Eric, kids who doodle supply and demand curves in their coloring books in the back of lecture halls, should – must – pursue a real education.

Max: His father will fund Harvard, but nothing else. Harvard. Night classes at BU? Are you kidding? Work for a startup computer firm? What about the five Harvard diplomas already displayed on the family’s wall? What will fill Max’s spot?

Schwartz: He’s already in Harvard. On the inside. Sixteen years old. Logical thinker, mathematics genius. His reason? He’s with Max and Eric. They hack together.

Clay: Slacker. Smoker. Not too high on education. His reason? Six hundred bucks.

Harvard is “the man.” Proverbially so. As in the one to whom you “stick it.” The hack is to get someone (Clay Porter) admitted to the freshman class. He doesn’t deserve it. Not even close. Clay Porter at Harvard?

It’s the ultimate hack, and since Max has made a bet with the Bongo Bums, it also has the potential to be financially fulfilling. So the plan starts. Hidden cameras, spying missions, and dossiers of admission facts categorized by various statistical breakdowns. Acing the SAT, the application, and the interview. Creating an entirely new persona for Clay that the Harvard admission office will be unable to reject.

The plan is perfect. But no plan ever goes off without a hitch. A romance featuring Lex, who’s actually the story’s narrator, the acquisition of funds from an untrusted fifth partner, sabotage attempts from the Bums, and even a double cross or two. All force the perfect plan to become Plan B, Plan C, Plan C1, Plan C1.1, Plan D beta…you get the picture. Much of the excitement comes when something doesn’t go according to the plan and Eric, Max, and Schwarz – and even Clay – must improvise.

Hacking Harvard, written by Harvard grad Robin Wasserman, is getting my highest recommendation. Having been “on the inside,” she offers insight into Harvard and the Harvard mentality that add greatly to the story’s realism. I would keep this young adult book to the young adults, not just because of the language and some situations, but readers below high school won’t appreciate the beliefs and attitudes surrounding college admission. Most will lack the prior knowledge necessary to truly appreciate it.

Below you can see the statue of John Harvard, Memorial Hall, and Memorial Church, all on the Harvard campus.

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for a comfortable place to start their family. A place with no foxes or turtles, as Mrs. Mallard reminds her husband. So on they fly until they reach the Public Garden in Boston where they plan to spend the night.

The next morning, after receiving a plentiful breakfast from park visitors, and finding no foxes or turtles, they decide the Public Garden is just the place they've been looking for to raise their family. Except for how busy it is! The people, and especially the boys on their bicycles, would be just too dangerous for a family.

So they continue their journey through Boston, over Beacon Hill and the State House, past Louisburg Square, finally arriving at a peaceful island in the Charles River. There they raise their eight ducklings. Mr. Mallard leaves to explore more of the river and promises to meet Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings in one week back at the Public Garden.

Mrs. Mallard teaches her ducklings everything wee ducklings should know, and in one week they begin their journey back to the Public Garden. They cross the river and a highway (getting help from Boston's finest, a policeman named Michael and other officers), head down Mount Vernon Street, pass the Corner Book Shop, turn onto Charles Street, and finally cross Beacon Street to arrive back at the Public Garden.

Where they've lived ever since.

Make Way for Ducklings is a classic any way you look at it. But after being in Boston and walking down the same streets as Mrs. Mallard and her family and riding the same swan boats they encounter in the Public Garden and actually seeing Mrs. Mallard and her family, this one will be a classic in our family for a good, long time.

Below you can see the bronze statue of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings in Boston Public Garden, the State House (although the book's illustrations show no Celtics banner), the Swan Boats, and Mrs. Mallard with her family and a mysterious friend.

Vacation...Summer...Boston...Back on Track

Isn't this just the way it goes? The school year ends, summer vacation begins, and suddenly I have no time to update the website. Does that even make sense?

Well, it is more detailed than that. My real excuse includes a combination of family vacation, hotel Internet access, computer woes, the Boston Celtics, Fenway Park, and a frustrating search for Taking Care of Terrific by Lois Lowry. Add it all together and...no updates.

In honor of my trip to Boston I thought it would be appropriate to post some books set in that great city. Here's what's coming:

Make Way for Ducklings - A classic picture book, winner of the 1942 Caldecott Medal, featuring the Charles River and the Boston Public Garden.

