The 10th book in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has been revealed!
Hitting stores in November, publisher Abrams says that Jeff Kinney “brings the series back to its roots, as Greg starts a new school year and faces a challenge he never could’ve imagined”. I’m so behind on my Wimpy Kid reading, I should probably start all over again; these books crack me up. You can pre-order now, and since my all of my libraries clear these books out the second they hit the shelves (and my son expects a copy waiting on the table when he gets home from school), I should probably get my order in now.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: OLD SCHOOL, by Jeff Kinney
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1701-7
Hardcover
Published: November 2015
$13.95
Extraordinary, by Miriam Spitzer Franklin (2015, Sky Pony Press), $14.99, ISBN: 978-1-63220-402-8
Recommended for ages 9-14
Ten year-old Pansy wasn’t the brave one. That was Anna, her best friend. Anna cut off her hair for Locks of Love, she was a star student, she ice skated and went camping… and Pansy always chickened out at the last minute. But Anna went away to camp, even after Pansy backed out, and contracted meningitis, and now she’s a different person: wheelchair-bound and nonverbal, suffering from seizures.
When Pansy discovers that Anna’s parents have scheduled brain surgery to relieve Anna’s seizures, Pansy expects a miracle that will bring Anna back to her. And she’s going to become the friend Anna deserves. She’s going to be extraordinary. She’s going to take all the risks that she backed out on, do everything that scared her, and be the student Anna was, so that Anna will be proud of her when she comes out of surgery. The only thing is, what will she sacrifice in the process?
This is such a good story about enduring friendship. We get a glimpse into a pre-adolescent psyche, where Pansy takes on the guilt and weight of Anna’s illness, making herself responsible, in some ways, for Anna’s recovery. If she can become extraordinary, Anna will be okay. It’s unspoken, but it’s there. We see a family forever changed by their daughter’s sudden illness, and we see the fallout radiate to family friends. It’s a strong picture that we don’t normally see, but that I hope – with the advent of the #weneeddiversebooks movement – we will read more often.
While the book doesn’t make Anna’s illness the focal point, it is the motivating factor for the main character, and we see the conflicts presented in supporting characters as they deal with it. Anna’s twin brother, Andy, has his own wishes and frustrations; her parents have to care for her and make tough decisions about her care, and her friends at school have questions. Ms. Franklin includes Anna’s big picture story within the framework of Pansy’s main story, and it comes together beautifully.
Extraordinary should be on Summer Reading lists, particularly with the CSLP‘s Every Hero Has a Story theme this year. If it’s not on your school’s list, add it to your personal list, and mention it to your teachers for Fall/Back to School reading.
Miriam Spitzer Franklin’s author page offers information about Extraordinary, including a forthcoming educator’s guide and a list of K-5 workshops she conducts.
The Map to Everywhere, by Carrie Ryan & John Parke Davis (2014, Little Brown Books for Young Readers), $17, ISBN: 9780316240772
Recommended for ages 10-13
Fin is the perfect thief – any memory of him fades from everyone he meets. But one day, he gets a letter – someone knows him – and offers him a mission that will help him find his mother. He finds his way to the magical Pirate Stream, a waterway that connects every world in creation, where he encounters Marrill, a schoolgirl from Arizona, who’s just trying to get home, a young pirate captain, and a wizard, all searching for the pieces of a Map to Everywhere – the only problem is, an evil wizard and his crew are in search of the same Map, so he can end the world.
We’ve got the makings of a big pirate adventure with this series: two promising young heroes, a wizard and a captain that will almost certainly see more development as the series proceeds, and a world-ending Big Bad. Both Fin and Marrill have their own motivations, which give us some interesting subplots and leave us in a good place for future adventures.
I admit that I struggled with the book, overall. There was something that didn’t hook me right away, a sense of needing something more. About halfway through, I was finally on board and engaged. I don’t think middle grade adventure and fantasy lovers will have this issue at all, though. With strong male and female characters, a sharp sense of humor and exciting storytelling, this will be a good summer reading choice.
Carrie Ryan is best known for her YA post-apocalyptic series, beginning with The Forest of Hands and Teeth; she’s writing this series with her husband, first-time novelist John Parke Davis. You can find activity sheets and extras on the Map to Everywhere site, which also features links to the first eight chapters via Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play.
