Talk about the kidlit you're reading!

[Kitty Pryde]

So, I love reading kid books, middle grade mostly. The problem is that no one else I know IRL would even think about reading them, so I have no one to chat to about kidlit. And I'm not around actual reading kids very often these days, as most of my friends have no kids or very little kids. I thought it would be cool to have a thread to see who's reading what, find out what's new and good, get recommendations, chat about what you're learning about kidlit, etc. Any fellow kidlit forumites up for such a thing?

ETA: If you could give us a wee bit of description, and/or why you liked it and/or what you learned from it, that would be The Awesome.


I just finished reading a MG novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu. It totally exploded my brain (in the good way, that is). It's west-africa-based fantasy, as opposed to the practically standard western-european-based fantasy. It's a typical magically-gifted-character-goes-on-a-quest story, but the culture and the setting made it really stand out. I liked it because it was helpful in getting me to think way, way outside the box as far as fantasy goes. She also had a hilarious reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which was just the cherry on top of an already brilliant book.

So, what good kidlit are you reading right now?

[Amarie]

I'm reading 'The Seven Keys of Balabad' by Paul Haven. It's set in the Middle East, and involves a treasure hunt and a mysterious brotherhood. It is, as the jacket cover says, "loosely based on the legendary Golden Hoard of Bactria." The author spent years in Afganistan and Pakistan and the details of the scenes show his background. I like the way it is set up more like thrillers for adults, with multiple POVs and settings.

[MsJudy]

I just finished GRANNY by Anthony Horowitz. It's very reminiscent of Roald Dahl's over-the-top humor and play on words. A quick and funny read.

It's about a boy whose Granny is pure evil. She's jealous of young people, so she and her friends set out to make life miserable for everybody.

My 10-year-old laughed out loud on almost every chapter.

[RitrChick]

Yay, thanks for starting this thread, Kitty! :) I've been wanting to do so after seeing that the YAers have one, so this is great!!

I just finished reading WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor. LOVED it! Now I'm a few pages into THE WILD GIRLS by Pat Murphy and I'm already pretty hooked. Anyone care to babysit my little peeps so I can spend a day in the sun reading it?!? :tongue

[ResearchGuy]

I recently read Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief, by Wendelin Van Draanen. A couple of years ago I read another in that series, Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception. My wife noticed (she reads many of the same books -- we pass light reading back and forth) that in both books, Grandma appeared to meet Sammy's grandfatherly friend Hudson for the first time.

The stories are fun -- real mysteries, but kid-sized. Van Draanen is an Edgar Award winner, which says something, I think.

--Ken

[sissybaby]

I recently read Coraline and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - I always think of Neil Diamond when I write that name.

I thought they were very intense for intended grade level, but I am old and out of tune with reality, so ignore that if you want to. But the only point I could see to the books was "Stay away from strangers" and "Bad things happen when you least expect them."

Maybe someone can point to some positives to the stories, other than they are, I guess, big hits with the kids?

[Kitty Pryde]

I'll take a stab at it. First off, both books cover disturbing topics, but not in a way that's disturbing to kids. For example, Graveyard Book starts with a triple murder, but you could read it to a little kid and they wouldn't be too bothered by it. The scary stuff isn't really accessible until you're ready to deal with it. It's all in writing style.

As to what they're about, Graveyard Book is about family and what family does, and also about growing up. Coraline is about preteen kid rebellion, learning to appreciate your parents, and realizing that no matter how far you stray, your parents still love you. Neil Gaiman's movie Mirrormask is basically the same story and about the same thing.

Beyond that, both books immerse you in a vivid fantasy world that is intriguing and fairly novel. And it's Neil Gaiman, so the writing is very strong.

I recently read Coraline and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - I always think of Neil Diamond when I write that name.

I thought they were very intense for intended grade level, but I am old and out of tune with reality, so ignore that if you want to. But the only point I could see to the books was "Stay away from strangers" and "Bad things happen when you least expect them."

Maybe someone can point to some positives to the stories, other than they are, I guess, big hits with the kids?

[sissybaby]

Thanks, Kitty - I wasn't trying to be critical. His writing amazes me and I appreciate his talent.

Your points were well made and they make more sense to me now. I thoroughly enjoyed the books, but thought they were too scary for very young audiences. But my 8 year old wasn't bothered by Coraline - he didn't read The Graveyard Book.

Now we're waiting for Blockbuster to send us the movie of Coraline so we can see how they changed it. I like for him to see how reading the book is the better experience, but since I haven't seen the movie yet, I don't know what I'm comparing.

I'm trying to think of what else I've read lately. I read Toothpaste's new one, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, and I know I've read more since then beside Mr. Gaiman's, but the information eludes me at present. Could be the shingles. I've had them on my face and head for two weeks now, and my brains aren't working at full function.

We need to hear from some more folks, though.

[romancewriter]

Recently I've been reading the Little House series. They've expanded the series to include previous generations, ie, Laura's mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother and Laura's only daughter. I've think I've read them all which kind of annoyed me because I enjoyed them so much I wanted to read more. I didn't read them in any specific order because my local library only has so many and I requested the rest. I'm thinking I will probably read them again in order just because. :)

Also I've picked up the Nicholas Flamel books. Very action packed, tons of stuff going on. I'm not a big fan of high fantasy. Not that I'm knocking it. I just prefer stuff that I don't have to struggle to figure out what's going on. Or even how to pronounce that main characters' name. That a big peeve with me. Too many strange words and I'll usually quit reading pretty quickly. The Nicholas Flamel books border on being kind of out there for my feeble mind, but once I got into the story I wanted to keep reading. I've read two so I'm looking for the third.

I've also read the Magic In Manhattan series. About a teenage witch and her younger sister who is also a witch. My ten year old daughter likes this series, too. The books are called things like Frogs and French Kisses and can't remember the other titles. They're kind of written in a chick lit kind of fashion. First person narrative, kind of funny. A generally fun read.

I've also read the Artemis Fowl series, Redwall, and you don't even want to get me started on Harry Potter. Love, love, love Harry Potter.

Okay so that's probably more than you wanted to know. As you can see I read a lot of children's literature. LOL

[SheilaJG]

Great thread.

Kitty, you mentioning the fantasy set in Africa reminded me of Nancy Farmer's The Eye, The Ear and the Arm because it takes place in a sort of bizarre future Zimbabwe. Maybe that's more sci-fi, but I think all her books are just amazing.

