Staff Picks: Books
Staff-recommended reading from the
KPL catalog.
It’s amazing how many hot topics Paula Danziger brings up in It’s an Aardvark-eat-turtle World! This 132 paged easy-to-read teen book is full of social issues such as divorce, remarriage, step-sisterhood/step-parenting, interracial marriage and more. Rosie tells the story of how her mother married her best friend’s dad. Exciting, huh? Well, no! From then on Rosie’s and Phoebe’s life is never the same. The two best friends could no longer stand each other. What was cute before becomes a big pain. Rosie sees now when she finally has her “real family” that it’s not her “dream family”. She and Phoebe went from “best friends, best sisters and best roommates” to thinking family and friendship takes too much work. But they later decide that it’s all worth it.
Some of Paula Danziger’s other books at KPL are The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, The Divorce Express, and This Place Has No Atmosphere.
It’s an Aardvark-eat-turtle World
0440940281
book
When You Reach Me has it all: great characters, a wonderful puzzle at its core, a great ending, and tons of heart. Twelve-year-old New Yorker Miranda is a latchkey child; a term that Miranda’s mom says “reminds her of dungeons and must have been invited by someone strict and awful with an unlimited childcare budget”. In the evening, Miranda’s mom is practicing to be a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda and her friend Sal have been friends since daycare. Sal stops hanging out with her after he is randomly punched in the gut by a bigger kid on the way home from school. Miranda knows from the mysterious notes she begins to receive that her friend may be in danger.
In kind of the same kind of way that The Higher Power of Lucky references Are You My Mother?, When You Reach Me references A Wrinkle in Time. Both of the books in the books are a bit like characters and are, for a time, like security blankets for the characters that carry them around. And speaking of the Newbery, I wouldn’t be surprised if When You Reach Me walks the hall and snatches the trophy. It’s the story of friendship and much more.
Book
When You Reach Me
9780385906647
As a children’s librarian, I like to read the new award winners. So when “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman was announced as the Newbery Award winner for 2009, I was curious to read it, since I’d read his “Coraline”. (which was made into a film in 2009).
Set in modern day Britain, “The Graveyard Book” begins with the murder of a toddler’s parents and sister by a methodical killer. Strong stuff for a children’s book, for certain. The baby manages to escape, and wanders into a graveyard, where he is taken in by a loving couple named the Owenses, who have no children. They are ghosts, and long dead, as are the other inhabitants of the graveyard who help to raise the child over the years. It turns out that Bod (short for “Nobody”) was the killer Jack’s real target, and Jack is still out there, searching.
For older children grades 5 and up, or tween readers, this is an suspense and action filled story with ghosts, ghouls, and hints of vampires.
book
The Graveyard Book
9780060530921
If you like math mysteries, you might like The Unknowns. The kids in The Unknowns are not from Hyde Park. Diaphanta Smith, known as Lady Di, lives right next to a nuclear power plant in a town named only for its location: Adjacent. “Think of hundreds of beat-up mobile homes next to a power plant. A nothing kind of place…” But Lady Di and her best friend Tom Jones dread going off-island to Tri County Middle School in the fall. Kids from Adjacent get teased a lot. They hope something will happen to end the boredom of summer and to take their minds off starting at a new school. Then they discover that their friend, Ms. Clarke, is missing. But Ms. Clarke, who always helped Lady Di and Tom with their math homework, has left behind some clues in her trailer. The clues lead to other clues as the two solve problems along the way. Corrupt power plant operators, a little geometry, some really capable and interesting characters, and lots of action in the hidden tunnels beneath the surface of the island equal a thrilling good read.
Book
The Unknowns
9780810979918
Summer has arrived, and for some families that means car trips with the kids. The dreaded question “Are we there yet?” has been asked by generations of young (and not so young) travelers.
These audiobooks can help make the miles seem shorter, and they’re stories the whole family can enjoy. These selections are suitable for all ages of children, though will probably be best enjoyed by school age kids in grades 3 and up.
John Grogan has written a children’s version of his popular story about his dog, Marley. “Marley: a Dog Like No Other” is the tale of yellow Lab Marley from puppyhood to adulthood, a dog with a wonderful personality and boundless energy who tries so hard to be good. Animal lovers will enjoy this one.
