Tag: Scholastic

Posted in Fiction, Guide, Middle Grade

DC’s Backstories: Digest-sized origin stories for your fave superheroes!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

supesSuperman: Man of Tomorrow, by Daniel Wallace/Illustrated by Patrick Spaziante (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545868181

Wonder Woman: Amazon Warrior, by Steve Korté/Illustrated by Marcus To (Feb. 2016, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545925570

Recommended for ages 7-10

Just in time for the Batman vs. Superman movie, Dawn of Justice, Scholastic is giving us the Backstories series: digest-sized origin stories of our favorite DC superheroes, including a list of friends, foes, and family; a chronology of the characters’ origins; a short biography in chapters; timelines; glossaries; fast facts, and indexes.

 

Superman: Man of Tomorrow, by Daniel Wallace tells the story of how farm boy Clark Kent discovered that he was more than just the farm boy son of Martha and Jonathan Kent, graduated from college with a degree in journalism, and went to work in the big city of Metropolis, where he found a job at the Daily Planet. The biography, told through pictures, newspaper excerpts (with a Lois Lane byline!), and artwork, also touches on Clark Kent’s Kryptonian heritage, both sets of his parents, and his first big feud with Lex Luthor. We learn a little bit about Superman’s allies on the Justice League and his biggest foes.

wondyWonder Woman: Amazon Warrior tells the story of Wonder Woman’s childhood on Paradise Island, also known as Themiscyra; her warrior training and the Amazons’ war with the Greek god, Ares, and the origin of her name, Diana, after Diana Trevor, the mortal woman who crash landed on the island and fought with the Amazons against the creature, Cottus. We learn about Steve Trevor’s – Diana Trevor’s son – arrival on the island, and how Diana won a contest of skill to be the one to take him back to America, where she would defend the human race against Ares. We also learn about Diana’s allies, foes, and armor – did you know that her tiara’s edges are razor sharp and can be thrown like a chakram? Me, either!

Each book provides a foreword from the hero, leading us into their story, introducing themselves to us. Artwork in my advance reader copies are black and white, but I’m hoping there will be some color illustration, too. These books are a good addition to a juvenile library; in my library system, the superhero trade paperbacks are largely in the teen area for content. When the kids ask for superhero stories – and they do! – I have to make sure that I’ve got a rich set of offerings for them! I’ve got easy readers and chapter books; solid little origin stories like this will really round out my superhero collection.

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Tween Reads

The Big Dark will show you what you’re made of.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

big darkThe Big Dark, by Rodman Philbrick (Jan. 2016, Blue Sky Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9780545789752

Recommended for ages 9-14

On New Year’s Eve, the lights went out. Everything went out. Charlie, a tween living with his younger sister and widowed mom in the mountains of New Hampshire, sets off on a seemingly impossible mission when he discovers that his diabetic mother doesn’t have enough medication to sustain herself for more than three weeks.

Charlie’s small town shows us how we can turn on one another – or reach out and help one another – when the worst case scenario happens. When a solar event causes all technology to fail, the entire country – maybe even the world – is knocked back to Colonial days, relying on wood stoves and preserved food to survive. There’s a volunteer policeman/school janitor who takes charge of the situation, urging everyone to band together to muddle through, and there’s a ruthless survivalist who sees his chance to form his own free state. In the middle of this power struggle, Charlie has to find a way to sneak out and search for medicine in the nearest city, at least 50 miles away. With no power and after a blizzard.

Philbrick’s books always hit like a gut punch. Whether it’s the stark The Last Book in the Universe, the heart-wrenching Freak the Mighty, or the desperation in The Big Dark, he knows how to create a taut, white-knuckled narrative that will keep you reading until the very last words are digested. He finds the humanity in the worst possible situations, and pits it against the worst in humanity. There’s always hope in a Philbrick novel. His characters keep going, keep fighting. That’s what I love about his books.

This book is realistic fiction, with a touch of dystopia. This is a scary thought, because it makes the seemingly impossible very, very real. Give this to your middle grade dystopian fans and tell them that this is what happens before The Hunger Games. Give this to your Hatchet fans, and your survival fiction readers. Tell your readers to read this, and then read Michael Northrup’s Trapped, for an interesting discussion.

Rodman Philbrick is an award-winning author of middle grade and young adult fiction. Visit his author website for interviews, teaching guides, and more information on his books.

