friendship – Page 51

Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Oni Press takes a look at the dark underbelly of spelling bees with Buzz! – A WhatchaReading Review!

Posted on April 19, 2014April 18, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Middle graders, listen up! Buzz! makes spelling bees AMAZING. You’ll want to start your own underground spelling bee after you read this book. Promise.

Ananth Pangariya and Tessa Stone’s graphic novel, Buzz, takes a look at the seedy underworld of underground spelling bees – yes, you read that right. Spelling Bees. But here, spelling bees are more like Fight Club with words. Words carry literal power here, bringing thunder and damage with them. Forget lining up in the school auditorium in your assembly clothes, these kids are from all walks of life, hiding out in abandoned spaces, and spelling themselves into a frenzy.

Check out the rest of my review on WhatchaReading!

Fiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Tween Reads

Tao, the Little Samurai: Fun Comics for Kids!

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Tao, the Little Samurai, #1: Pranks and Attacks!, by Laurent Richard/Illustrated by Nicolas Ryser. Lerner Publishing Group/Graphic Universe (2014), $6.95 (paperback), ISBN: 9781467720953

Recommended for ages 8-12

Tao the Little Samurai is a very cute series by writer Laurent Richard and illustrator Nicolas Ryser. Pranks and Attacks is the first book in the series, which follows the daily adventures of Tao, a little boy in training to be a samurai – but he’s constantly late to school, tries to avoid his chores, and would rather play a samurai video game than train most of the time!

The book features 1-2 page story strips, which is a good way to keep younger readers interested without overwhelming them with a big story. They can read about Tao’s adventures in short bites, put it down to do homework (or watch TV and play video games), and come back to it at their leisure. The stories are sequential – this is a graphic novel – and there are recurring characters, which will give the readers a comfortable sense of familiarity. The stories are also fun – Tao is a regular kid. He’s in trouble for being late, he wants to play with his friends rather than do schoolwork, and he has grand visions for himself – he even writes, on a hall of successful students, “This Space Reserved For Tao”.

The art has a manga influence – think manga for younger audiences, like Hamtaro – with exaggerated facial expressions, particularly the eyes, and movement. The colors are bright and eye-catching. This is light reading, which is great for summer reading, especially for over-tested, stressed out kids. Tao: The Little Samurai is out in paperback now, and is part of a series, including the adventures, Ninjas and Knockouts! and Clowns and Dragons!

Fiction, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Salem Hyde’s Back, and she’s making birthdays bigger and… well, interesting.

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde, Book Two: Big Birthday Bash, by Frank Cammuso (2014). Abrams Kids, $14.95, ISBN: 9781419710254

Recommended for ages 8-12

Fledgling witch Salem Hyde is back, along with her talking cat, Whammy (short for Percival J. Whamsford III). Whammy’s still trying to hold onto his remaining five lives as he helps Salem navigate her new magic powers. In Big Birthday Bash, Salem has a friend’s birthday party to attend, but the local Mean Girl is trying to one-up her gift. Will Salem use magic to come out on top? You know she will – the question is, what is going to happen next?

This is my first Salem Hyde book, and I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to go back and get the first one. The art is adorable; it’s cartoony, expressive, and fun. Salem is a kid who happens to be able to use magic; she’s having fun with it. She makes herself big, she shrinks other people down, she just wants to have a good time. Poor Whammy is great as her put-upon companion who ends up getting into his own trouble (wait until you get to the Slurpees) as he accompanies Salem on her travels. It’s a great story for younger readers, and the graphic novel format teaches sequence and pacing.

The book arrives in bookstores on May 20th, and I foresee this on a lot of summer reading lists. It’s a great read for girls and boys alike, although boys may shy away from the hot pink cover.

Frank Cammuso is the creator of the popular Knights of the Lunch Table series, and creates beginner graphic novels with Toon Books. His website provides contact information, author information, links to social media, and a store.

Fiction, Middle School, Tween Reads

Did your Summer Experiment involve alien abduction?

Posted on April 8, 2014April 8, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Summer Experiment, by Cathie Pelletier. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (2014), $16.99, ISBN: 9781402285783

Recommended for ages 10-14

Roberta is an 11 year-old girl living in rural Maine. She’s a straight-A student who’s locked in neverending academic combat with Henry Horton Harris Helmsby, who always manages to take the top prize at the science fair. She and her best friend Marilee plan to spend the summer hanging out together and talking about their crushes, when UFO sightings crop up in the area. She researches the Allagash alien abductions of 1976 – practically in her backyard – and decides that she wants to document the experience of her own alien abduction – with poor Marilee along for the ride – for an award-winning science project! She has to figure out how to contact that aliens, but just leave that to her.