I'm reading Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge, another one of my favorites. Her writing just blows me away. I just finished the second Fablehaven book, and I enjoyed that. My son is now finishing #1.

And now I have a few more to add to my To Do list. Thanks for that!

[highlyirritable]

I've been kickin' it old school, and reading some retro lit with my daughter. We've read:

Abel's Island
The Shrinking of Treehorn
The Birchbark House
Little House in the Big Woods

Oh, and some Shel Silverstein poetry. I feel 10 again!

[Kitty Pryde]

Oh, now I have some good books to put on the TBR list. Keep em coming everybody!

I've been kickin' it old school, and reading some retro lit with my daughter. We've read:

Abel's Island


I remember my third grade teacher Ms. Martin forcing Abel's Island on me. I was very resistant, but once I started reading I didn't want it to end. What a great book!

[Amarie]

Kitty, could you put something about the beginning of the thread encouraging everyone to give a brief description? Some posts do have enough, but it would be great if there could be more than just titles on some, so I could pick where to start! I know it takes more time for people to write longer posts, but if they could, I would appreciate it.

[MissKris]

I just finished Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, too. For me, it's one of those that straddles the line between MG and YA - almost exclusively because of the triple murders. I had a hard time reading that first chapter as an adult. Or maybe it was especially hard to read being a mother. In any event, I did enjoy the rest of the book, but I wished there had been a bit more explanation/background on the mystical creatures. Especially the Sleer.

[bonitakale]

I just finished Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, too. For me, it's one of those that straddles the line between MG and YA - almost exclusively because of the triple murders. I had a hard time reading that first chapter as an adult. Or maybe it was especially hard to read being a mother. In any event, I did enjoy the rest of the book, but I wished there had been a bit more explanation/background on the mystical creatures. Especially the Sleer.

Yeah, I see what you mean about the Sleer. The mother thing is true; I think reading it would have bothered me if I still had young children.

I thought it was awfully good, though. For those who don't know, it's about a child whose whole family is murdered, who is reared by ghosts in a graveyard. But the ones who killed the family are still after him.

Kitty, thanks for recommending Zarah the Windseeker, which I enjoyed, though I kept on wanting to edit it! Maybe I should mention that it takes place in a different world, where Earth is a fantasy.

And I read Criss Cross, by Lynn Rae Perkins, which was terrifically well written, and enjoyable, but I don't think I would have liked it when I was a child. I think I would have wanted more story in the story.

Bonita

[MsJudy]

And I read Criss Cross, by Lynn Rae Perkins, which was terrifically well written, and enjoyable, but I don't think I would have liked it when I was a child. I think I would have wanted more story in the story.


Haven't read it, but I know what you mean. Lois Lowry's THE GIVER was like that. I thought it was a fascinating book...for grown-ups, or maybe very mature and thoughtful kids. My son and his friends had to read it in seventh grade, and they just didn't get it. For those who haven't read it, the book is set in a "Utopia" that turns out to be not so Utopian. Every thing is safe and uniform and bland, to the point that people can't even perceive colors anymore. My son and his friends are all technogeek Facebook punk rockers who just take diversity for granted, so the story had no resonance for them. Even though it's a fabulous and well-written novel.

[Hillary]

Haven't read it, but I know what you mean. Lois Lowry's THE GIVER was like that. I thought it was a fascinating book...for grown-ups, or maybe very mature and thoughtful kids. My son and his friends had to read it in seventh grade, and they just didn't get it. For those who haven't read it, the book is set in a "Utopia" that turns out to be not so Utopian. Every thing is safe and uniform and bland, to the point that people can't even perceive colors anymore. My son and his friends are all technogeek Facebook punk rockers who just take diversity for granted, so the story had no resonance for them. Even though it's a fabulous and well-written novel.

I was the freakish little kid who read The Giver over and over and over again. I remember my mom buying me a copy right away - I was about 10 or 11 years old when it came out, as I recall. I read it a couple times as an adult as well.

And now I want to read it again. I still love the name Asher.

P.S. - Omg spoiler alert on the colors thing! Tsk!

The Giver and Number the Stars. Two Lowry books I LOVED when I was young.

(It was nice, too, that by the time we got around to reading them in school, I had them almost memorized. I got to play more and do less homework!)

[MsJudy]

It's been an interesting journey for me, going from geekish girl-who-reads-anything to mother of two boys and teacher of remedial reading. I have a whole different understanding of "story" now, after watching what engages the kids who just don't really like reading. Giving my son so many of the books I loved - Madeline L'Engle, Lloyd Alexander, the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series - and trying to figure out why he couldn't get into them. But he'll plow through a massive tome like the Pendragon books!

[romancewriter]

I read the Giver as well. I don't know the exact release date but I believe I was already an adult when it was first published. I believe I read it when I was having one of those I'm totally bored and have nothing to read moments. I found a copy lying around my house, I assumed it belonged to one of my kids, and picked it up. Interesting story.

Reminds of a bit of the old Logan's Run series. (I'm so totally dating myself LOL.) Not so much in premise but it sort of the same trying to achieve a 'perfect' society despite the cost. Like people dying. In Logan's Run anyone about to turn 30 was offed in hopes they would be 'renewed' as they put it in the series. In the Giver anyone was that different was offed and the general population believed they went 'Elsewhere'.

[CammyMayHunny]

My neighbor's brats have these "Captain Underpants" books that have the advantage of keeping them quite for awhile sometimes. They're pretty funny.

Well, they crack me up when the kids read them to me, but I don't get far if I try to read one myself. But hey, what could be funnier than underpants to an eight year old?

Wait, I have it, "Captain Flatulence"

[~*Kate*~]

I love Captain Underpants.

I've been re-reading some Zilpha Keatley Snyder this week. I actually found a few scenes that were similar to my WIP, but not identical. It's interesting to see where I've been influenced without knowing it.

[Kitty Pryde]

I just finished "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner. Someone recommended it to me. It was a Newbery Honor book. Great writing, and great characters, and fun action. There was excessive scenery description, way more than I liked (the book is set in fictional quasi-ancient-greece), but maybe if I was little and didn't know about real ancient greece I would have been more into that bit.

In the end I have to say there was a major flaw that ruined the book for me. The MC narrates the story. He's an unreliable narrator BUT there are no clues that he's an unreliable narrator. To me, that doesn't work. I'm okay with 1st person narrators omitting facts about their past. BUT (to avoid spoilers) a major event occurred in the present time of the novel, and everyone was bumbling around all confused trying to figure out what happened. And I was thinking, THE MC DID THAT! OMG he totally did it but he's not saying that he did it! Maybe he didn't do it? Anyways, he doesn't narrate stuff he's actively doing in the main time period of the novel.