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate, Steampunk

The Oodlethunks – prehistory’s newest family series!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Oona Finds an Egg (The Oodlethunks, #1), by Adele Griffin/Illustrated by Mike Wu, (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $12.99, ISBN: 9780545732796

Recommended for ages 7-10

oodlethunk

Oona is a Stone Age girl whose father stays home and bakes kind of weird health food, like newt fingers; her mom works at an advertising agency where they’re trying to sell consumers on the wheel; and her little brother, Bonk, is just annoying. She really, really wants a pet, so when she finds an egg while she’s out wandering, she’s so excited! Her parents let her keep it until it hatches – they’re worried that she may be eaten by what’s in the egg! – but Oona is convinced that Something Cute is in that egg just waiting for Oona to love it. She cares for the egg until one day, it disappears – and Bonk is acting awfully guilty.

Oona finds an egg is a new intermediate series for readers growing out of easier chapter books like Scholastic’s Branch series, and ready to tackle a little more. Oona is a good protagonist: she loves her family, she doesn’t always get along with her little brother, and she shows,The Oodlethunks are a pretty  modern stone-age family (apologies to The Flintstones), with a working mom and stay at home dad; kids will recognize the family structure and relate, either having friends with working moms, or having working moms/stay at home dads of their own.

It’s a fun new series that kids will enjoy, with prehistoric animals that kids may not have heard of before – Ms. Griffin provides an explanation on a few of them at the end of the book – and fills the gap between more challenging fiction and easy readers. There are illustrations and text, and plenty of opportunities for a good book discussion.

Posted in Early Reader, Fantasy, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

Knit-Knotters: A New Fairy Tale from Scholastic’s Branches!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Stella is getting glasses – and she’s not sure how she feels about them. When she puts them on, though, she starts seeing things very differently – like the glasses were enchanted! That night, Stella discovers that her tangled and knotted hair isn’t her fault, but the fault of a knit-knotter sprite named Trixie, whose job it is to tangle up kids’ hair! If Stella lets her tangle her hair, she’ll have to get a haircut, and she doesn’t want that! Can she and Trixie figure out a deal that will work out for both of them?

spritesStella & The Night Sprites, Book One: Knit-Knotters, by Sam Hay/Illustrated by Turine Tran (Jan. 2015, Scholastic), $4.99, ISBN: 9780545819985

Recommended for ages 6-8

This is another series under Scholastic’s Branches line, made for newly independent readers. When kids are growing out of Easy Readers but aren’t quite ready to dive into chapter books, Branches is the way to go. I’ve read a few of these, and they’re great for young readers who are ready for a little bit more. The books are illustrated and have easy to read, short chapters with fun storylines. Stella and the Sprites is adorable, with a fun, fantasy storyline about mischievous sprites and fairies and a little girl who can think really fast on her feet. A discussion guide with questions is available at the end of the book, so parents, read along with your kids, then talk about the book!

Branches Books are great for literacy programs at the library, too. I’ve got a need at my library for a literacy program for younger grades, so my shopping cart will be full of these come budget time this month. They’re an easy enough read for kids, and we can discuss it right here at the library – maybe even make some knit-knotters of your own with toothpicks, beads, and glitter glue!

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Realistic Fiction

Meet Shelter Pet Squad’s newest addition, Paloma!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Shelter Pet Squad are a group of kids who volunteer at the local pet shelter, taking care of the animals and helping Ms. Kim and Ms. Flores, who run the shelter, with adoptions. In the latest book in the series, the gang meet a group of new puppies referred to as “satos” – mutts or mixed breed dogs – found in Puerto Rico. Suzannah, one of the squad kids, falls in love with Paloma, one of the new satos who was found, with her siblings, in an old tire. Suzannah doesn’t have any pets, because her building won’t allow it – but she really loves Paloma, and is torn between wanting her to go to a good home, and staying at the shelter just a little longer so she can have more time with her.

shelter pet squad

Shelter Pet Squad #3: Paloma, by Cynthia Lord (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545636049

Recommended for ages 7-10

This is my first foray into the Shelter Pet Squad series, and I really enjoyed it. There are diverse characters, both male and female, to attract both boys and girls who love animals – and what kid doesn’t love a book about animals? The kids are ordinary kids who help at their local pet shelter – kids can identify with them, and be inspired to do something to help at home. The characters are friendly, polite, and enthusiastic about what they do, and they react like real kids to situations; witness, Suzannah’s desire to adopt Paloma. She knows she can’t bring her home because her building doesn’t allow pets, so she doesn’t want her adopted right away – she wants to spend more time with her! And when Paloma isn’t adopted right away, Suzannah feels guilty. It’s an honest, human reaction that kids will recognize and appreciate.

