Fiction – Page 54 – Mom Read It

Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Beetle Boy makes bugs lovable!

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Beetle Boy, by M.G. Leonard (Feb. 2016, Chicken House), $16.99, ISBN: 9780545853460

Recommended for ages 8-12

Darkus Cuttle is worried about his dad, a Director of Science at the National History Museum, who disappeared over six weeks ago. He vanished from a locked room in the museum, and no one has seen or heard from him. Darkus is living with his uncle for now, but he just knows his dad is out there – he’d never leave him, and he’d certainly never kill himself, like some people are suggesting. One day, he spots the two crazy cousins next door arguing about a beetle infestation and discovers that these beetles are pretty special. Baxter, a rhino beetle that befriends him, can understand him! Soon, Darkus and his friends Virginia and Bertolt find themselves on the trail of Darkus’ dad; Darkus is about to find out some secrets about his dad, fashion icon/villainess Lucretia Cutter, and the beetles next door. Can the kids find Darkus’ dad and keep themselves safe in the meantime?

I’m an avowed bug-phobic, so the fact that I wanted to read this book so badly should be a sign of how good I thought it would be. I’m very happy to tell you I was right: Beetle Boy, the first book in a new series by debut author M.G. Leonard, is so much fun. Darkus is a bit of an outcast, but never a wimp. He falls in with two other school misfits who can match him in intelligence and bravery (even if they may need some prodding), and they plan out their rescue mission after careful observation and research. Darkus’ Uncle Max is more than just a plot device to give Darkus a place to live while the story happens around him; he’s an uncle who’s learning how to be a guardian and he’s ready to jump in and get involved when it comes to his brother’s and his nephew’s safety.

There’s adventure, excitement, genetic modification, and a battle involving flying poo that is NOT to be missed. Boys and girls with a sense of adventure are going to LOVE this story and hopefully, like me, be waiting impatiently for the next installment. We’ve got some solid science, with facts about different sorts of bugs that will please any budding entomologist.

Beetle Boy has been designated an Independent Booksellers’ Debut Pick of the Season for Spring 2016.

A great pick for middle grade collections! I love fic that mixes realistic fiction with a touch of science fiction to get kids’ attention.

Adventure, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Mysterium #1: The Black Dragon has suspense, magic, and mystery

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Mysterium #1: The Black Dragon, by Julian Sedgwick/Illustrated by Patricia Moffett (Mar. 2016, Carolrhoda Books), $18.99

Recommended for ages 10-14

Danny Woo didn’t have the most traditional upbringing. As the child of circus performers in a traveling circus, he learned a great deal from his death-defying parents, until a suspicious fire left him an orphan in the care of his journalist aunt, Laura. When an explosion at Danny’s boarding school closed the school while repairs are made, Laura swept him off to his mother’s homeland, Hong Kong; she’s researching a dangerous triad gang known as the Black Dragon, but Danny feels like she knows more than she’s letting on. After his aunt is kidnapped, Danny and his old circus friend, a dwarf named Major Zamora, are left to save Laura – and themselves – using every trick they learned at the circus.

The Black Dragon is the first book in a new series. Mysterium follows the adventures of Danny Woo, a tween who survived the fire that killed his parents. Brought up in a traveling circus, Danny has some tricks up his sleeve and knows that his remaining family – his aunt Laura and his friend, Zamora – knows more about his parents’ deaths than they’re willing to let on. Previously published outside the US, there are three books in the series (so far); I hope they’ll also be published in the U.S., to give audiences a chance to read the whole series.

I liked what I’ve read so far. There’s a lot of action and intrigue, with some questions posed and just enough answers given to tease readers into getting the next book. Danny is a smart, capable kid who uses the hypnosis and sleight of hand techniques he learned from his dad to aid his own investigation. He tends to go with his gut feelings on things, because he’s good at “reading” people – another talent he picked up from his father. His friend Zamora is a loyal friend who acts as Danny’s partner and protector. We’ve got good exposition, interesting characters with talents not usually explored by tween fic, and multi-ethnic, diverse characters that make this a good choice to add to reading lists. I’d pair this with Simon Nicholson’s Young Houdini middle grade series for a nice display on magic in fiction.

Check out the Mysterium webpage for more information on the rest of the series, which you can also buy for your reader if you can’t wait for them to be published stateside.

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, History, Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade

George Washington, friendship, and time travel: The President and Me

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The President and Me: George Washington and the Magic Hat, by Deborah Kalb/Illustrations by Robert Lunsford, (Feb. 2016, Schiffer Publishing), $12.99, ISBN: 9780764351105

Recommended for ages 8-12

Fifth grader Sam is feeling down. He’s a bit of an introvert, and when his best friend, Andrew, seemingly abandoned him to get more involved in sports, he feels more alone than ever. Plus, the most annoying kid in school took the part he wanted in the school play: the role of George Washington! During a trip to Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, Sam finds himself drawn to a beat-up old hat in the gift shop, but this is no ordinary hat: it’s a magic hat that sends him off to the 18th century, where he meets George Washington himself! As Sam travels back and forth between the present day and the 18th century, he finds himself witnessing pivotal moments in George Washington’s life, and just possibly, building a friendship with the charismatic leader.