The Summer Experiment is a book that has all the “lazy summer story” details – two best friends, an antagonist older brother, a loving family, with a pinch of drama – that also happens to include UFO sightings. It’s an interesting twist that readers may get a kick out of, and hopefully be spurred to read up more on the real-life Allagash alien abduction stories (the book includes resources for further reading). There is a positive female role model – Roberta – and a few realistic family crises that keep the book with one foot in reality, one in fantasy. This would provide an interesting summer reading program that could include a viewing of another real-life alien abduction story turned movie, Fire in the Sky, with a discussion afterwards.

The author’s webpage offers information about the author and her books, tour dates, and contact information.

Fiction, Horror, Humor, Tween Reads

My Zombie Hamster – there’s nothing like a pet that wants to eat you.

Posted on April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Zombie Hamster, by Havelock McCreely. Egmont USA (2014), $17.99, ISBN: 9781606844915

Recommended for ages 8-12

Matt Hunter is psyched for Christmas. He wants the newest peripheral for his favorite sword and sorcery game, Runespell, and his friends are hoping to get the same gift so they can play online together. The only problem is, Matt rarely gets what he wants for Christmas, and this year’s no exception. His parents give him a hamster named Snuffles.

The thing is, Matt and his family and friends live in a post-zombie apocalypse society (that’s doing pretty darn well for themselves), where they live behind giant bug zapper-type walls and have Zombie Squads for zombie disposal. Citizens are life-chipped, so when they die, Zombie Squads can take care of corpse removal. So when Snuffles gets away from Matt, only to return home, die, and reanimate, Matt just figures the Squad will come. Until they don’t, and he realizes Snuffles – now known as Anti-Snuffles – came from a sketchy pet shop. To keep his father out of trouble for making such a purchase, he keeps Anti-Snuffles a secret, but Anti-Snuffles has plans for world domination on his mind. Matt also learns that he’s got even bigger things to worry about when a school survival expedition is attacked by zombies. Can Matt set everything right?

My Zombie Hamster is great reading for middle-grade students, particularly those students finding themselves bored by mainstream class reading. It’s got a lot of humor – Matt’s first-person voice is alternately sarcastic, funny, and sweet – and the story takes a surprising turn that gives it an added layer of depth. The book hits shelves on July 8th – libraries interested can stock up now and get ready for summer reading!

Fiction, Middle School, Science Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

Henry and the Incredibly Incorrigible, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human makes humans the invention.

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Henry and the Incredibly Incorrigble, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human, by L.A. Messina. Tater Tot Books (2014), eBook: $3.99 ISBN: 9780984901838

Recommended for ages 10-14

Henry is a young teen robot in his 13th upgrade. He’s not the popular kid at school, and he has a faulty processor that comes from a virus that attacked his system when he was younger. When his father’s boss shows up at their home one night with a new human model to test for the market, Henry is thrilled – his own human! But this human isn’t a slack-jawed, drooling blank slate like most humans are. This one makes up words, can do things without extensively detailed commands, and doesn’t want to sleep in his box because it’s not comfortable. At first, Henry is worried – what if this human goes berserk like the one that went on a rampage in his mother’s business? – but he comes to realize that the HueManTech ETC-420- GX-2, or “E”, as Henry calls him, is a very special model.

Unfortunately, Henry’s not the only one who thinks “E” is special, which leads to a taut race to unravel the truth about E, especially when the government begins showing an interest in E and Henry’s family.

The book starts out slow as Ms. Messina establishes the drudgery of Henry’s young teen life – mocked at school, boring job at his mother’s spa, Henry is the lonely kid who takes comfort in his comic books and video games, until something exciting – E’s arrival – sparks up his life. Even then, the narrative moves at a slower pace as Henry discovers how special E really is. But once the plot kicks into motion, involving the government and the origins for both E and Henry, the story moves at a great pace that kept me turning pages and wanting to know more.

The book, available via e-book format, is a good read for tweens and young teens. It provides a wealth of opportunities to discuss what would happen in a society where robots were on the top of things and humans were the creation; it also offers chances to discuss morality and the government. It would be a good discussion group story for educators to encourage among their students and patrons.

Lynn Messina’s website offers a book trailer for Henry, along with fun extras for readers.