There’s some great, subtle instruction in here about taking care of pets, too. The kids learn how to approach a dog, for instance (let it smell your upturned palm, don’t go to pet it right away); they learn to make toys for mice (fill a wiffle ball with paper and seeds that they can discover on their own), and even make no-sew pillows for the new puppies to sleep on. Instructions for the pillow craft are included at the end of the book, and that makes for a fun craft time at school, the library, or home. Kids will also love the Erin McGuire’s black and white illustrations of the kids and the pets.

Series like these always do well at my libraries. There are so many of them, it’s hard for me to keep up with them all! I think I’ll be ordering Shelter Pet Squad – it’s kids helping animals, helping each other, and having fun. What more can you ask out of a series?

Cynthia Lord is the Newbery Honor award-winning author of Rules. I love her picture book, Hot Rod Hamster, and so do the kids I read it with during storytime. Her author website has materials and resources for many of her books, and brief excerpts for the previous two Shelter Pet Squad books. The first book in the series, Jelly Bean, was named one of the 2014 ABC Best Books for Children list by American Booksellers Association.

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate

Eerie Elementary still stands… and Recess is a JUNGLE!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Eerie Elementary is a school with a secret – it’s ALIVE! Possessed by the spirit of Orson Eerie, the school is locked in an eternal battle to eat the children of Eerie Elementary, and only Sam Graves, the Hall Monitor (and his mentor, janitor Mr. Nekobi) stands in the way of that happening. Along with his friends, Antonio and Lucy, Sam battles the forces of evil and keeps Eerie Elementary safe.

recess

Eerie Elementary #3: Recess is a JUNGLE!, by Jack Chabert/Illustrated by Sam Ricks (Jan. 2015, Scholastic), $4.99, ISBN: 9780545873529

Recommended for ages 8-10

This time, though, old Eerie may have our group of friends where he wants them. While Sam, Antonio, and Lucy are kicking a soccer ball around at recess, the ball gets away from them. They chase after it, only to discover themselves in a foggy jungle! The grass and trees come alive, trying to keep them in, and when they make it back to the school grounds, they find themselves in a giant hedge maze – while the jungle gym comes to life and heads toward the school to devour the students! No, my friends, it’s not just the school that’s alive: it’s everything on the school grounds! Will Sam and his friends be able to rescue the students of Eerie Elementary this time?

This series is just too much fun. For kids who are ready to something a little spooky and fun, but aren’t quite ready to tackle Goosebumps yet, this is the series to give them. The Branches books are perfect for young and developing readers, with illustrations on every page and short, fast-paced, easy to read chapters. This is the third book in the Eerie Elementary series, and they just get better as they go. You don’t need to read the series from the beginning, either – there’s a sentence or two worth of summary in the story that tells new readers what they need to know, and they’ll be happy to pick up the first books after they’re done.

There’s a good Branches page on the Scholastic site that provides links to all the Branches series, plus links to classroom and parent guides. Pair these with the discussion questions at the back of the book and have a great book chat with the little readers in your life!

Posted in Fantasy, geek, geek culture, Graphic Novels, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

Star Wars Jedi Academy: Attack of the Journal!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

jediacdemyAttack of the Journal (Star Wars Jedi Academy), by Jeffrey Brown (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $9.99, ISBN: 9780545852784

Recommended for ages 7-12

For all the kids who love Jeffrey Brown’s Jedi Academy series, there’s now a journal where you can DIY your own comics, write your own stories, and read commentary from Roan and his fellow Jedi Academy classmates and instructors!

Want to make your own Jedi Academy class schedule? Make your own lightsaber? Write for the school newsletter, the Padawan Observer? This is the place for you! Loaded with creative and introspective ideas for kids, the Jedi Academy Journal offers kids fill-in-the-blank story outlines, lots of creative spaces for their own drawings and original writing, and prompts throughout the book. Some prompts encourage kids to look inward and write about what they feel they could do better, who inspires them and who they think they inspire. Comic strips with the characters from the Jedi Academy series pop up throughout the book, making this a great purchase for Star Wars fans. When they finish the book, they can even fill out their own Jedi Academy Diploma!

This is a journal, so it’s mean to be written in – so libraries may not want to invest money in this one. It’s a great gift idea, though, in the vein of the Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself book and a fun way to extend and put a personal spin on a favorite series.

Attack of the Journal is already in stores, so put this one on your shopping lists. The holidays are coming! If you’re bringing the joy of Star Wars to a lucky kid for the first time, consider the 3-book set, which includes the first and second Jedi Academy graphic novels and the journal.

 

Posted in Uncategorized

#Presidents: Follow the Leaders – A funny social media guide to the Presidents

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

follow_pres#presidents: Follow the Leaders, by John Bailey Owen (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $9.99, ISBN: 9780545849388

Recommended for ages 8-13

Imagine for a minute, if all the Presidents – all 44 of them! – were on Twitter? And they could talk to one another? Can you imagine what you’d find out if you were able to follow them? That would be the best history lesson ever!