The President and Me is a fun middle grade fantasy adventure. The hat has a personality all its own, which makes for some amusing moments; whether he’s trying to find out what a bus is or what this newfangled century is all about, or blathering on while Sam’s trying to keep him a secret, the hat is a good supporting character for Sam, often encouraging him by showing him a time in George Washington’s history that teaches Sam a lesson he desperately needs – lessons that operate under the guise of history, but carry some pretty great lessons that help Sam learn about himself, too. Black and white illustrations add interest.

Readers will find some interesting history and facts about George Washington in the book, too. Most of us know by now that George didn’t really chop down a cherry tree, let alone confess the fact to his dad, but did you know that Mount Vernon was his brother’s estate first? Or that he wanted to be a sailor before he wanted to be a soldier? The author includes some helpful sources in her acknowledgements; pair that with some resources of your own and give kids a great George Washington or Colonial America bibliography. There are a few questions left unanswered, but you can use those areas as kickoffs to discussions. (What would happen if George Washington were given a LEGO spaceship?)

A light, fun addition to your historical fantasy fiction collections.

Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Tristan Hunt graphic novel teaser!

Posted on March 8, 2016March 7, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Tristan Hunt fans! As if you weren’t already excited for the next chapter in the Tristan Hunt and the Sea Guardians series, here’s one more thing to look forward to: The Shark Whisperer graphic novel teaser included in Stingray City!

Illustrated by Molly Murakami, The Shark Whisperer is going graphic – just like the Percy Jackson graphic novels, which bring exciting life to the unputdownable books – and you can find the first chapter on www.teamtristan.com RIGHT NOW. Come May, you’ll find Tristan and his first encounter with the shark tank, lovingly tucked into your copy of Stingray City. Will we get an online comic, or a full graphic novel version of the series? We can hope, right?

In the meantime, take a look at the Shark Whisperer excerpt I’ve got here, or point your browser to www.teamtristan.com and follow Mighty Media on Pinterest for teacher and librarian resources.

Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade

Batman’s Backstory: Gotham’s Guardian

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Batman: Gotham City’s Guardian, by Matthew Manning/Illustrated by Steven Gordon (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545868167

Recommended for ages 7-10

What would a series of DC Backstories be without the Dark Knight? Scholastic’s Batman: Gotham City’s Guardian gives readers a quick history of Batman, his friends and foes, and origin.

Gotham City’s Guardian follows the style set by the previous Backstories: we have a foreword by Batman, leading into his origin story; a roll call of friends, foes, and family, including a breakdown of the four sidekicks who have worn the Robin mask; a chronology of the characters’ origins; a short biography in chapters; timelines; glossaries; fast facts, and indexes.

Readers learn how small-time mugger Joe Chill created an icon during a robbery gone wrong in Gotham’s infamous Crime Alley; how a young Bruce Wayne traveled the world, learning from experts in martial arts, investigation, even acting, so he could gain the skills he needed to avenge his parents; how he embraced the image of the bat, and how he eschews firearms because of the devastation they brought to his life at such a young age. The guide is comprehensive, covering such major events as Batman’s back being broken at the hands of supervillain Bane and the Joker’s murder of Jason Todd’s Robin. Heavily illustrated, we also have fun touches like Bruce Wayne’s own drawings, newspaper clippings, and schematics for such gadgets as Batman’s utility belt and several important vehicles.

Get the full set in time for the movie (only 3 weeks away now!) and get your kidlings caught up on the real origin stories for Bats, Supes, and Wondy!

Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Fairy Tale Reform School returns with Charmed!

Posted on March 4, 2016March 3, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Fairy Tale Reform School: Charmed, by Jen Calonita (March 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $15.99, ISBN: 9781492604044

Recommended for ages 8-12

Gilly and her Fairy Tale Reform School friends are back in a new adventure! When we last left Gilly, she had faced down the evil threat facing the school and is kind of a hero now. This has been great for her father, whose glass slipper business is doing better than ever, allowing her family to live a little more easily. Still, things at FTRS have a way of going haywire: headed by Princess Briar Rose – Sleeping Beauty – herself, the mean girl group, the Royal Ladies in Waiting, are trying to recruit Gilly and turn her into a pink-wearing, royal-loving, wannabe; and Rose is heading up the effort. The notorious pirate Blackbeard is the newest professor at the school, and his teaching methods are a bit unorthodox. Oh, and there’s a mole in the school that may be assisting Alva, the evil fairy who was behind all that fuss last time. It falls to Gilly and friends to find the mole, if she can keep her friends talking to her, keep her family safe, and stay alive long enough to find out who it is!

