Elli McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw

Ellie's parents have to go to a funeral, which means Ellie's stuck with her aunt, uncle, three cousins AND her baby brother for a whole week!  Not only that, but they're going camping.  But not REAL camping, like Ellie's family does.  They'll be staying in a cabin, all crammed together.  How will Ellie ever survive?

I got this because I thought it was a graphic novel, but it's not actually.  It's an illustrated novel, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  It was really cute though.  Ellie has a LOT of opinions, so thank goodness she has a notebook to write to and draw in.  Of course, as anyone who has ever read Harriet the Spy could tell you, secret notebooks are bound to get stolen and read by the wrong people, which will get you into trouble.  Ellie's cousin Eric, who she draws as a monster in her notebook, finds it, and reads it, and is angry.  Her aunt sees it too, and reads all the unflattering things Ellie has said about her aunt, uncle and cousins.  This leads to a turning point for Ellie.

Ellie looks down on her cousins, aunt and uncle.  They sleep in a cabin when they go camping.  Her family really camps, in a tent.  They play regular tag.  Ellie's family plays much more creative and imaginative games.  She has her reasons for feeling out of place, but even when the family makes an effort, Ellie can only see how it's different and not as good as her family.  I felt like Ellie really captured a middle school kids feelings about being out of her element and away from her family.

Great read for middle school.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Paige has just moved to New York from Virginia. She's shy and quiet, and lives too much in her own head.  Paige wants to be an artist, but doesn't consider herself one.  She knows if she wants to be an artist, she has to do something about it, so she buys herself a sketchbook and follows her grandma's rules of how to be an artist.  As she begins to draw, she begins to understand herself better and starts to become the Paige she knows she really is.  

I liked this a lot, although it reminded me some of Plain Janes.  In both, a group of friends sneaks around town art bombing local sites to bring happiness and whimsy to the people.  In both cases, Paige and Jane find themselves through these activities.

What I really liked about Page by Paige is that Paige actively tries to work on things she knows she's not good at, and that was really cool.  She makes of list of things she wants to work on, like asking for help when she needs it, opening up to people, standing up for herself, and being less self-absorbed, and then she actually makes an effort to change those things.  And she does!  It isn't easy for her to do, but she works on it because she thinks it's important.

Drawing in her sketchbook helps Paige a lot.  She's able to work out her confusion and frustration, and works up to showing her sketchbook to people.  First her friends, and then finally her parents.  Since Paige's sketchbook is so personal, sharing it is like sharing part of herself.  It takes a lot of courage for her to final show it to her mom, who Paige doesn't get along with her well.  As Paige comes into herself more, her parents feel farther away from her.  Looking at her sketchbook helps them to better understand where Paige is.

In summary, this was a really nice "quiet girl coming in to her own" story.  Some sexual humor, so I'd recommend for high school.

Waiting on Wednesday: In Honor by Jessi Kirby

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight an upcoming release that we're excited about. This week I'm waiting on In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Honor receives her brother’s last letter from Iraq three days after learning that he died, and opens it the day his fellow Marines lay the flag over his casket. Its contents are a complete shock: concert tickets to see Kyra Kelly, her favorite pop star and Finn's celebrity crush. In his letter, he jokingly charged Honor with the task of telling Kyra Kelly that he was in love with her. 

Grief-stricken and determined to grant Finn's last request, she rushes to leave immediately. But she only gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn's best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn't seen him in ages, thanks to a falling out between the two guys, but Rusty is much the same as Honor remembers him: arrogant, stubborn. . . and ruggedly good looking. Neither one is what the other would ever look for in a road trip partner, but the two of them set off together, on a voyage that makes sense only because it doesn’t. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn--but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences? 

In Honor comes out May 8, 2012.

News

So there I was, doing some catchup reading of Bookshelves of Doom, when I read, much to my horror, of the death of Ariana Franklin.  In January!  I don't know how I missed this, but it's very sad.  Ariana Franklin's real name was Diana Norman, and she wrote a series that I absolutely loved: The Mistress of the Art of Death.  I reviewed A Murderous Procession last year.  They're wonderfully written, rich books, full of beautiful language and incredible historical detail.  And I could never figure out who did it, no matter how hard I tried.  She always got me!  She's left us with some truly wonderful books.  I highly recommend them.

Hunger Games Movie

It's finally that time, where the world starts gearing up to inundate you with media on a new movie series that will try and take the place of Harry Potter. Every time another book gets slogged through the the process of being recreated into a movie I try and give it the benefit of the doubt. There have been good ones: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Help, and I'm sure there are others that I'm not thinking of at this moment.

But let's be honest, a lot of times they go terribly wrong. Terribly terribly wrong. So here's the first teaser trailer of The Hunger Games. And regardless of the fact that there are some amazing actors in this, I have to admit that I'm not holding my breath for it to be awesome. Perhaps with lowered expectations I will find myself pleasantly surprised?

What do you think?

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music

Zebrafish by Peter H. Reynolds and FableVision

A rockstar wannabe, sensitive artist, panda activist, and two gamers, have come together to start a band. Too bad only one of them actually knows how to play a real instrument. But as they get to know each other, their friendship takes a different spin and they decide to take all of their various talents and work for a larger cause.

When I first picked this up I thought it was going to be a trite little story about a couple of kids starting a band. And in some ways it was, but as you continue to read there are different themes coming into play. Activism, death, grief, sickness, and also taking control of elements that you can affect. Powerful stuff for a middle school student to come across.

A kid could get as much or as little as they wanted out of it, but at the end I think you left with an unalienable belief that there is potential in everyone to be a part of something more. Which makes sense considering that Peter Reynolds wrote this with an agenda. A good agenda, but an ulterior plan nonetheless - let kids know they can make a difference. Generally I feel like books that are supposed to encourage kids come off a bit preachy and are generally poorly written, but this was well done. The message wasn't subtle but it also wasn't bashing you over the head. I'm guessing it's because Peter Reynolds writes a lot of books with a feel-good message, that and he founded FableVision which is dedicated to "helping all learners discover their true potential." Good deal.

Solid - if a bit overdone - storyline, nice characters, well-played message.

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

After the loss of her father in a horrible accident, Emily, her brother Navin, and her mother, move into the decrepit family house. But after the first name her mother is kidnapped by a strange tentacled creature and taken through a mysterious door. Emily and Navin follow, meet strange robots, are stalked by an evil elf with an agenda, and Emily must deal with a powerful omniscient power around her neck.

This is the first of four volumes, the fourth comes out Thursday, and there's a lot of exposition and yet there was a lot of action and plot development. The prologue is twelve pages long and absolutely heart-wrenching, and gives you a solid platform for Emily's personality. Kazu Kibuishi does a magnificent job of packing a lot of emotion in each frame, which is partially why this works for me. It's not just going for action, it's not trying to keep just enough of your attention so you'll maybe pick up the sequel. It's creating a story that is highly intriguing and grabs you and keeps your attention with different twists in the plot, highly evolved characters, and emotionally gripping artwork. Nice.

There's really nothing that I didn't love about this book, and I feel comfortable recommending it because my students love this book. It is never left on the shelf and my students enjoy rereading it. I hope you do too.