Graphic Novels, Middle School, Non-Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

Smile, by Raina Telgemeier – A Graphic Memoir of Tweenhood

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Smile, by Raina Telgemeier. Scholastic (2010), $21.99, ISBN: 978-0-54513205-3

Recommended for ages 10+

Raina Telgemeier’s memoir, Smile, is a coming-of-age memoir that’s framed by the night sixth-grader Raina sustained an injury to her mouth that led to a series of surgeries and orthodontia. Throughout middle school and high school, Raina endures braces, surgeries, retainers, and even headgear. She becomes a target for her friends’ teasing, which leads to her pulling away from them and embracing her love of the artistic. When she finally realizes that her friends aren’t the people she wants to surround herself with, she stands her ground and moves on.

Smile is one of those books that everyone should read, kid or adult. It’s all about fair-weather friends, enduring what feels like the end of the world, and ultimately, finding your own voice. It’s empowering, whether you’re 12 or 92, because it’s something we need to be reminded of, from time to time – “it”, whatever it is, won’t last forever, and the people you surround yourself with may not be the best for you. Dig deep down into yourself and love yourself enough to get through it.

The cartoon art makes the story even more accessible,with friendly-looking, expressive characters and warm colors throughout. The endpapers resemble a yearbook -in fact, Ms. Telgemeier used her yearbook signatures for the book – with signatures and well-wishes from friends, setting the tone for the book.

Smile has received numerous accolades – deservedly so! – including winning the Eisner Award for Best Publication for a Teen Audience (2011), the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (2012), and the Maine Student Book Award (2012). Smile was a finalist for the Children’s Choice Book Award (2011) and has received designation as an ALA Children’s Notable Book (2011), an honor book from the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (2010), a Kirkus Best Book of 2010, and a New York Times Editors’ Choice (2010).

There are lesson plans on the Web that allow educators to bring Smile into the classroom. Scholastic offers one on their site, along with a template for students to create their own graphic novels; The Graphic Classroom offers some great classroom discussion tips using the book.

A companion book to Smile, called Sisters, which will be published in August 2014 and will examine the relationship between Raina and her sister, Amara, who briefly appears in Smile.

Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl is out of this world!

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke. :01 First Second (2012), $18.99, ISBN: 978-1-59643-806-4

Recommended for ages 8-14

I just realized that while I’d reviewed both Zita the Spacegirl and the upcoming Return of Zita the Spacegirl, I never wrote a review for the second book in this great series – so I re-read it in order to remedy the situation.

When we rejoin Zita in the second book in her series, she has found intergalactic fame as The Girl Who Saved Scriptorious. Creatures from all over the galaxy are clamoring to meet her, and fame has become a bit overwhelming for Zita. When she encounters a robot that looks just like her, she decides to let the robot handle fame while she and Mouse take off to relax and be anonymous for a while. The only problem is, the robot is an Imprint-o-Tron, which eventually tries to replace their targets – and when two aliens seek “Zita”‘s help in saving their planet from the interstellar scavengers, the Star Hearts, Zita-bot is all too happy to lend a hand, stirring up trouble for Zita and her friends.

I am a big Zita fan, and this second book has every bit of the spirit of fun and adventure that the first book (and the upcoming third) do. We see a slightly different Zita here -she’s overwhelmed by fame, she wants to go home, and she ultimately learns about the power of sacrifice – she’s a more mature Zita who is still, at heart, a kid. The Imprint-o-Tron reminds me of Pinocchio, who wanted to be a real boy. The Imprint-o-Tron, or as I started calling her, the Zita-bot, isn’t bad – she’s following her programming, and she really seems to want to be Zita, to face the exciting adventures that Zita does. There are some great messages to be found in this second book.

There are some great resources on the Web for using Zita materials in the classroom. Comics Are Great has a downloadable lesson plan, along with an hour-long podcast dedicated to the book, where teachers, librarians, and cartoonists discussing the book.

The Zita trilogy is a great middle-grade graphic novel series. She stands as a good role model for any girl or boy who seizes the power of imagination and inner courage.