The Cat’s Maw, by Brooke Burgess (2015, CreateSpace), $10.99, ISBN: 9781500971656
Recommended for ages 10-16
Billy Brahms has luck, all right – it’s all bad. He’s an accident looking for a place to happen, and an easy target for bullies. His parents don’t know what to do with him, but they don’t seem to try too hard to connect with him, either. When he’s struck by a car and risks losing his leg, they’re all at the end of their respective ropes. One day, though, Billy wakes up to discover a cat has adopted him – he just shows up at Billy’ bedside. His mother puts up a fuss, but the neighborhood cat lady manages to talk her into letting Billy and the cat have some time together to bond, saying it will be good for poor Billy, who’s stuck in a cast all summer.
That’s when the dreams start. He’s talking to cats, he’s hearing talk of Watchers, Shadows, and the Enemy that Awakens. He’s been given a mission, a mission that will remove the curse he seems to have hanging over him – will he finally be able to be a “normal” kid? Billy knows his parents will never believe him if he tells them that he’s communicating with his cat, and they’ll never let him go anywhere by himself, especially with that cast on his leg. He’s got to figure out how to break this curse, and he turns to the local veterinarian’s daughter for help.
The Cat’s Maw is one of those books that’s better read when you can talk about it with other readers. There’s a lot going on, and you need time to sit, read, and work things out to really appreciate the book. It’s a narrative that builds, never really giving anything away – rather, it gives you little peeks here and there, little glimpses, building toa tense finale that leaves you waiting for the next book. And there will be one; this is the first in the Shadowland Saga by Burgess.
Billy is a sympathetic kid. His parents are fairly awful, even though you get the feeling that they don’t want to be. He’s a bully magnet. Even his friend, the vet’s daughter, is happiest when she’s bossing him around. You want to see things work for Billy, and if a link to a cat is the key to this, let’s go there.
The ending left me with more questions than answers, which means that I need to read it one more time, and that I need the second book in the series to come out soon.
The Cat’s Maw is available in eBook, audiobook, or paperback. Check out the author’s website or information about his other books, and more information about The Cat’s Maw.
Book Scavenger, by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (June 2015, Henry Holt), $16.99, ISBN: 9781627791151
Twelve year-old Emily is on the move again. Her unconventional parents are on a quest to live in all 50 states, so she and her brother don’t get a chance to put roots down anywhere. This move takes them to San Francisco, where Emily’s idol-Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the game Book Scavenger-lives. Shortly after arriving, she and her new friend James discover a strangely new copy of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story, The Gold Bug; they learn that Griswold has been viciously attacked and is in the hospital, and people start showing an unusual interest in her copy of The Gold Bug. Could there be a connection?
This is a new spin on the middle grade mystery, with a real-life tie in that’s interesting and brings kids into the world of The Book Scavenger. Influenced by the online site Book Crossing, where you leave books for people and record where you’ve left and discovered books, Book Scavenger creates a game where you can attain levels of detective-dom by finding books and hiding books using clues to lead your fellow players to them. Chambliss and publisher Henry Holt have brought Book Scavenger to life, hiding advance review copies of Book Scavenger all over the country and inviting readers to locate them – go to http://bookscavenger.com/ to get on board and join the fun!
There is some great discussion on cryptography and hidden codes used in the book – James and Emily are fans that bring the practice into their school after being caught passing notes – and the book becomes a true whodunit, with readers trying to figure out who could have been behind the attack on Garrison Griswold, and more importantly, what is the secret of The Gold Bug? The characters are likable, even if Emily does become frustrating in her single-mindedness over solving the mystery at points, and Book Scavenger makes for exciting summer reading.
Check out Jennifer Chambliss Bertman’s author page for updates on what she’s working on.
My Life in Dioramas, by Tara Altebrando (Apr 2015, Running Press) $14.95, ISBN: 9780762456826
Recommended for ages 9-14
Kate Marino has spent her life in Big Red, her wonderfully large, rambling house. But her parents are having financial trouble, and have to put Big Red up for sale and move in with her grandparents – just as Kate’s dancing class is about to compete for the very first time! Kate’s world coming feels like it’s coming to an end, and begins crafting dioramas of her life at Big Red as she and her friends try to think of ways to turn potential buyers off of a sale.