Charmed is more of the storytelling that made Flunked such a fun read. Gilly’s trying to cope with her newfound fame, continue being true to who she is, and help keep everyone she cares for safe. There are new challenges thrown at her; she’s got to stop taking the world on her shoulders and accept some help from her friends this time. There’s a little more intrigue this time out, making for a juicy subplot, an old rivalry that will keep you on your toes, and an ending that leaves me hopeful for more. The police blotter from Flunked has given way to the Happily Ever After Scrolls (newspaper updates) and letters via the Pegasus Postal Service, both of which offer humorous news updates that enhance the plots and give us some extra details that Gilly – our narrator – couldn’t know.

A fun addition to your fractured fairy tale fiction section, and an equally fun booktalk. I talked this book up to my tweens when I brought copies of Flunked into my library, and I haven’t seen my copies since. Once my copies of Charmed come in, I’ll revisit my Flunked activity kit and get the kids creating their own fairy tales!

Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Tristan Hunt and friends return with Stingray City!

Posted on March 4, 2016March 7, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Stingray City, by Ellen Prager (May 2015, Mighty Media Press), $9.95, ISBN: 9781938063701

Recommended for ages 9-12

When we last left Tristan Hunt and his Sea Camp friends, they’d had a rough summer that included being held prisoner by a crazy scientist and being chased by their environment-menacing foe, billionaire JP Rickerton. Camp ended early to get the heat off the kids, but Tristan and his friends aren’t out of action just yet: there’s an emergency by Grand Cayman, where stingrays and other sea life are disappearing. Tristan, Hugh, Ryder, Sam, and Rosina are called in to investigate, but they may end up missing along with the stingrays they’re trying to locate!

This third installment is the most fun Tristan Hunt adventure yet. Ms. Prager has hit her stride with this third book; her writing flows smoothly and she’s as comfortable with these characters as they are with one another. There’s more joking around now; more confidence; the kids are a little more inventive with their strategies and bolder when it comes to taking initiative. Tristan isn’t quite as focused on his on-land clumsiness as he’s been in the past, and, being teenagers now, they’re also starting to notice one another.

The Jamaican-accents are back, too! This time, instead of sharks, we’ve got stingrays calling the kids “bobo” and “mon”, adding some more humor to the storyline. There are some tense moments and some straight-up James Bond-type stunts happening here, courtesy of a billionaire inventor introduced here. (The books take place around Grand Cayman, there are going to be millionaires, folks.)

Readers are going to get some harsh truths in this book: not everyone appreciates life. But that’s why Tristan and his friends work so hard to keep the waters safe. You’re going to read about some pretty terrible conditions that people inflict on sea life and people who try to stop them, but it’s nothing that a kid can’t handle, and hopefully, he or she will come away with a greater respect for our world and the creatures we share that world with.

Lots of great conservation and environmental messages here, some new questions introduced (I still have questions from the last book!), and overall, a big, fun read. A plus to your middle grade realistic fantasy (I know that’s not a genre, but it should be) collection.

Do you want your own Tristan Hunt starter set? Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for the chance to win books 1 and 2 (The Shark Whisperer and Shark Rider)!
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Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Teen, Tween Reads

Ravenous weaves together fairy tales for great middle grade fantasy

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ravenous, by MarcyKate Connolly (Jan. 2016, HarperCollins), $16.99, ISBN: 9780062272744

Recommended for ages 9-13

After being imprisoned in a neighboring city, forced to witness her friends’ deaths at the behest of a greedy king and evil wizard, Greta is doing everything she can to take care of her brother, Hans. Their parents have disappeared, leaving questions and heartache in their wake. When Greta returns home one day to discover Hans missing, she tracks him to a witch’s house. A witch who lives in a chicken leg house. A witch who eats children, and she’s sizing Hans up for her next meal unless Greta retrieves a priceless artifact for her. The artifact is in Belladoma – the city where Greta was held prisoner. A city of people Greta has vowed never to forgive. She’s joined on her quest by Dalen, a young centaur, who has his own village to save. Can the two unravel the secrets the king and wizard left behind to save everyone they love?

Ravenous is the sequel to Monstrous, a smart retake on the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. We go deeper into that tale here; deftly woven with the Baba Yaga myth, with a sprinkling of Kraken/ancient Greek storytelling. I love Greta, the main character. She’s smart, she’s strong, she’s determined, and she’s vulnerable. She’s been hurt, she feels betrayed, and her loyalty and willingness to do anything for her brother is powerful and bittersweet all at once. They have no one but one another, and their parents remain a huge question mark in their lives. That’s got to be brutal for a child, and here, it is. MarcyKate Connolly digs deep into Greta’s determination and finds her pain, which acts as her engine. Through it all, though, she’s a good person.

