Tag: schoolwork

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Can you become Extraordinary in 15 weeks?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

extraordinaryExtraordinary, 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.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Tween Reads

Book Revew: Wonkenstein: The Creature from my Closet, by Obert Skye (Henry Holt, 2011)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 9-12

Rob is a 12-year old boy whose main use for books is to throw them into his closet. He has better things to do, after all, than read. Plus, Rob’s closet is just strange. It’s not because it’s got a second-hand door with a pony sticker on it that says, “Smile”. For starters, the doorknob is big, gold, and has a bearded man’s face engraved on it – and his expression seems to change. For another, the closet is where Wonkenstein – a creature that seems to be a mashup of Willy Wonka and Frankenstein – comes from one day, and now Rob’s closet will not open so he can send him back.

Rob tries to keep Wonkenstein a secret while trying to get him back to his world, but he ends up getting into more trouble, whether at home or school, the harder he tries. Poor Rob just wants life to go back to normal, but at the same time, he finds himself getting attached to the little guy.

Wonkenstein is a cute book for younger readers and older readers that may have drifted from reading and just need something fun and familiar to pull them back. The book has fun black and white illustrations that look like a child’s drawings and helps, along with the first-person voice of the book, add to the fantasy that Rob is narrating his own true story.

Obert Skye’s website has information about all of his books, plus author and tour information, and the publisher’s website has a book detail page with much of the same information, plus links to the book’s pages on social networking sites incluing Shelfari and LibraryThing.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Humor, Tween Reads

Book Review: Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon (Dial Books, 2009)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Book Review: Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon (Dial Books, 2009)
 
Recommended for ages 8-12

Ursula Vernon’s first book in her Dragonbreath series introduces readers to Danny Dragonbreath, a young dragon who happens to be the only mythical creature in a school filled with reptiles and amphibians. He’s a little rebellious, not a fan of schoolwork, and really wants to be able to breathe fire (if for no other reason, than to stop hearing his father’s motivational speeches). His best friend, Wendell, is an iguana who finds himself sucked into Danny’s crazy schemes when he’d rather be doing something safer, like getting Danny to do his homework.

In Dragonbreath, Danny flunks his paper on the ocean after writing it the morning it’s due and making it up from his own imagination. Luckily for him, he’s got a sea monster cousin named Edward, who he can visit and from whom he can get an ocean tour, so off he goes, dragging Wendell along with him. Can they survive the deep ocean, where giant squids are known to show up without notice? Will Danny pass his Science paper?
 
Dragonbreath is a great book for younger readers that are still getting used to chapter books; the book is written in a half-chapter, half-graphic novel format that readers will find user-friendly, and Vernon provides a copious amount of nonfiction information about ocean life through Danny’s and Wendell’s eyes that will show the kids that learning can be fun.
 
Vernon’s website provides summaries of all the Dragonbreath novels as well as her other titles, as well as updates on author appearances and her artwork.