I loved this story. Ms. Altebrando takes a sobering look at life for many families today and finds the spark of hope, the humor, and ultimately, the ability to move on. Kate is a wonderful main character that middle graders will love. The ideas she and her friends come up with to discourage potential buyers are hilarious and innocent rather than mean-spirited. We see the stress of the family’s financial situation affecting Kate, but also, her family, particularly through her mother’s fight with depression. Using a popular school project – the diorama – as a vehicle to advance the plot and take readers through Big Red’s story – as much a character in this book as anyone else – immediately invests the reader.
Tara Altebrando’s author page offers more information about her other books, including Roomies, a YALSA 2015 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection,co-authored with Sara Zarr. My Life in Dioramas hit shelves this week, so please check with your local bookseller and pick up a copy. You’ll be glad you did, and so will your kids/students/and so on.
Check out this great book trailer for My Life in Dioramas, made by Teeny Tiny Filmworks, a group of young filmmakers.
Invasion of the Overworld, by Mark Cheverton (2013, Sky Pony Press) $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-63220-711-1
Recommended for ages 8-12
If you’re around tweens at all in the course of your day, you’ve probably at least heard of Minecraft. It’s an online game and community that allows users to create their own worlds in 8-bit, or face off against other users on other servers. My kids have been Minecrafting for a few years now, and some of the stuff I’ve seen is nothing short of mind-blowing. I’ve seen Hogwarts, Middle Earth, and castles and creations that defy all explanation, created by anyone from young kids to architects and engineers who use Minecraft. That said, there are – as in real life – creeps who find amusement in destroying other people’s creations. Called “griefers”, they find their way into users’ areas and burn down and destroy other people’s hard work. Invasion of the Overworld addresses this beautifully.
The story begins with a boy whose Minecraft name is GameKnight999. He’s a 12 year-old kid who loves griefing and setting up traps to lure his teammates and friends to. It’s his way of exercising power that he doesn’t have in real life, but it’s not doing him any favors. When – in a scene that reminded me of Disney’s Tron – he finds himself digitized and in the Minecraft world itself, he learns that his online actions have repercussions, and when he’s confronted with the fallout from his actions, he begins to see things in a new light.
He also learns that all is not well in the world of Minecraft. The monsters that exist in the game are finding their way, server by server, to the Source, a source of power that will lead them to our world. GameKnight – called The User That is Not a User – is the one things standing in their way. We see GameKnight on a voyage of personal discovery as he matures and takes on the responsibility not only of defending Minecraft, but his own world.
The book is Minecraft-heavy. There are detailed desriptions of settings, tools, and game vocabulary. Minecrafters will recognize and love this, and newbies to the game (and I count myself in this number) will appreciate Mr. Cheverton’s explanations. Mark Cheverton wrote this series after the Minecraft world he and his son created was destroyed by griefers. Parents will appreciate the discussions about cyberbullying and bullying in real life, and I’m hopeful that kids reading this series will see that every action brings with it some consequence, whether or not they hide behind the anonymity of being online.
I bought a set of these books for my library, because the kids are avid Minecrafters. I haven’t seen the books since the day I put them on the shelves – they’re constantly in circulation, and I really should by a new set, along with Mr. Cheverton’s latest series, The Mystery of Herobrine.
Keep up with Mark Cheverton’s Minecraft novels at his website, where you can sign up for email updates.
Full disclosure, I am mortified by how long it took me to get to this review. I received a copy of the GameKnight999 trilogy at New York Comic Con last year, and only just got to sit down and read this first book in the series. I hope that all the booktalks I’ve given this series in the time it took me to read it helps make up for the delay!
To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful, by Shane Koyczan (2014, Annick Press) $19.95, ISBN: 978-1554516391
Recommended for ages 10-18
What began as a spoken word poem turned into a viral video, and has culminated in this gorgeous, touching graphic novel about the lasting damage caused by bullying. To this day, a boy saddled with a the nickname “pork chop” hates pork chops. To this day, a woman teased about a facial birthmark thinks she’s ugly, despite having a loving husband and family. To this day, bullied kids carry the battle scars they earned in the trenches of elementary, middle, and high school. This book, based on Shane Koyczan’s spoken word poem and animated by 86 animation and motion artists, contains the work of 30 artists and illustrators and give new life to Koyczan’s poem.