I also love that Baba Yaga is making her way into the major leagues of storytelling over the last few years. We’ve seen her take center stage in Gregory Maguire’s Egg and Spoon and the hit graphic novel Baba Yaga’s Assistant, and now she’s here, causing trouble in Ravenous. I’d like to see more folk and fairy tales from different cultures make their way to middle grade and YA literature; it provides a richer pool to draw from.

You don’t need to read Monstrous to enjoy Ravenous, but it’s highly recommended. A prequel for the series, Precious, is said to be in the final edition; I read an ARC, and the copy I bought for my library was gone as soon as it hit the New Releases shelf, so someone will have to let me know!

Give this book to your fantasy and fairy tale fans. Booktalk Monstrous and Ravenous as new ways of seeing existing folklore and encourage your book group to come up with their own ideas for reimagining a favorite book.

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Dragons vs. Drones: D&D fantasy meets today’s tech

Posted on February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Dragons vs. Drones, by Wesley King (Mar. 2016, Razorbill), $16.99, ISBN: 9781595147974

Recommended for ages 9-12

In a land called Dracone, Dree labors away as a welder. Her family was once nobility; her father, a dragon rider, until their fortunes reversed. Now, dragon riders are considered traitors, dragons hunted for their fangs and scales, and Dree’s father spends his day as a shadow of the man he once was while Dree and her mother work to scrape together a living for their family.

In our world, Marcus, the son of a CIA analyst who disappeared when he was only 4 is desperate to find out what happened to his father. He’s told by the government that his father was a traitor; his mother died when he was a baby. Raised by his father’s best friend – who seems to know more than he’s letting on – Marcus has been studying weather patterns that may lead to some answers. The only problem is, he’s being watched by government drones.

When Marcus breaks a code that sends him into an alternate world, he meets Dree and discovers a world like nothing he’s ever known. But the drones have followed him and are wreaking havoc on the Draconian citizens. Can Dree and Marcus forge a peace between humans and dragons to save themselves from an evil plan to destroy the land?

Dragons vs. Drones is a fantasy novel that’s part fantasy and part tech/sci-fi thriller. It’s been called “Eragon meets Transformers”, which is a pretty accurate description. We’ve got dragons, and we’ve got codebreaking. STEM fans, there is some pretty intense discussions of welding/metalworking and coding/hacking here, so it’s a good book to give the kids in your life who love to play around at the computer, fool around with their own Raspberry Pi, and dream about dragons, swords and magic. Magic and science co-exist here, broadening the audience, and there are both male and female main characters, for anyone who still flinches at “boy books” vs. “girl books” (I’ve got a few in my library). There’s quite a bit of world-building on both worlds, and the ending provides a promise for a sequel.

Some timely topics to discuss in a group setting include government surveillance, deforestation for industrial progress, and ethics of hunting/endangered species.

A good addition to science fiction and fantasy collections.

Animal Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Middle Grade

Lights, Camera, Scarlett! A Star on the Run

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Scarlett: A Star on the Run, by Jon Buller and Susan Schade (Nov. 2015, Papercutz), $14.99, ISBN: 9781629912912

Recommended for ages 8-12

Scarlett is a movie star with a touch of the diva about her – she’s also a talking cat, living with other animal actors at Pafco Labs. They live in cages, get energy shots, and have their lives pretty much controlled by Sloan Pafco, the scientist/head of the studio, and Scarlett is just sick of it. She spots an empty window in the rec room and grabs her chance at freedom – which lands her in the freezing snow; luckily, a wacky but kind-hearted guy named Frank takes her in; Trotter, her canine best friend, also ran away from the lab and joins her at Frank’s. While living with Frank, the two learns all about being human: ordering food, playing the lottery, and watching TV. He thinks he’s hearing voices, so their cover is safe for now. When Frank falls ill, Scarlett poses as his housekeeper and calls the ambulance; while Frank’s away, Scarlett and Trotter set about making some improvements to the house and their lives. But can their secret stay safe forever?

This was a cute animal buddy story. Using a combination of graphic novel and chapter book, narrated by Scarlett, to tell the story, is a great way to bring in readers who don’t have the patience to stick with an entire chapter book just yet. Scarlett on the Run is an overall light book, but touches on issues like animal testing and experimentation and hoarding, and offers the opportunity for a good conversation with kids interested in learning more.

Author and illustrator husband and wife duo Jon Buller and Susan Schade have a webpage where you can see more of their work, learn about the rest of their books (including one of my son’s favorite graphic novels series, The Fog Mound), and find a cute lesson on cartooning.