#presidents: Follow the Leaders does exactly that. We hear from the Presidents – and some Vice Presidents and First Ladies! – as they tell us a little bit about themselves and react to other Presidents. There are hilarious screen names, too: James Madison, our shortest President and the author of the Constitution, goes by @LILJCONSTITUTION; William Henry Harrison, who caught a cold during his inauguration speech and died after 32 days in office, can be found @ILLWILL_H. Bill Clinton can be found @CLINSTAGRAM, and our current Prez, Barack Obama, is @BAMIMOBAMA. We’ve got some guest stars, like the White House Pets, Camp David, the Secret Service, and the White House Chef, and the Rules of Running for President makes sure everyone knows how the process works.

There are profile pictures, hometowns, hilarious hashtags, even #tbt pictures. A timeline of the U.S. Presidency rounds out the book. It’s a fun companion to a kid’s history books, but make sure no one’s doing their history homework with this as their sole source of information (I can see some of my patrons trying it)!

Author John Bailey Owen is a humorist. His author website offers blog posts and links to his other books.

Posted in Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

Military Animals with Dog Tags – Because some heroes have more than two legs

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

military animalsMilitary Animals with Dog Tags, by Laurie Calkhoven (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $7.99, ISBN: 9780545871594

Recommended for ages 7-11

You may know that horses were on the battlefield at war time, especially before vehicles like tanks and Jeeps came along. You may have even seen recent pictures of dogs aiding our soldiers overseas. But did you know that Poland had a bear that was a private? Or that honeybees have been used to sniff out bombs?

 

Military Animals tells the stories of different animals who have served in the military throughout time. You’ll learn about elephants, who have aided military operations from ancient history through to the VietNam War; how rats can find unexploded land mines (without getting blown up!), and how dolphins have helped with underwater surveillance. There are beautiful photos, stories that kids will love hearing about (great for read-alouds) and reading about, and a glossary and index at the end of the book. Get this one for your animal lovers and talk about the great things animals do to help us out. Then, brainstorm things that the animals in your own lives to do help you out – for instance, my cat helps cheer me up by cuddling with me when I don’t feel well, and my dog helps protect our home.

Author Laurie Calkhoven is all over my library. She’s written some great biographies for kids, and she’s written books for both the American Girl and Heroes of Olympus series, both of which see a lot of action in my public library. Her author website has links to her books and information about author visits.
Posted in Non-Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Really Professional Internet Person – A YouTube Superstar’s Story

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

9780545861120_30ac9Really Professional Internet Person, by Jenn McAllister (Jennxpenn) (Aug. 2015, Scholastic), $14.99, ISBN: 9780545861120

Recommended for ages 12+

Jenn McAllister is a star on YouTube. Starting in middle school, she began making and uploading videos with pranks, sketches, and vlogs about her life. She’s got over 2 million YouTube subscribers, has worked with Old Navy and Mattel, and gets mobbed at DigiCon like a rock star. She’s a Really Professional Internet Person.

Really Professional Internet Person is one of those books where I really feel out of my league reading and reviewing. I’m not the audience for this book, and that’s apparent just from reading the language of the book, which is made up mostly of “like”, “literally”, and “basically”.

I also couldn’t wrap my head around how McAllister’s mom and school were okay with her missing huge chunks of school at 15 years old so she could work digital conferences. I know this is actual work, but at 15, where was the school board? The state? And her mom letting her make the move on her own, with her YouTube friends to California, completely blew me away. McAllister does finish high school via online school when she relocates from Pennsylvania to California, but her not seeing the value in education over YouTube is really stressful to me. We’re a pretty disposable society these days – I hate it, but I recognize it, so where is YouTube celebrity going to leave 19 year-old Jenn in a few years? McAllister even talks about knowing she is a role model to her under-18 fans, so this worries me even more.

There are some solid highlights to this book. Jenn speaks frankly about her struggles with anxiety, which is great for anyone that may be dealing with the same issues. It happens to everyone, even famous people. She writes in a manner relatable to her audience, and loads the pages with Top 10 lists, which breaks information down into small, interest-heavy bits. She includes tons of screen shots, photos, social media posts, and anecdotes about her life with fellow YouTubers, which provides an inclusive feeling. Jenn, who writes about never feeling like she fit in at school, knows how to make her audience, even on paper, feel like they’re part of her crowd. And she is earnest and sincere in her love for her subscribers and viewers.

Overall, this is just not my book. I’d like to talk to the tweens and teens in my library and see what they think, though – this book is written for them.