At the end he's being all smug and jerky to the other characters that they didn't catch on to what he was doing, but I was like, really he's being smug and jerky to ME, the reader, for not catching on to stuff he didn't tell us about. Not cool.

[MsJudy]

Just finished 13 REASONS WHY by Jay Asher. I know it's YA, but I'm mentioning it here for two reasons (oops, no pun intended).

1) He spent something like 8 years writing books and going to SCBWI conferences and workshops and feeling absolutely discouraged and ready to give up. But didn't. And the book is a bestseller, as well it should be.

2) When people on this thread debate What's MG? What's YA? this is one of the books they must read. Everything about it is clearly written for teens. The subject matter, of course- it's about the aftermath of one girl's suicide. But more than that. It's the tone, the voice, the way the author assumes the reader can handle shifts in time and present/past narration, the focus on character above plot, everything about it says "for mature audiences only." This is not a book that could "go either way."

[MsJudy]

And... I just started reading Barbara Park's THE GRADUATION OF JAKE MOON. If all you know of her is "Junie B." you're in for a delightful surprise. This is a Real Book, with honesty and emotional depth.

Great beginning. A really good example for wannabes to study how she draws you into the story, revealing the most important piece of information only at the end of the chapter.

Also a great example of MG voice. The opening line caught my attention:

"There were these three eighth-grade boys."

Now, I guarantee, if one of us posted a chapter here in SYW with that opening line, at least one critter would highlight it and say, "rewrite to take out the passive "there were." Make it more exciting!"

And that person would be wrong. Because you only find out later that it's written in first-person. And that is EXACTLY how an eighth-grade boy would say it.

Oh, yeah, MG vs. YA. Eighth-grade would be 13 years old. But this is definitely an MG book. Because of the voice.

anyway- I recommend it so far. And my 10-year-old HIGHLY recommends it.

[Kitty Pryde]

JSK-I will definitely check out 13 Reasons Why.

When I was little, I loved this Barbara Park book called Skinnybones. I think I got it at a garage sale, and it was kinda muddy, but I probably read it 30 times. Definitely better than Junie B Jones! She writes great sensitive stuff for kids.

[AllieKat]

I like YA and JF. :D I know I'm not the right age group for it, but some of the stories are better than "grown up" fiction. For one thing, brevity is a not an evil in JF and YA. And in my opinion, brevity improves most stories.

One of my favorite books ever is "This Time of Darkness," by H. M. Hoover. It's a dark, futuristic story about two children in an underground world. Awesome stuff that's stuck with me a long, long time. I can still reread it and get a lot from that book.

Another big favorite from my childhood (and still today), is "Runaway Robot," by Lester del Rey. It's an amazing, first person account of a robot that really draws the reader in. The robot is a better character than a lot of human narrators, IMO. :)

[MsJudy]

I like YA and JF. :D I know I'm not the right age group for it, but some of the stories are better than "grown up" fiction. For one thing, brevity is a not an evil in JF and YA. And in my opinion, brevity improves most stories.


Exactly! These days, whenever I pick up an adult novel, there's at least one point where I just want to scream, Get to the point already!

Actually, there is one exception to that, written by a fellow AW gentleman. Jamie Ford's HOTEL AT THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET almost reads like an MG novel, it's so clean and direct. If he ever gets tired of grown-up writing, let's invite him to join us over here!

But in general...grown-ups take a lot of words to tell a story.

[Cassidy]

I read more adult and YA than MG, but I just read Savvy by Ingrid Law... what a lovely book.

[MsJudy]

Darn you guys. Now my To Be Read list is two pages long... Can I be excused? I have to go catch up on my reading.

[sissybaby]

I thought Savvy was a wonderful book! I made my sister read it, and she positively hates to read anything that isn't written by Jude Deveraux or Nora Roberts.

I also called her yesterday and told her she must read Way Down Deep. I want to say Barbara O'Connor wrote it, but I could be wrong. I just know I've been reading her books lately, and it was in the mix I had, so maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't.

Today I picked up The Borrowers again - thank you, Judy - Moonpie and Ivy, and something called The Poisons of Caux; The Hollow Bettle, by Suzannah Appelbaum. I have no idea what that one's about.

[Kitty Pryde]

I just read "Millicent Min, Girl Genius" by Lisa Yee. I enjoyed it a lot. Good voice, typical pain-of-growing-up story, and very very funny. One thing I noticed was that a lot of the humor would probably go over a kids head--I know I wouldn't have gotten most of the jokes until I was 15 or something. The narrator MC is a genius so she talks about a lot of stuff that kids don't necessarily know about, but it works. She is adorably clueless in social situations so she's very confused, but the reader knows what's going on.

One other thing I thought was interesting is that she wrote two other books from the perspectives of the other two kid main characters in the book, and all three books take place in the same summer. So the events are covered in three different books. I haven't read the others but they are about the individual issues each kid deals with.

[sissybaby]

Has anyone read Night Wings? I can't recall the author now, but he also wrote Skeleton Man. It has a native american theme, and I really enjoyed it. I think it would definitely appeal to boys, but my niece, who is a non-reader, read it and talked about it for, like, forever, ya know? Her dad is part native american, and maybe that's why, but whatever it takes to get her interested in reading, I'm all for.

Just wondered if anyone read Skeleton Man, and if it's similar in style or theme.

[RitrChick]

Okay, it's not a book, but I've been reading Girls' Life magazine and I'm finding it to be a fabulous resource. It's a mag aimed at the tween/early teen demographic. With quizzes, fashion and beauty tips, first-person accounts and newsy stories, it's great for giving an insight into the language/slang/important issues of this age group. The June/July issue even has several pages of suggested summer reading - it's worth a look to see what the publishing houses are promo-ing in girls' mags, if those will be YOUR readers some day. :)

I got a copy from my library, but I'm thinking of subscribing. It's $14.95 for a year or $24.95 for 2 years. Not too bad. They also have a great web site at girlslife.com (http://www.girlslife.com) .

[timp67]

I've been rereading some old favorites.

Just finished The Cuckoo Tree, by Joan Aiken. I loved it as much as ever!