If you and your children like historical novels, a good choice is “Elijah of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis. This Newbery Award winner tells the story of Elijah, born free in Canada’s Buxton Settlement, where his parents landed after escaping from slavery. Elijah journeys across the Detroit River into America on the trail of a thief who has stolen a friend’s money, and witnesses firsthand the treatment his parents fled.
Mystery, adventure, art, and puzzles within puzzles await listeners of “Chasing Vermeer” by Blue Balliett. Set in Chicago’s Hyde Park, sixth grade outsiders Petra and Calder become friends as they try to figure out who stole a missing Vermeer painting. That’s the plot in a nutshell, but this story is more than just the sum of its parts - it also encourages thinking about coincidence and possibilities, in a fun way with a good story.
Check out your library for other great listening, for all ages! We’re happy to make suggestions.
Book
Marley: a Dog Like No Other
0061255092
“The suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth,” sang Geddy Lee, lead singer of my favorite band Rush when I was a teenager growing up in a Chicago suburb. This is not the case in Shaun Tan’s new book of mini-surreal masterpieces, Tales From Outer Suburbia. In these suburbs, there is a water buffalo that answers questions in an empty lot, a dugong (manatee type creature) that appears on someone’s lawn, ICBMs in everyone’s backyard, and a man wandering around in a diving suit.
I checked this book out originally for my eleven year old son, Vance. He rejected it without even reading a word.
I decided to read it because Shaun Tan is making waves in the children’s publishing world with interesting books that have phenomenal illustrations like The Arrival which appeared on numerous “best of” lists. I found the stories from Tales From Outer Suburbia to be a little too bizarre at first, but my compulsion to finish books that I’ve started carried me through until I slowly became enchanted. The stories feature physical manifestations of the hopes and fears of the people who live in these suburbs and they wove their way into my psyche and released strong feelings of wonder, healing, and letting go. The strange story lines somehow open you up and leave you thinking about them long after you have read them.
I especially identified with a story about two brothers who have a map of their suburb and decide to walk to where the map ends to see what is there. It reminded me of a 10 mile hike my brother and I took to complete the hiking merit badge. We weren’t going to get “out in nature” anytime soon, so we just decided to walk around our Chicago suburb (which, oddly enough, included a stop at the public library to pick up some 8mm films). The experience did have a surreal feeling and it completely changed the way I felt about where I lived. Walking gives you such an intimate connection with your surroundings and it empowered me, as I went to places I had only gone with my parents up to that point.
I was so struck by the book that I gave Vance another try. However, this time I asked if I could read him the extremely short stories before he went to bed. He agreed and loved the stories and I got to have the nice experience of reading aloud to him that I hadn’t had in several years and to talk a little bit about what it is like to have an older brother who is always right.
Book
Tales From Outer Suburbia
9780545055871
Chicago based musician Jim Gill closes each and every family play session with his version of the traditional Russian folk song “May There Always Be Sunshine”. Most everyone loves the sun. Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm’s Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life is a feel good celebration of sunshine with the science to back it up.
This companion to Bang’s My Light illuminates the way the sun provides the energy that plants need to create food for themselves and – directly or indirectly - for all the food that animals consume. The first person text in the voice of the sun itself explains the wonder of photosynthesis and respiration in kid friendly language to accompany Molly Bang’s radiant illustrations. Bang and Chisholm, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor of Ecology, describe plants’ and animals’ symbiotic exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide and how the food chain links back to photosynthesis and the sun. Plants provide the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. Animals give back carbon dioxide in trade along with seed distribution. These are fun and fascinating cycle of life concepts to share with young people of nearly any age.
Four pages of notes at the end of the book expand on the brief text in the body of the book for those who want to dig deeper and for parents like me who might struggle to answer questions that come up after sharing this book with a child. I love the way Living Sunlight celebrates sunshine while at the same time providing real science content about the connection between sunlight and life on earth.