Taking Care of Terrific - Sometimes lost in the list of Lois Lowry's award winning literature are her other books. (No, not all of her books have won a Newbery.) This one is from 1983 and is set in Boston Public Garden and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Hacking Harvard - I hadn't heard of this book, set in Cambridge, MA, until I stumbled upon it while in Cambridge, MA. So - and how could I have done otherwise? - I bought a Harvard book at a Harvard bookstore.

Do you have any suggestions? What other books are set in Boston that I could have or should have included? I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email or leave a comment.

Football Genius by Tim Green

It's sometimes easy to get bogged down with the critical analysis of literature (or something to that effect), and miss that fact that a book is a gripping, engaging, cheer-for-the-kid-over-the-grown-ups story, despite a lack of praise for its literary worthiness.

And really, what are kids looking for anyway? Ever heard a fourth grade boy say, "I really appreciate the way the author developed..." Or, "I felt the juxtaposition of the setting and the..." Blah, blah, blah... You get the picture.

Troy and his mom live together in a simple home around the corner from a gated community in Atlanta where a number of Atlanta Falcons live, including linebacker Seth Halloway. Troy's mom, after earning her master's degree in night school, gets a job working in public relations for the Falcons. She gets football fanatic Troy on the sidelines for the opening game against the Cowboys where he promptly gets his mom fired.

It's an honest mistake! Troy knows what the other team is going to do. By watching the patterns and formations and tendencies he knows what teams are going to do. He can call plays before they happen. So he tries to tell the players and coaches, crosses security lines, and gets dragged out by security. Twice. And gets his mom fired.

But Seth Holloway notices what the kid did. After talking to him and seeing Troy demonstrate his skills, Seth sees what a help Troy could be for the team. A 12-year-old helping an NFL football team? (Considering the Falcons' recent history, football fans might think, "Eh, couldn't hurt.")

This book is football heavy, with real players mixed in with realistic characters, and play calling that's slightly simplified for younger readers. Troy calls Red Right, Thirty-one Dive Play Pass, Zebra Post, on one for his football team. Detailed, but not overly so. Real players are mentioned too - Terrell Owens, Drew Bledsoe, Michael Vick, Patrick Kerney, Randy Moss, and others - but while this adds to the realism, it could also detract for a kid who's a big football fan. Bledsoe is retired, Kearney is a Seahawk, and Vick is in prison. In the book Randy Moss plays for the Raiders. After Moss's season with the Patriots, does anyone even remember he played for the Raiders? Player movement in the NFL has quickly made this 2007 book outdated - at least the NFL references. And the book's only a year old!

But the book isn't dependant on the NFL. The story of an underdog kid with an amazing talent, a football player grasping at a last chance for a championship, a family dealing with an absent father, and a glimpse inside the life of an NFL team is more than enough to entertain readers.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

In the second adventure of the Mysterious Benedict Society, Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance find themselves world travelers. They also just plain find themselves. In their original adventure we learned of their individual talents. Now that they’ve transformed from talented individuals to cohesive team, the challenge comes in staying cohesive, in working together, in trusting one another to do what’s best for the group.

Now one year after the conclusion the first book, Reynie has been adopted by Miss Perumal, Kate is reunited with her father, Sticky is back with his parents, and Constance has been adopted by Mr. Benedict.

Reynie and Sticky, along with their families, are traveling to Kate and Milligan’s farm, after which they all head to Mr. Benedict’s house for a reunion. Mr. Benedict, after planning a world wide scavenger hunt for the four children, has been abducted along with Number Two by the nefarious Mr. Curtain. Having already left his clues, the children follow Mr. Benedict’s trail – not to discover the prize at the end, but to find, and possibly save the lives of, their friends.

Mr. Curtain and Mr. Benedict have discovered an old family secret. Their scientist parents were researching the properties of duskwort. This plant’s amazing chemical makeup, while possibly able to aid people around the world, could also be an aid in conquering the world. Guess what Mr. Curtain wants? Guess what Mr. Benedict seeks to prevent?