As soon as Dido Twite sets foot on English soil, mischief awaits. While her friend Captain Hughes recovers from a carriage accident, Dido is marooned with the odd inhabitants of the Tegleaze estate—strange old Lady Teglease, her nephew Tobit, and his wizened, witchy nurse, Sannie. Soon suspicious things happen: a priceless possession is stolen, a boy is kidnapped, a twin sister is found. And when Dido catches a glimpse of her rascally father in Petworth, she is sure she's in the midst of another wicked Hanoverian plot. Can she combat mass hypnotism, smugglers, and a gang of murderers to prevent the plot to put St. Paul's Cathedral in the Thames?

[Amarie]

Timp, I've never heard of this one, but it sounds really fun. By the way, I know your name isn't Timp, but in Suzanne Collins' series, Gregor the Overlander, there is a giant cockroach (one of the good guys) named Timp.

[MsJudy]

Joan Aiken was one of my absolute favorite authors when I was a kid!

Strange, though. I picked up one of her books a while back, and found that I didn't care for it at all. Just too much from an older time, I guess, written at so much slower a pace than a modern kids' book. Sigh...

[timp67]

Timp, I've never heard of this one, but it sounds really fun. By the way, I know your name isn't Timp, but in Suzanne Collins' series, Gregor the Overlander, there is a giant cockroach (one of the good guys) named Timp.

Well, if it HAS to be a cockroach, I'm glad it was one of the good guys! :)

[kdbeaar]

Another big favorite from my childhood (and still today), is "Runaway Robot," by Lester del Rey. It's an amazing, first person account of a robot that really draws the reader in. The robot is a better character than a lot of human narrators, IMO. :)


I haven't read this, but I did recently reread Tunnel Through Time by del Rey. It was one of my childhood favorites. A lot is outdated now, of course (I'm old!), but it was better than I thought it would be. It took me ages to remember the name of the book; even the children's librarian at the library couldn't help me when I described it. (I should have come here, but it was in the dark ages before I knew about AW!)

[Angela_785]

I just finished Prada and Prejudice and I loved it!! I think there was only one part that made me go wha? and that was when the author's age directly came out: 15. GREAT book, but I'll admit that age threw me...the characters seemed closer to 17 to me, but with how they acted, what they said/thought, sneaking out to go clubbing in London, etc. Anyone else feel this way--I'm curious.

I also recently read If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period and enjoyed the voices of the individual characters and the storyline, although the begining was a bit hard to get into.

Cassidy, I loved Savvy. Can't wait for the movie! :)

[MsJudy]

Just finished TANGERINE by Edward Bloor. One of the quotes on the back describes it as "American Gothic," and I think that's a good description. Some of what goes on in the family is truly dysfunctional. Intense, some horrific bits, but well-written.

One of the things I loved about it is that it's set in a Florida boomtown that could be the part of California that I grew up in. The citrus groves are being plowed under to make room for beautiful housing developments that are actually badly built and plagued with problems. Meanwhile there's the old part of town, where people of color still try to make a living with what's left. Bloor really captures the complexity of the setting, and the conflict between old and new communities.

Interesting to note: the RenLearn site lists it as MG, reading level 4.3, but my library shelves it as YA. The MC is in middle school, so...

[Kitty Pryde]

I'm out of town visiting my parents, and I just discovered my favorite picture book from childhood. I couldn't remember the name of it and I was going nuts searching for it. Anyways, it's called "Dream Child" by David McPhail. It's an amazing book! I'm so excited I found it.

It's your basic picture book subjects, friendly animals, frolicking, and imagination, but it's all told in a very surreal poem about dream adventures with amazing painted illustrations to go with it. And it has a boat with wings that flies around at night! It's a wonderful book, but it's out of print. I'm going to try to track down a few copies to hold onto :)

[fringle]

My daughter and I are reading Savvy together as our read-aloud book. We are loving it. I'm revisiting The Borrowers and I'm finding it too old fashioned. I remember reading as a kid and loving it, but I'm not finding the same magic this time around.

[timp67]

Just finished TANGERINE by Edward Bloor.

Interesting to note: the RenLearn site lists it as MG, reading level 4.3, but my library shelves it as YA. The MC is in middle school, so...

That is interesting ... how did it strike you, JudScotKev? MG or YA?

[MsJudy]

Mature MG. The MC is in middle school, there's no sex or drugs, but there is violence. No blood, no gratuitous violence, but definite violence. As in one maiming, one murder and one attempted murder. The attempted murder is in the first chapter, so it isn't a huge shock to the reader when things get ugly later on. A reader would know by the end of the first chapter whether he could handle this kind of book or not. But I definitely think it would be too much for most kids in elementary school.

[C.J. Rockwell]

Darn you guys. Now my To Be Read list is two pages long... Can I be excused? I have to go catch up on my reading.

Don't be ashamed JSK, you're nowhere near behind as I am.

I mostly have been listening to audiobooks over the summer as opposed to reading the old-fashioned way.

It was the only way I could enjoy fiction without feeling the need to be as good as the stories I was hearing.

I don't know how it happened, but there have been long periods of time when I feared reading would never be fun again after trying to look at books instructively for so long.

I now know my love of reading is still in me, it's just fighting to stay alive. I'm starting to read my long back list of books I was too frustrated to read before.

Brevity may make stories better, but that doesn't mean it's easy to achieve, and it doesn't mean it's because of a lack of trying.

All that said, I'm still trying to get back to the joy I felt when I started reading for pleasure in the first place.

I'm sure I'm not the first writer who's had this problem, but sometimes I feel like I'm in a situation no one gets but me.

Maybe because I came to reading for pleasure late in life, I still have to further grow in this area.

I often feel left out when I head about the books people grew up with. I didn't hate reading growing up, and I didn't struggle with it on a developmental level either, but I didn't have books that were touchstones in my life the same way.

Sometimes I fear that because I didn't grow up with a innate love of books as a kid, I can't connect with books the way I want and know I can.

It wasn't until high school that it finally clicked for me, I finally found the books I loved, and still love them today.

Even then, I wasn't reading the hot thought-provoking YA titles either.

The farther away a story was from reality was the kind of reading I loved, and still do.

Sometimes you need to read to escape, and I think that gets lost when we're trying to read with a writer's eye all the time.

There's nothing wrong with using a book to escape. I don't think anyone here would disagree, but sometimes I feel like we adults don't allow ourselves to escape our troubles once in awhile like we might've when we're younger.

I think we'd be less hard on ourselves if we were more honest with ourselves about that.