Book
Living Sunlight
0545044227
The on-going series “On the Run” by Gordon Korman is one of many well-kept secrets in children’s literature. Currently five books, with one more on the horizon, the series’ titles are Chasing the Falconers; The Fugitive Factor; Now You See Them, Now You Don’t; The Stowaway Solution; and Public Enemies.
Aiden and Meg Falconer, 15 and 11 years old, are caught in a false arrest situation involving their parents, who are facing life in prison and who are PhD criminologists hired by the CIA to help identify international terrorist sleeper cells, and who get falsely accused of treason. As minors, Aiden and Meg are sent to a juvenile detention center to await their fate, which is the outcome of their parents’ trial. A daring escape from the detention center begins the chase…and the running. Brother and sister flee rural Nebraska and end up running across the country, from state to state, while being chased by the FBI and a horrible criminal named Hairless Joe.
The kids’ adventures are believable, fast-paced, and not entirely legal. But, how far would YOU run to save your Mom and Dad?
Great reads for ages 9 and up. Summer’s coming…I hope you will have lots of time to check out your library and READ!
Book
Chasing the Falconers
0439651360
I wanted to take my three boys who are in school on a little trip for Spring Break this year. I wanted warmer weather, something I could get to in six hours or less, and to see something spectacular. What interesting hiking territory is there in Indiana or Ohio? Well, I turned to the travel section of the library and checked out a few books about Ohio and Indiana. In Natural Wonders of Ohio I found the perfect place: Hocking Hills State Park.
“‘Am I still in Ohio?’ ask wide-eyed visitors as they see the dramatic sandstone and shale, cliffs and canyons, caves and waterfalls.”
This was the line that drew me in.
I also used the library to check out dvds and books for the trip, including a multi-volume compilation of the graphic novel Bone by Jeff Smith for my middle schooler, Vance. While down in Hocking Hills State Park, after hiking to Old Man’s Cave, Vance told us that the characters in Bone just went to a place called Old Man’s Cave and it looked like where we just were. What a coincidence, but there must be dozens of Old Man’s Caves, right? The next day on our way to Conkle’s Hollow, imagine our surprise when Vance announced that the characters were now in Conkle’s Hollow. Could the setting of the book be the place we were visiting? At the back of the book in the section about the author, we found out that he lives in Columbus, Ohio just 45 minutes north of Hocking Hills State Park. That was enough evidence for us.
I didn’t get warmer weather, but the Park was only five and a half hours away and I did see something spectacular. I highly recommend a visit to Hocking Hills State Park and that you take Bone along if you have any middle schoolers or use the library’s travel section to dream up your own trip.
Book
Natural Wonders of Ohio
1566262011
Fans of the Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket unite!
Something new has hit the publishing world! It’s called The Sisters 8 and centers around octuplets, all girls, who find themselves alone on New Year’s Eve of the year they are to turn eight years old. Written by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, the adventures of Annie, Durinda, Georgia, Jackie, Marcia, Petal, Rebecca and Zinnia and their eight cats (named Anthrax, Dandruff, Greatorex, Jaguar, Minx, Precious, Rambunctious and Zither) will draw you in almost before you finish the Prologue of the first, and of all the other (“The story always begins the same.” p. v, Annie’s Adventures) stories.
Left to their own devices, or almost, the sisters 8 begin to really explore what might have happened to their mother and father, who mysteriously went missing as previously stated, on New Year’s Eve the year the girls were 7 and about to turn 8 years old. Someone leaves notes behind a stone in the wall of the great room, notes that indicate that each girl has both a power and a gift, and she must discover for herself what her gift/power is.
Dealing with everyday tasks (cooking, cleaning cat litter boxes, paying bills, driving, school, etc.) proves accomplishable for “the eights”, but arouses suspicions, as the reader would figure it might. Eight girls and no visible adults?
Keep your hopes up though, for the author has said that there will be a story for each girl, and so far, it’s Annie and Durinda who have come to the surface, and who have begun to help solve the mystery of the disappearing parents. Boys should not despair, because even though there are 8 girls in these stories, “girls can be just as grubby as boys—you just have to give them half a chance” (Prologue, Annie’s Adventures, p. vi), and who knows but you will enjoy them too, if you give them half a chance!
Book
Annie's Adventures
9780547053387