Mr. Benedict’s clues lead the Society to Europe, aided by new acquaintances, including and exuberant young man named Cannonball, and hotly pursued by Mr. Curtain’s henchmen, the briefcase carrying, suit wearing, kill-you-as-soon-as-look-at-you Ten Men. Mr. Benedict’s clues play to the children’s strengths. Reynie’s deductive skills are keen as ever, but he doubts the goodness in the world, after witnessing so much badness. Knowledge still sticks to Sticky, but he’s challenged by pride and finding ways to use his skills without showing off. Kate’s quick thinking and gadget using (aided by a newly improved bucket) is tested by the desire for revenge against the Ten Men for all they’ve done to her father, a desire Milligan himself discourages, showing her the distinct difference between good and evil. Constance still does what she wants and says what she thinks, but struggles to understand her continually developing skills and her growing love of Mr. Benedict.

Once again there are puzzles and hints and clues, plenty of smarts and a good amount of out-smarting. Weighing in over 400 pages, the novel, much like the first one, slows down at times, but overall moves much quicker than the first. After meeting The Mysterious Benedict Society, readers will have no problem moving on to The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. Of course, they’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment as well.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee

James and Eamon are heading to Nature Camp. Woo-Hoo!!! Nature Camp!!! And they get to stay with Bill and Pam, Eamon's grandparents, who live on the beach.

Except the story never makes it to Nature Camp. We see the boys riding in Bill's jeep on the way to camp. We see them returning from camp in Bill's backseat with pith helmets, binoculars, and pine cone pets. But readers never see Nature Camp. How can this be the best week ever?

There's evidence that Jamon (as Bill calls James and Eamon since they do everything together) has been to Nature Camp. There's feather necklaces, birdhouses, bird masks, and explorer's flags. And the boys complain. "I think it should be called Sit-Around Camp," says James. "Yeah, or Sweat-a-Lot Camp," says Eamon.

But there's more than evidence. There's actual, photographic proof of their week at Nature Camp. Readers will just have to look carefully for it.

If you just read the text, you get one story. If you just look at the pictures and speech bubbles, you get another. When you put them together you get "He was very sad when his mother drove away" next to a picture of James, smiling broadly, waving, and yelling, "BYE!" Sometimes the text alone seems downright educational. "James and Eamon learned a lot of new vocabulary words while Bill drove." Nature words? Transportation terms? Next to the picture of Bill's jeep and the driver's side speech bubble that reads, "@#%&!" you understand the full meaning.

A Couple of Boys [certainly do] Have the Best Week Ever. Not only at camp, but also with Eamon's grandparents. From the sound of Bill and Pam's snores on Friday evening and the hugs all around on Saturday morning, it's pretty evident they had a great week too.

And what do you have to lose? The book costs a quarter! Just see the cover. (In case you can't read the small print, it reads, "you wish."

Big Bad Wolves at School by Stephen Krensky

So how do wolves learn all that stuff about being big and bad? What about the huffing and puffing and dressing in grandmother’s clothes? Why, they go to the toughest school around, the Big Bad Wolf Academy.

Rufus needs to learn a little about being big and bad, or so his parents think. Sure, he can turn over rocks and roll in the grass, and he’s got howling at the moon down pat. But that’s not enough to survive in the world, or so his parents think as they watch him skip rope with a raccoon, an opossum, and two chipmunks. Off to school!

When the headmaster discusses the changes that will happen to new students - how they will become some of the biggest and baddest wolves around - most students are impressed. But not Rufus. (He’s noticing a butterfly.)

Some of the students do wonderfully on the Huff-n-Puff Range, taking target practice three little piggy houses. But not Rufus. (He’s poofing a dandelion.)

The students learn costumes and foreign languages (“Baaaaaa!”) and how to properly wear sheep’s clothing. But not Rufus. Sitting in class is for daydreaming and letting pencils dangle out your nose. There’s better things to do when studying should be done!

But then the hunters come.

Costumes? Huffing and puffing? All that education is great, but sometimes you need the lessons learned from life, learned in the forest, that practical knowledge that sometimes gets pushed out by book knowledge.

Rufus has plenty of that! Can hunters match up to a slacker wolf student? Can a slacker wolf student match up with a pack of hunters? Maybe Rufus, the wolf who couldn’t be taught, instead has something to teach.

Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners by Laurie Keller

Otters have moved in. Next door. Right next door. Like…neighbors! Otters!!!

What’s a poor rabbit to do? All Mr. Rabbit wants is to doo-dee-doo through the forest on occasion and not have to deal with neighbors like Mrs. Grrrrrrr, his former neighbor (who, according to a helpful little bee, was voted “Meanest Neighbor” six years running).