That said, I can tell from being on AW as long as I have that a lot of you are some of the bravest readers I've ever known. I'm getting there, but I've got a ways to go.

[charlotte49ers]

I'm a 3rd grade teacher, so I get the joy of reading kids books all of the time. :)

I'm reading The Tale of Desperaux to them right now. Our librarian holds a Caldecott and Newbery contest each year. If they read 3 Newberys and get an 80 or better on the AR test for it, she buys them their favorite Newbery and they go to a party. She does the same with Caldecotts, but they have to read 10. I try to help them out during D.E.A.R. time because most of the Newberys are above their reading levels.

I'm going to read them Caddie Woodlawn next because I love it. :)

[charlotte49ers]

Oh, and I really liked Princess Academy, too.

[MsJudy]

I remember loving Caddie Woodlawn! That's one I haven't read in 30+ years... Guess I'll have to check it out again one of these days.

And yes, I enjoyed Princess Academy, though I admit it wasn't quite what I expected. A fantasy without much actual fantasy...not much magic, really, so it's more of a contemporary drama with a fantasy setting!

[SheilaJG]

I really enjoyed Tangerine, though it is dark. I don't think I'd recommend it to my 4th grader.

We're reading The Case of The Case of Mistaken Identity, by Mac Barnett. He came to our school and was absolutely hilarious with his chums Adam Rex and Jon Scieszka.

I had to go pick up Granny, after Judy's recommendation. My boys love silly books like that, and it's very funny.

More recent reads - Catching Fire (sequel to Hunger Games), really good.
I'm a little ways into The Dragon of Trelain by Michelle Knudsen.

[fringle]

I was just looking through my daughter's books and I realized that I've never read Because of Winn Dixie, so I'm starting on it tonight.

[MsJudy]

The newest favorites among my students: Nick Bruel's BAD KITTY series. He started with two picture books, BAD KITTY and POOR PUPPY. They wreck havoc through the alphabet, and that is one bad kitty. Hilarious illustrations. Now he's branched out into sort of graphic novel-chapter books. The newest is HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAD KITTY. The one before that was BAD KITTY GETS A BATH. All I can say is somebody gets hurt--badly hurt--whenever Bad Kitty gets a bath.

[AllieKat]

Sorry, sorry. Wrong thread...

*must make this post meaningful*

Um, I recently finished reading "What Every Girl (except me) Knows," by Nora Raleigh Baskin.

I thought it was pretty good. It's about a girl whose mother died when she was small, and the things she feels like she needs to know to become a woman. The story also involves a possible step-mother-to-be, a new best friend, her relationship with her brother, and the mystery of her mother's death.

[Libbie]

Reading Lisa Graff's latest, Umbrella Summer. Love it. I adore her books. And not just because she's practically my sister-in-law. ;) She's a fabulous writer, especially for kids.

[Trish]

I’m reading three children’s books at the moment. Flax the Feral Fairy by Tiffany Mandrake is a hoot. Its about a little fairy called Flax Lilykicker, who doesn’t fit in at the Academy of Sweetness. She wants to go to a school for bad fairies instead. She wants to win a badge of badness. Other characters in the book are, a couple of water hags, and a tiny winged dog called a dog-fae.

It’s suitable for boys and girls. I found the writing brilliant and it’s certainly different. I actually bought it for a present for a seven year-old, but decided to keep it myself.

I’m also reading a great book called Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. That’s a great book too. It’s about a thirteen year old Mexican girl whose father gets killed by bandits. She has to flee her village with her mother and is determined to survive. I’m halfway through and thoroughly enjoying it.

I’m reading the Secret Garden again by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I’ve always loved that book.

And, I’m reading the Pet Finders by Ben M. Baglio. That’s about kids working in a pet finder business. I’ve just started that one.

Actually, I have too many to mention. I read children’s books at every opportunity. I have to learn, learn and learn some more.

Trish.

[C.J. Rockwell]

I've been reading quite a few things lately, which after a difficult summer, is in many respects heaven for me.

I've been reading a lot of picture books and easy reader type stuff. Partly because I love the instant gratification of finishing a good (But shorter) book, partly to enjoy the pictures, and partly because I'm doing everything in my power to learn how I can get my own non-novel stories to be economical.

Over the summer I discovered the Houndsley and Catina series and currently have two of the books in the series. The art is charming and I love how straightforward it is. It never feels boring, while at the same time has

I've always loved books by Candlewick Press, and these are no exception.

Also part of Candlewick's Sparks Line is Squirrel's World, which I admire for its playful (If frenetically helpful) title character, nice art, and fast gripping pace. Seriously, the story moves almost as fast as Squirrel talks, while still being understandable.

I'm still trying to figure out how the author maintained such a gripping pace without dragging the antics on too long.

I also started reading Judy Moody goes to college over the summer, but I didn't finish before taking it back to the library, I plan to buy my own copy next month. I can say this though, I wish I had this book when I was a kid; it would've made me feel less fearful and tyrannical about math.

That said, the fact that Megan McDonald could get a math-phobic like me EAGER to improve their math skills of my own conviction, long past third grade, is nothing short of a blessing. I'd recommend this to any parent of a school age kid who's finding math a real pain, along with those "Miss Math" books I've heard much about. They may still find math a pain, but they'll feel a lot better knowing they're not alone.

Note: As far as the Miss Math books go, if you can get your boys to look past the title, the lady on the cover, and fairly girl-centric subject matter, this book may give them more confidence in improving their math skills.

And like Judy Moody, remind them they're not alone, I'm sure even the world's most renowned mathematicians had moments of relentless frustration with math, even if they LOVE it. Kind of reminds me of us writers, but thankfully fiction doesn't have to be as black and white as most mathematics.


I just bought The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter, and it came in the mail on Monday. I haven't spent too much time with it yet, but I'm glad to finally have the one book everyone keeps recommending to me once they learn of my animal story obsession.



Skeptics say what you will. One thing that can't be denied is that woman could draw.
It's rare these days to see the level of detail she did in her artwork. She really had a talent for getting her vision as razor sharp in her art as well as her words. If I had half her skill, I'd illustrate at least some of my PBs myself. I've thought of taking an art class someday, at least so I can get a feel for it. I know I won't achieve art like this, at least not without years of practice, but I'm a firm believer that everyone has a style they're most comfortable with. The one that feels the most natural and semi-effortless. Be it in prose-writing, poetry, or art. I want to find mine.