Fiction, Humor, Middle School, Tween Reads

Desmond Pucket Makes Monster Magic and Get Laughs

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Desmond Pucket Makes Monster Magic, by Mark Tatulli. Andrews McMeel Publishing (2013), $13.99, ISBN: 978-1-4494-3548-6

Recommended for ages 8-12

Desmond Pucket is a middle schooler who loves monster movies and special effects. He’s also a prankster who just can’t resist a good opportunity to use his special effects expertise to scare the daylights out of people, whether it’s his annoying older sister or one of the teachers. He’s been good at covering his tracks, but when he springs a prank on his older sister and her friends at a sleepover, he finds himself in hot water at school – one of his sister’s friends is the daughter of the disciplinary head at his school; he’s been waiting for Desmond to slip up, so he can transfer him to another school! Now Desmond has three chances left before he’s kicked out of school and misses the big field trip to Mountain Full of Monsters at Crab Shell Pier. Can he keep out of trouble for just a little longer?

The book is written in a similar style to Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid; it’s a first-person storyteller and illustrated, presumably by Desmond, with black and white sketches. There are even drawings that look like they’ve been sketched on torn bits of paper, to add to the realism of Desmond, and his friend Ricky’s, notes. The endpapers are green and have the appearance of crumpled paper, with more of Desmond’s drawings and notes to the reader.

I loved this book. It’s fun, light, and Desmond is – like Greg in Diary of a Wimpy Kid – a victim of his own making. He can’t stay out of trouble, but unlike Greg, he knows he’s his own worst enemy. He just can’t resist a good prank opportunity to cause mayhem. He even laments not being able to take credit for his brilliant pranks, because he knows it will get him into trouble. When he decides to pull a prank at his sister’s sleepover, he has no idea of the trouble he’s getting himself into, and when the fallout hits, he has a major crisis on his hands – how can he stay out of trouble and still be himself? He ultimately decides that being true to himself and owning who he is is more important than anything, including a long-awaited school trip.

Andrews McMeel has a wealth of Desmond activities and information online, especially since the second book in the series, Desmond Pucket and the Mountain Full of Monsters, will be released this August. You can read a sample chapter online at the Desmond Pucket site, follow him on Facebook, and download teacher and librarian resources on the Andrews McMeel site, including a guide to teaching with graphic resources and English/Language Arts and Science curriculum connections to work with, using the book. There are games and activities for readers both online and at the end of the book itself, where Desmond shares some notes on how to make fake blood, cool monster growl effects, a phantom knocker, a ghost, and a gelatin dessert.

I am looking forward to more Desmond books, as is my 10 year-old son, who read this book in about an hour and a half last night!

Adventure, Fiction, Middle School, Tween Reads

Young Sherlock and Irene Adler Face Off in Sherlock, Lupin, and Me: The Dark Lady

Posted on March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sherlock, Lupin and Me: The Dark Lady, by Irene Adler. Capstone Young Readers (2014), $12.95, ISBN: 9781623700409

Recommended for ages 9-14

Written by Irene Adler herself, this middle-grade novel details the first time Irene Adler, a young American girl living abroad and vacationing with her mother in a French coastal town, meets Sherlock Holmes and his friend, Lupin. The three become quick friends; when a dead body washes up on the beach one morning, they decide to solve the mysteries surrounding the dead man: who was he? Was this a suicide or a murder, and why?

Woven into the story’s fabric is background information on Holmes and Adler, offering glimpses into life events that led to the adults they become. Adler lives with her mother and her butler, Horatio Nelson, who seems to double as a chaperone/bodyguard. Young Irene is headstrong and willful, seemingly at endless odds with her mother. Sherlock is a quiet, somewhat surly, brilliant boy who’s reticent to discuss his home life; he has an older brother and a younger sister that annoy him. Arsene Lupin, the son of an acrobat, is a reckless young man who has an eye for Irene, but may eventually find himself at odds with the great Sherlock Holmes.

I really enjoyed this story. Middle graders who have already begun studying Sherlock Holmes will enjoy seeing the character development written into this young, teenage Sherlock, and those unfamiliar with Holmes will doubtless enjoy this introduction, easing them into the great sleuth’s world. The writing is fun and accessible to younger readers, and the sets itself up for a potentially exciting continuing series. For starters, will we find out more about Lupin, who ends up being one of the most famous thieves in literature? Will we meet a young Moriarty? A young Lestrade or Watson? And will we find out more about Irene Adler’s parents, who seem very secretive about something to do with Irene?

Jacopo Bruno’s Victorian-type illustrations add a Holmesian feel to each chapter, setting a mood for the reader.

I love the pairing of the world’s greatest detective with the world’s best gentleman thief as teenagers – I can’t wait to see where this series is going to go.

The Capstone Kids site should be getting a minisite up soon, but I didn’t see anything on Sherlock, Lupin and Me at the moment.