Thankfully the wise old owl arrives with some advice. (Please excuse this brief aside, but in this humble reviewer’s opinion, the wise old owl looks mysteriously like another wise old owl. How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? “One. Two. Three.” Crrrunch!)

Back to the advice. The owl informs Mr. Rabbit that the solution is easy. Simply do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you. So Mr. Rabbit starts to think. How would he like otters to treat him? Hmmmm. Otters should…

Be friendly. Be polite. Say “Thank you,” and “Excuse me.” Be honest. Otters should cooperate and play fair. Sometimes otters will need to apologize, and sometimes they will need to forgive.

“You see, Mr. Rabbit, I told you it was simple!” says his lollypop crunching friend. (Really, there's no lollypop, but it makes me chuckle nevertheless.)

As Mr. Rabbit explains how otters should act, he imagines the otters in numerous situations showing their otter-ly wonderful behavior. The illustrations are hilarious. I didn’t know otters – at least literary otters – wear top hats, spectacles, and funky polka-dotted swim trunks. There’s even language lessons (how to say “Please,” “Thank you,” and “Excuse me,” in five different languages).

Kids will have heard all the rules before, but they will enjoy hearing them again as Mr. Rabbit explains how he expects his new neighbors to act. And of course, how he is expected to act toward others…um, otters.

The Giver Trilogy Classroom Activities

This is an activity I did when I taught two sections of sixth grade reading, but it could be done by splitting one class into two groups. One class reads The Giver, while the other class simultaneously reads Gathering Blue. Use any method you wish - large group, literature circles, preplanned unit - whatever works best for you and your students.

At the end of the novels each class makes one large novel chart for their book. Go see the art teacher and get some of that paper on the big ole' rolls and cut yourself about a 20 foot piece. For The Giver use black, and for Gathering Blue use blue. Hang it sideways on the wall. (We covered up a couple bulletin boards and part of the white board. A boring stretch of hallway would work nicely too.)

Divide the entire paper into 4 rows. Down the left side label the rows characters, setting, and summary. (Leave the top row blank.) Then divide the paper into columns. Leave the first column blank. Then label each column by section of the book. (Chapter 1, Chapter 2-3, Chapter 4-6, etc. or however you divided up the reading for your units.) Then fill in each space - the setting of Chapter 1, the characters in Chapter 1, and a summary of Chapter 1, and so on. Each space should be large enough for a normal sized piece of paper. Rows should be 9 inches tall. Columns should be 12 inches wide. (Would a picture or diagram of this be helpful? Let me know.

All of the labels and literary elements in The Giver's novel chart should be typed. Use the same font - a nice bland one - and print on white paper. After the novel chart is assembled it will be a great illustration of Sameness and will also represent the black and white world of Jonas' community.

All of the labels and literary elements in Gathering Blue's novel chart should be handwritten and colorfully designed. Students may use any color they wish except blue. Encourage creativity, especially in the use of color. Since Kira told the history of the community through her stitching, characters and settings (and possibly summaries) could be drawn rather than written for the novel chart. Before attaching them to the chart, burn the edges to give them an old, tattered look.

After all this is done, start reading Messenger with both groups. I chose to read it aloud so that we could discuss the connections to The Giver and Gathering Blue as they appeared in the story. After each day's reading, students discussed what they knew from their previous novel that helped them understand the events of Messenger. Then they had the responsibility of describing this knowledge to the other class. For example:

1. In the beginning of Messenger, readers meet Seer and Matty, both characters from Gathering Blue. The Gathering Blue class then described what they knew about these characters to the students in The Giver group.
2. When readers meet Leader, students who read The Giver will recognize him as Jonas. These students then describe for the other group what they know about Jonas from The Giver that helps them understand why a person so young would have the experiences necessary to be the leader of an entire Village.

Options other than reading Messenger aloud could include mixing the two original groups into two new groups, creating small groups that mix students from the original groups, or creating small groups that maintain the original split and then partnering a The Giver group with a Gathering Blue group for the descriptions.

That's a lot of information, folks, and I hope it all made sense. If you have questions, send me an email. Better yet, if something is unclear, post a comment and I'll respond with comments so others benefit from the added information.