Finally on the younger side of things, I've starting getting into the Flatfoot Fox Series by Eth Clifford (Don't know how to even begin pronouncing that name, no offense to the author in any way, mind you). These books rely on two key elements, simplicity, and pacing. The stories move fast and the while the structure is fairly linear, it never feels overly formulaic, partly because of the fast pacing, and in part because of the subtle wit and humor. My only two nitpicks is that I wish there was more to the mysteries themselves, at least one red herring or mix-up, and that the pictures were in color.
That said, the covers are nice and really stand out.

Otherwise, a solid 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.


As far Novels I go I'm really getting into The Daring Adventures of Penhaligon Brush by S. Jones Rogan. This is definitely an author I'm glad I discovered on my many hunts for cool and beautifully written books. This has it all, the action, the drama, intrigue, secrets, and just a splash of danger to keep even the most hyper readers entertained.

I'm currently halfway through it and I can already say that I haven't read something this well crafted since I plowed through the first three books in the Hermux Tantamoq series.

And just like the series mentioned above, I read a sample of it online at Barnes and Noble and bought the sequel that came out this year along with the first. I hope they'll be many more stories in this world.

I should note that this book is for younger readers and the subject matter isn't as mature as it is in the Hermux Tantamoq series, but perfect for readers who love stories of this type.

I'd recommend it to anyone who loves the Redwall series, but wants something different from the sword and sorcery fair, who love pirate stories, and high quality writing that won't go over your head. You may have to crack open a dictionary a few times though.

Speaking of Hermux Tantamoq, I also started the fourth awhile back, Time to smell the Roses. Still just at the beginning, but it's proving to be just as good as the other three, plus, no I can't mention that, it'll spoil the surprise. Like the book mentioned above, this has it all, plus romance, I couldn't ask for anything more. I maybe a guy, but I have no shame admitting I'm a love story fanatic. I've read many books I otherwise would be too afraid to even touch if the story didn't involve a romance of some kind. Even if the love is unrequited or "can't" be, it's a welcome break from the harsher qualities a story may have. While all 4 books stand alone, there is merit to reading them in order so you better understand the in-jokes and dynamics of the recurring cast.

At the very least, you might want to check out the first book, Time Stops for No Mouse, just so you understand certain key relationships without getting too lost. That said, the author does a good job of cluing the new readers in without boring those who've been along for the ride since the start, I want to learn that technique, since I rarely write many stand alone novels.

Every time I think I'm done with a character and that particular world, more stories flow out like the Cheyenne River. I sure hope M. Hoeye comes out with a new book soon, preferably another Hermux since there isn't indication that this was the last one in the dust jacket, but if the writing's as interesting as in these books, I'm more than willing to see what other worlds he can take us to.

Anyway, those have been my recent reading adventures, with more just around the corner.

[Smish]

I read Gossamer, by Lois Lowry, in one sitting last night (I meant to read a couple chapters before bed, but ended up reading the whole darn thing). It was very good, and original.

The story is about dreams and where they come from. In the story, there are dream-makers who bestow pleasant dreams, and Sinisteeds who inflict nightmares. One young dream-maker is given the task of bestowing dreams to a lonely elderly woman and the angry foster child living with her; unfortunately, the Sinisteeds have also zeroed in on the pair.

Anyway, it's good, and I'd highly recommend it. :)

[MsJudy]

Our librarian read us MEAN SOUP by Betsy Eviritt today. Delightful! Horace has a really bad day--he forgets the answer to question number three, and Lulu the Show-and-Tell Cow steps on his foot.

I am not leaving my classroom until I get a Show-and-Tell Cow. In a hula skirt.

And I mean it.

[charlotte49ers]

I'm about to read a lot because it's book fair week. Whoo-hoo! These things break my bank.

Just finished, The Tale of Desperaux and Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

[Kitty Pryde]

I'm about to read a lot because it's book fair week. Whoo-hoo! These things break my bank.

Just finished, The Tale of Desperaux and Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

I LOVE Ramona! What a great character. I reread some of those books recently, and they have really held up since I last read them in first grade. She has very mundane adventures but you can't stop reading them because you're dying to find out what she'll do next. I think she's kind of a spiritual predecessor to Junie B.

[charlotte49ers]

Yep, she's awesome! I was worried that my students wouldn't like it as well as I did, but they really got into it!

[MsJudy]

Our third graders read some Ramona and some Henry Huggins. You'd think it would seem hopelessly old-fashioned to them, but it doesn't. The humor is timeless.

[C.J. Rockwell]

Our third graders read some Ramona and some Henry Huggins. You'd think it would seem hopelessly old-fashioned to them, but it doesn't. The humor is timeless.

Goes to prove that you can't underestimate what kids are interested in. It also proves how good books can transcend generations, despite being dated in some ways.

I personally have always loved the old fashioned stories, even as a kid, probably explains in part why finding modern stories I click with can be tricky at times.

But personally as a reader, I don't mind things moving at a slower pace as long as I get connected in the story's ordeal and the characters are alive for me.

I grew up at the start of what the internet is now, and as much as I was enamored with it, I still liked the simpler things. Heck, I'm the only one in my house who likes to bake from scratch.

Plus, I was always fascinated with things that would be considered antiques by now. Like cassette tape players. By the time I came around, CDs were just starting get popular and becoming the standard.

I also have always had a real soft spot for record players. CDs and music downloads may have superior quality, but it's not as tactile. It's hard believe that over fifty years ago that was the standard. Maybe one day I'll buy an old one, provided it still works, and hunt out a few LPs on Ebay.

[Smish]

Yep, Ramona is great.

Another book recommendation: Shug, by Jenny Han. Annemarie is starting junior high, and her world is falling apart. Her best friend, Mark, has a new set of friends. Her mother and father are constantly fighting. Her older sister already has one foot out the door.

On the surface, it seems just like countless other novels about junior high. But the voice is so damn good, and the author really captures the thoughts and feelings of a 7th-grade girl. It's one of the best books I've read this year.

Shug is the author's first book. Her second book was published in May of this year, and I'm definitely going to look for it. :)

:)Smish

[sissybaby]

I've been in the Halloween spirit, so I just finished The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki. I thought it was a great page-turner, especially for young boys. His monsters are pretty scary, and the plot is rather twisty with a great ending. About a family that moves to a new town. The boy has always been a loner, but he makes a couple of friends - one's a girl who has also been neglected by her peers. We find out the town is where the boy's favorite author once lived, but he disappeared thirteen years earlier. Some really weird, freaky stuff starts happening, and it never, ever stops, right up to the end. Highly recommend for anyone wanting a scare - anyone in middle school, anyway.