Bullying has become a hot-button topic in recent years, as cyberbullying changes all the rules. The attraction of anonymity makes bullies bolder, and victims find their tormentors omnipresent, thanks to 24/7 social media access. Crafting a multimedia work – a spoken word poem, a viral video, and now, a graphic novel, takes the bullying discussion to the arenas where tweens and teens live and interact. Making the discussion visual will help bring home the internal damage that bullying brings, hopefully making both bullies and the bullied understand that there are repercussions to bullying. There is someone on the other end of a computer or smartphone that is directly impacted by everything that one writes or records. In this case, a picture truly speaks a thousand words.
This would make for a great class discussion and could be paired with the video. There is also a free app available through iTunes. The To This Day Project website has anti-bullying resources, the video, and a link to the app available.
Red Dragon Academy, Book 1: Dreamwalker, by Rhys Bowen and C.M. Broyles (2014, Red Dragon Press) $10.97, ISBN: 978-150-31025-7
Recommended for ages 10-14
Addison’s mom has just died, leaving her in the care of her workaholic aunt, who sends her to boarding school in Wales. But the Red Dragon Academy isn’t a “normal” boarding school, and more and more, Addison realizes that she and her fellow students aren’t run of the mill students. She’s having strange dreams – she rode a dragon! – and she’s discovered some crazy hallways and mirrors in the school. The teachers seem to know what’s really going on, but aren’t very forthcoming. What is Red Dragon Academy? And what secrets do they know about Addy and her friends?
This is a new fantasy series from an indie publisher, by a mother-daughter duo. There’s some great Welsh mythology woven into the story, and a series of mysteries that reveal themselves just enough as the story proceeds. Yes, this is a magic school. No, it’s not that magic school. This is a storyline that stands on its own, with its own mythos and antagonists. I’m looking forward to seeing what else the authors give us.
Talk to Me, by Sonia Ellis/illus. by Evanleigh Davis (2014, FastPencil) $16.99, ISBN: 9781619338821
Recommended for ages 9-14
Seven year-old Maddie Reyes is a selective mute. She can talk up a storm around her mom, dad, and older sister, Sadina. She tells all of her secrets to Bella, her robotic cat. But get her outside of her family circle, and she cannot speak. Sadina, her older sister, protects her and takes care of her as much as she can, but she can’t be with Maddie all the time.
One night, Maddie discovers an intruder in the house – an intruder who knows about Maddie. When Maddie and Sadina’s mother is accused of a corporate crime, Sadina thinks her friend Rio is behind it, but Maddie knows the truth. And now, she’s not talking at all. To find out what Maddie knows, Sadina will have to team up with her friends and find a way to make Bella, the one friend that Maddie will still speak to, talk back to Maddie.
This book drew me in right away. I love there character diversity- let’s hear it for a Latina heroine!; I found it fascinating that Ms. Ellis made Maddie a selective mute, and how she worked that into the meat of the plot. The story’s pace will keep a middle grader’s attention, and there’s enough tension in the book to keep readers guessing and thinking overtime. This is a great book for discussion groups; there’s so much to cover here. From disabilities that aren’t readily visible to corporate espionage, to the reality of animating a robotic pet, this book would be a great collaborative reading assignment for English and Science classes.
There are frequent references to technology in the book – Maddie and Sadina’s mother is an engineer, working on a new cellphone battery; Sadina and her friends are very handy in the tech lab; Rio wants new design software – but I’m not sure that qualifies this as a STEM Mystery. It’s a good story with STEM references.
Evanleigh Davis’ illustrations bring a real innocence to Maddie’s character. Her large eyes, seemingly forever gazing upward, make her look small and bewildered. Every illustration is filled with character and adds another dimension to the storytelling.
I think this will be a good book to get on the shelves at my library this summer. It’s the first book in a new series, and anything to do with kids using technology to solve problems is a book I want to have at the kids’ fingertips.
To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful, by Shane Koyczan (2014, Annick Press) $19.95, ISBN: 978-1554516391
Mom Read It 