Mergers by Steven L. Layne

Dirk Tyrone awakes groggily, unable to recognize where he is, knowing only that he's bound and unable to move. He's also unable to concentrate. His ability to enter another's mind is being blocked as he tries to telepathically discern the source of the cries of pain he hears. Apparently others are captive too! Mentally struggling against this barrier, Dirk breaks free and travels - his mind travels - to Dr. Lisa Tyrone who has been tortured to the point of death.

Soon we learn about Dirk's friends, and the only family he has, Nicci , Mateo, and Keiko. Like Dirk each has a unique ability. Nicci can travel through time, Mateo can physically change forms, and Keiko can heal, both herself and others. Together they free one another and attempt to free Dr. Lisa Tyrone, who's secretly raised them all from birth. Unfortunately the rescue plays right into the hands of Senator Broogue.

Senator Broogue, the leader of the Legion for World Alliance, has manipulated world leaders and events to bring a world-wide society in which Dr. Tyrone and the four friends are a risk. A serious risk. Dirk is Caucasian. Nicci is African. Keiko is Asian. Matteo is Hispanic. The world as Senator Broogue has crafted it has been merged into a society with no racial differences and no memory of them. He envisions a world with no racial conflict, and by eliminating separate races, Senator Broogue has (in his mind) succeeded...until these children arrived, each displaying the distinct physical characteristics of four races eliminated by the Merger. Dr. Tyrone knew the children would be murdered at birth in order to protect the Merger, so she took them into hiding and secretly raised them.

The four kids are rescued at the last minute by Madam Moment, Mrs. Morph, and Dr. Panacea, three adults who share the kids' abilities but whose talents are much more highly developed. Dirk, Nicci, Keiko, and Matteo learn quite a history lesson from them about Senator Broogue, the beginnings of the Merger, and what life would be like without the Merger. Then they receive training to use their abilities more skillfully, knowing that only through reliance upon one another will the four of them be able to reverse the Merger, defeat Senator Broogue, and restore Earth to it's rightful, diverse self.

Readers will enjoy the fast paced story, especially the escape attempt at the beginning and the thrilling climax. Even Dirk, Nicci, Keiko, and Matteo's history lessons move along quickly. The flashbacks to Madam Moment, Mrs. Morph, and Dr. Panacea's (and Senator Broogue's) childhoods are filled with enough intrigue to hold reader interest, but the descriptions of Senator Broogue's calculating and manipulating actions will have readers hoping he won't succeed, knowing all the while that he does. Readers, along with characters, are faced with questions throughout the book about diversity, life, conflict, power, and the cost of each.

Silly Billy by Anthony Browne

Billy is a worrier. He has typical worries like clouds and rain. He has atypical worries like hats and shoes. He has an active imagination that takes his worries to dramatic ends like shoes walking by themselves out the window or rain filling his room matress deep in water. Is that a shark fin slicing through the waves?

His father comforts him. His mother reassures him. But worriers are strong. Worriers can resist the strength of comforting fathers and reassuring mothers.

Finally, when on a sleepover to her house, Grandma gives him a solution. (Later readers learn this solution is a Guatemalan legend.) Worry dolls. Simply tell your worries to the tiny worry dolls, place them under your pillow, and they will do your worrying for you while you get a good night’s rest.

This work great! Billy sleeps like a log…for a while, until a new worry strikes. Billy is now worried about his new friends, the worry dolls! Billy, however, with wisdom gained from his grandmother, comes up with the perfect solution.

My favorite parts of the book are the seemingly framed photographs of Billy’s worries. Even kids who share similar worries will see the silliness in the pictures. The book certainly doesn’t end up where I thought it would – I didn’t predict any Guatemalan legends – but the resolution is clever, and I found myself proud of Billy and his creative solution.

The Giver Trilogy by Lois Lowry

The Giver – Certainly the most well known of the three titles, this Newbery Medal winner tells the story of Jonas and his community. Jonas has been selected, not assigned like his classmates, for his new occupation. He is the new Receiver of Memory. Jonas’ futuristic community has eliminated all problems. There is no hunger, sickness, conflict, or inequality. Families stay together. Elders are respected. But Jonas, working with the old Receiver of Memory, now called the Giver as Jonas is the Receiver, learns about the past as he receives memories. He learns the price that has been paid for the community’s perfection. Jonas and the Giver devise a plan that, if successful, will save lives and possibly give back to the community some of what it has missed for many years. Truly a classic upon its release, The Giver is an unforgettable novel not to be missed.

Gathering Blue – The second novel of the trilogy takes place at roughly the same time as The Giver but in another community. Kira is orphaned at the beginning of the story. She has a bad leg, one that prevents her from walking comfortably or quickly, and that brings scorn on her from a community that values strength. Fortunately she has incredible talent with thread – dying, stitching, embroidering – which saves her, and even exalts her to a position of great honor in the community. Two others children, a carver named Thomas and a young singer named Jo, have received the same honor. As Kira learns about the secrets behind her community and her past, and as young Matt helps her search for the elusive color blue, she and her friends devise a plan, similar to Jonas, that will help their community.

Messenger – Six years after the events of The Giver and Gathering Blue, Kira’s young friend Matt, has grown nearly to adulthood. He lives in Village, a third community that welcomes all strangers, regardless of perceived strength or weakness, and lives a peaceful existence. But changes are coming to Village. Worthy, positive characteristics now receive lesser value and differences never before seen as weaknesses are now dividing the community. Matty, longing to learn his true name and his blind guardian, whose true name is Seer, try to understand what is happening and find a way to save Village. Characters from both previous novels play prominent roles in Messenger, and the story started in The Giver comes to a gratifying conclusion.

While these titles certainly aren't light-hearted, readers can't help but escape inside. New communities and villages and cultures and belief systems are created so carefully that readers understand everything that the main characters struggle against. There's death and injustice. Characters - society's leaders - make incomprehensible decisions, but yet readers understand why they were made in the context of the story. That doesn't mean readers agree with the decisions, however, and they will fight along with the Jonas, Kira, and Matty in their efforts to bring change where change is so desperately needed. Most importantly, readers will think.

Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esme Raji Codell

Hunky Dory is a model student. She can "make flowers droop like wet spaghetti" and "thunder rumble like a whale's bellyache" and has "a cantankerous cackle that rattles the bones of any vertebrate for miles around!" Hey, when you're a student at Miss Harbinger's Charm School for Young Witches and your mother wishes for you to be the "wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow," then these are the sorts of things that get attention!

Once, during a spelling test, Hunky shows she can spell dragon by turning a prince into one, complete with emerald scales and lovely fiery breath. He even swings his tail and destroys the back wall of the school. After some well deserved praise from Miss Harbinger, all the girls stuck out their tongues at her in tribute. Of course Hunky was moved by their jealousy.

And so it goes with Hunky Dory and her classmates Frantic Search, Twisted Ankle, and Acid Reflux...just to name a few. Hunky even turns princes into frogs, but there's one major concern. She always changes them back.

Actions such as this probably disqualify one from being considered the wickedest.

After a guest speaker, Hunky decides on a career path. Entrepreneur. Small business owner. But where...?

While traveling to a castle to see a new baby, and bless it with some form of witchy badness, Auntie Malice tells Hunky about F.G.s. They're nincompoops. Show-offs. They're Fairy Godmothers! Why, why, would anyone do...[shudder]...good? They grant...ugh!...wishes! Witches, on the other hand, perform mischief. Now that's something worth doing.

Some time later, the solution to Hunky's entrepreneurial endeavors presents itself in the form of an abandoned shanty with a well out front. Since Hunky has always pleased her mother with her rebelliousness, and since F.G.s are such nasty creatures, Hunky hunkers down in the well and, for a fee - one gold coin - she grants wishes. Sometimes even good ones. Why, she's acting like...like...like one of them!

What a story! A girl desires to be good, which to her mother is bad, but her mother desires her to be wicked, and what's more wicked than being good? (Good question.)

Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

Queen Olympia was last seen falling into the river beside Beaurivage Castle just before the wedding of Marigold and Christian. She was last mentioned in Once Upon a Marigold in the one year later epilogue as an amnesia victim suddenly getting her memory back. So what happened during that one year?

She became a new person - a loving, gentle, helpful person who lives with the mayor of Granolah and his wife. She becomes friends with Lazy Susan, Sleeping Beauty's half sister, and does everything possible to live up to her new chosen name. Angelica.

So now, one year later and her memory suddenly restored, she is none too happy about her situation. She did laundry? Swept? Carried water? Appalled, she demands to be taken back to her kingdom where she immediately proceeds to take over, bullying King Swithbert into quiet submission.

Meanwhile all our favorite characters have had a wonderful year. Christian and Marigold rule Zandelphia from their crystal castle, Swithbert and Ed play games of snipsnapsnorum, and Magnus has his own place and his eye on a beautiful young lady named Sephronia.

But with Olympia back in the fold, things quickly turn ugly. Marigold and Christian are arguing, and Swithbert isn't strong enough to withstand Olympia's demands. Pretty soon Olympia has rewritten Beaurivage's constitution and forced the trial of three treasonous conspiritors: Swithbert, Ed, and Magnus. And if you believe the trial will be fair and just, consider that three gallows have already been built in the castle courtyard.

Nobody has ever stood up to Olympia. Not Swithbert. Not her daughters. Not her subjects. She has always had everything she desires. But will it continue? Will everyone simply allow her to bulldoze her way back onto the throne even if she is a ruler with no loyal followers? Olympia is truly evil. Even a good shaking from an elephant can't change true evil (although elephant shaking, apparently, works great on the unpleasant and disagreeable).

True evil takes something much more powerful. True evil takes a rearragement of the heart as well as the head, and Olympia has a bitterly cold heart and incredibly hard head.

Chowder by Peter Brown

When the opening page says, “Chowder had always been different,” and features a bulldog on a toilet, well, you know you got yourself a … well, uh … Okay, I’m not exactly sure what you’re supposed to have given those circumstances, but that is indeed how Chowder starts.

And it’s downright funny. Chowder wears an archeologist's hat and makes dinosaur shapes in the dirt with his bones while the other dogs just chew theirs. Chowder reads the paper. He stubbornly takes time to smell the flowers. He enjoys music and dancing, the Internet, and his telescope.

Eventually his desire to fit in, despite his ability to stick out, brings him to a petting zoo. Critters! Potential friends! In his excitement he promptly loses the critters’ kickball. Great start, eh? Then Chowder’s determination to remedy the situation finds him dangling, literally, by the skin of his teeth.

He is rescued by his (yes!) new friends who proceed to do what any new friends would do: teach Chowder the ins and outs of kickball. And he fits right in.

The pictures of Chowder are hilarious. I didn’t know bulldogs had an expression that is equal parts concentration, relaxation, and satisfaction, but Chowder does. (That’s in the opening picture. See: paragraph one, above.) Chowder’s tongue nearly has emotions of its own. Sometimes it dangles and drips, like when he reads the paper, and sometimes is flaps and sprays, like when he dances.

I don’t think Chowder will win any literary awards, but if you think bulldogs driving cars and topping pyramids and leaping out windows will make you laugh, then giggle away. Chowder’s your dog…and your book.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street picks up the family’s story three weeks into the school year following the eventful Penderwick family vacation at Arundel.

Rosalind is a seventh grader, moving on from her misguided emotions towards Cagney, dealing with Tommy, the boy who has lived across the street forever, and the responsibility of being the oldest. Skye is in sixth grade, captain of the soccer team, living a vow to control her temper on the soccer pitch, and wondering why the word “pretty” keeps coming up in conversations. Jane is still writing, this time a play featuring Aztecs, maize, drought, love found, love lost, and blood sacrifice. (The problem? The play was Skye’s homework assignment.) Four-year-old Batty, sans wings, still loves animals, especially Hound, and neckties, and still catches on to much more than older sisters like to admit, including the whereabouts of the mysterious Bug Man.

Readers are introduced to Aunt Claire, Mr. Penderwick’s sister, who delivers a blue letter to Mr. Penderwick, a letter written four years earlier by his wife just before she died, urging him to date again. Aunt Claire agrees, saying, “Movies and dinner, yes, but there’s no rush for romance.” She has even set him up on a blind date with a certain Ms. Muntz. How does it go? As Mr. Penderwick says, “Cruciatus.”

In order to prevent any more of Aunt Claire’s blind dates and meet her predetermined four-date quota, the Penderwick girls come up with the Save-Daddy Plan. After Ms. Muntz, find three more horrible dates. That way Daddy will hate dating, they won’t get a wicked stepmother, and…happily ever after.

But Mr. Penderwick meets someone on his own. Marianne Dashwood. He’s seen her a couple times, but the girls never meet her. The more they question their father, the less information he offers.

And something they never thought could happen, happens. The cherished Penderwick Family Honor is sullied (but not irreparably) by the deceit of more than one Penderwick. Sometimes it takes hard lessons to learn that honesty is indeed the best policy and that sometimes the best solutions are right in front of you the whole time.