Also read The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson. it's not new, but it's a good mystery. The kids visit their relatives in Scotland, who live in an old castle or manor or something. The relatives have been trying ways to save the White Cattle who live on the estate, by having open days to the public. But it's not going well. When the kids discover that one of the relatives is actually a ghost, they come up with ideas of how to help out, but then the cattle are taken away to be destroyed because they supposedly have a terrible disease. Not scary, but certainly entertaining.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Sissy

[Amarie]

I'm way behind, but I've been reading Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos with my daughter. It's about a girl in early 20th century London whose parents run a museum of antiquities. Theodosia is the only one who can see which items are cursed, and she has to deal with them. I love this book so far, and my daughter, who finds it hard to sit still sometimes, is a willing listener/reader

The newest favorites among my students: Nick Bruel's BAD KITTY series. He started with two picture books, BAD KITTY and POOR PUPPY. They wreck havoc through the alphabet, and that is one bad kitty. Hilarious illustrations. Now he's branched out into sort of graphic novel-chapter books. The newest is HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAD KITTY. The one before that was BAD KITTY GETS A BATH. All I can say is somebody gets hurt--badly hurt--whenever Bad Kitty gets a bath.

BAD KITTY GETS A BATH is hilarious. I didn't realize there were others.

I've been in the Halloween spirit, so I just finished The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki. I thought it was a great page-turner, especially for young boys. His monsters are pretty scary, and the plot is rather twisty with a great ending. About a family that moves to a new town. The boy has always been a loner, but he makes a couple of friends - one's a girl who has also been neglected by her peers. We find out the town is where the boy's favorite author once lived, but he disappeared thirteen years earlier. Some really weird, freaky stuff starts happening, and it never, ever stops, right up to the end. Highly recommend for anyone wanting a scare - anyone in middle school, anyway.



I'll have to look for this one!

[yellow5]

I just read Water Steps by Alexandria LaFaye and thought it was beautifully written. It has mythical creatures which is not something I usually read, but it was great. It's the story of a girl who is rescued from drowning at sea (although the rest of her family dies) and then adopted by the 'unique' Irish couple that saved her. The couple is patient as they try to raise this girl to get over her extreme fear of water in any form, including showers! It is more deep and touching than you would expect from mg and Alexandria uses beautiful language that I think will inspire kids to want to try writing for themselves, at least it would have me wanting to write at that age. It's a quick read and worth the time.

[Smish]

Just finished TANGERINE by Edward Bloor. One of the quotes on the back describes it as "American Gothic," and I think that's a good description. Some of what goes on in the family is truly dysfunctional. Intense, some horrific bits, but well-written.

One of the things I loved about it is that it's set in a Florida boomtown that could be the part of California that I grew up in. The citrus groves are being plowed under to make room for beautiful housing developments that are actually badly built and plagued with problems. Meanwhile there's the old part of town, where people of color still try to make a living with what's left. Bloor really captures the complexity of the setting, and the conflict between old and new communities.

Interesting to note: the RenLearn site lists it as MG, reading level 4.3, but my library shelves it as YA. The MC is in middle school, so...

I'm a little late with the Tangerine discussion, but I just finished it last night. I would agree that it's upper-MG. The main character and the voice are definitely MG, but there are some very disturbing scenes that may not be appropriate for younger MG readers. Really, I wish I hadn't read one of the scenes... I was afraid I'd have nightmares about it last night! :)

It's a very good book, though, and for older MG readers (and MG-writing adults), I'd definitely recommend it.

[MsJudy]

I'm a little late with the Tangerine discussion, but I just finished it last night. I would agree that it's upper-MG. Really, I wish I hadn't read one of the scenes... I was afraid I'd have nightmares about it last night! :)

Yeah, I'm still a little haunted by it, even weeks later.

[Smish]

Finished Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree, by Lauren Tarshis last night. Yes, I've been reading a ton lately!

The cover is gorgeous, first of all. Perhaps that's not particularly relevant, but I thought I'd mention it. :)

Emma-Jean Lazarus is a very odd girl. She's analytical and logical, and just doesn't understand the crazy, emotional behavior of her classmates. She's perfectly happy observing them from a distance, and never getting involved in their problems, until the day she finds Colleen Pomerantz crying in the girls' bathroom.

Emma-Jean is very charming, in her super-serious, no-nonsense way. I'd recommend it. (I say that a lot, don't I? I love MG!).

:)Smish

[MsJudy]

Okay, I HAVE to read that one. Since my own son is a bit like that, spends his recesses reading or just watching the other kids play and wondering why they enjoy the things they do. I think I'm moving that one to the top of the TBR list...

[MsJudy]

I just finished the last book in the LIGHTNING THIEF series. My 10-year-old just read the whole series straight through in about a month. So I guess that's a high recommendation!

Things that make it so good: He maintains the voice so well. On every page there's a turn of a phrase that is so true to the character and so funny.

He maintains the pacing. Excitement balanced with character development, no dull parts.

He allows for complexity. No one is completely good or completely evil. Smart people do stupid things, villains hesitate, some enemies are redeemed and some friends turn traitor. So you never really know what's going to happen next.

If you're trying to figure out what makes a bestseller become a bestseller, these are good books to study. They deserve their great sales, which you can't always say...

[Khanada]

My daughter finished SAVVY recently, and it's on the top of my reading list. Glad to see it mentioned here.

I also really want to read the PERCY JACKSON series. When my daughter first finished them, she said she may have liked them better than HARRY POTTER. I understand the author outdid himself in the last book, and I'm sure that made it an especially satisfying series.

My almost 10-year old gets to read far more than I do, so I can at least tell you what she's reading. She's been trying to get through Cornelia Funke's INKHEART series for a long time now. They're long books filled with lengthy paragraphs. Still, she's stuck with them - she just often puts them down to read another book, and then gets back to Funke. But after seeing her struggle with it, I'm not sure it's a series I'd like to pick up myself, though the premise sounds very interesting to me.

Recent quicker reads include SENT (Book 2 of THE MISSING by Margaret Peterson Haddix; author of AMONG THE HIDDEN series which we both loved) and MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY AND THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA (Book 3 of the series) by Trenton Lee Stewart. She flew through the Haddix book - about young teens who are kidnapped from their proper time period in history and brought to our present day. In this particular book, two boys learn that they are Edward V, king of England, and Richard, Duke of York. History tells us that they were both murdered, so there's that little issue in setting things right. [No spoilers; this is all from the flap.] I'm eager to read this series.

In MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT, a group of kids are brought together by this ad, "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" in the first book. In this third book, the kids try to solve the mystery of an unexplained blackout in their town. I'm sorry I can't tell you much more -- my daughter left the book jacket home but took the book to school...

[Kitty Pryde]

I read the first Percy Jackson & The Olympians novel, but I really disliked it. The story wasn't that compelling. And I have a personal aversion to the "you have a disability but it's okay because you also have a totally rad superpower!" kids novel. I think it's a wretched message to send to kids, but that's just me (note that this is different from the X-Men, wherein a ton of people have superpowers, and a few of them also happen to have disabilities). Don't feel bad about having a learning disability, that's a good message. Don't feel bad about having a learning disability because you also have 20 magical powers...no wait, you're just a regular kid, please go back to feeling bad--that's a lousy message. Thus ends my rant.

I just finished reading an early MG novel called "The Ink Drinker". It's the first in a series. It's about a reluctant reader (and probably written for a reluctant reader) who meets a sort of a book-vampire. I liked it, short but sweet, funny and a little bit scary. It was about the reading level of someone who is making the leap from picture books to MG books.

[SheilaJG]

Finished Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree, by Lauren Tarshis last night. Yes, I've been reading a ton lately!

:)Smish

Oh, Smish, you're reading some of my favorites. I loved Shug and Emma Jean (there's a sequel out now that I want to read). Those and A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban and the two Penderwick books were my favorite reads in this genre last year. Oh, and The Willoughbys.

I'm reading the latest Diary of A Wimpy Kid right now, because my son picked it up at the book fair. He loves them. Me? Yes, I do laugh out loud sometimes. But, honestly, the kid is just not nice at all. And he's really starting to annoy me with how mean he is to his friend. Not to mention the author seems to glorify the video game-loving, reading-hating youth of today. What do you guys think? Part of me says, if a book gets kids reading it's okay by me, but sometimes I wonder.

[Kitty Pryde]

I'm reading the latest Diary of A Wimpy Kid right now, because my son picked it up at the book fair. He loves them. Me? Yes, I do laugh out loud sometimes. But, honestly, the kid is just not nice at all. And he's really starting to annoy me with how mean he is to his friend. Not to mention the author seems to glorify the video game-loving, reading-hating youth of today. What do you guys think? Part of me says, if a book gets kids reading it's okay by me, but sometimes I wonder.

I like the Wimpy Kid. I read an interview with the author a while back. He acknowledged that Greg is a lousy role model. But he also said that kids pretty universally recognize that fact and know they should mostly do the opposite of what he does. I think it's a good way of learning about how you can hurt other people without realizing it. Greg does a lazy/mean/callous thing, and he perceives that no one is hurt by it. But it's clear to the reader that he has upset his friend/family/classmate, and he shouldn't have done it. It's kind of like goofus and gallant, minus the gallant.

Plus yeah, reluctant readers reading=victory.

[MsJudy]

Re: INKHEART...yeah, it is such a challenging read. The third, INKDEATH, is a good book, but it is NOT a kids' book. The young characters don't even get to DO anything. It's really an adult fantasy, or YA at the lowest, but because the first in the series is MG...the kids want to read it. But it's too much work!

Re: WIMPY KID: Well, I just got home from my second job in a tutoring program for struggling students. And WIMPY KID is one of the few books that truly struggling readers not only enjoy reading, but also understand and remember well enough to pass a quiz on it. I was checking their Accelerated Reader progress, and if it weren't for the MAGIC TREEHOUSE series and the WIMPY KID, some of them wouldn't have passed a single quiz.

So, yeah, neither of those two series would count as Literature. but they serve a purpose, and fill a need, and they do it very well. Plus WIMPY KID is less disgusting than CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS...

[MsJudy]

Come on, you guys, you're gonna have to read faster than that if you're gonna keep up with me and my son!

As of Friday, Kevin has now passed the million-word mark. Since the beginning of school in August, he has read more than 1,000,000 words! He's in third place in his class, though. The girl in first place has read 2,500,000 words in that time...

I just finished ALABAMA MOON by Watt Key. Fabulous book. A 10-year-old boy who's been raised in the forest by a survivalist father must learn to cope with the outside world... The kid can make his own shelter, bring down a deer with a handmade bow and arrow, but he's never tasted a Dorito. A really memorable character, and a lovely meditation on loneliness.

[Viking Horse]

After reading some of the things here, curiosity got the better of me and I grabbed a copy of The Graveyard Book. While I was poking around, I saw another book I thought I'd ask about - has anyone here read 100 Cupboards?

[SheilaJG]

Come on, you guys, you're gonna have to read faster than that if you're gonna keep up with me and my son!

As of Friday, Kevin has now passed the million-word mark. Since the beginning of school in August, he has read more than 1,000,000 words! He's in third place in his class, though. The girl in first place has read 2,500,000 words in that time...

I just finished ALABAMA MOON by Watt Key. Fabulous book. A 10-year-old boy who's been raised in the forest by a survivalist father must learn to cope with the outside world... The kid can make his own shelter, bring down a deer with a handmade bow and arrow, but he's never tasted a Dorito. A really memorable character, and a lovely meditation on loneliness.

Wow, I am so impressed with your son. What have been his favorites? How great that his class has a reading competition!

I loved Alabama Moon, too, and so did my son. Really great book.

I decided to take a break from kid lit and I started reading The Time Traveler's Wife and now I know why I enjoy kid lit. I just can't finish this book. Everyone loves it, I know. And I enjoyed it to begin with. Oh, well.

[timp67]

I tried to read Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider, but I couldn't get into it. Just thought it was dumb, dumb, dumb. And I LOVE mg books. Right now I'm reading The Secret Garden again. It really does convey a liveliness of heart and soul, just like a living garden. No wonder it has stood the test of time! :)

[Southpaw]

I haven't read any kid literature recently. I got sucked into a grown-up series. But one of my favorite's kids series is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books.

Oh ya, and I loved Coraline too, but I read everything by Gaiman.

[MsJudy]

Wow, I am so impressed with your son. What have been his favorites? How great that his class has a reading competition!

I loved Alabama Moon, too, and so did my son. Really great book.

I decided to take a break from kid lit and I started reading The Time Traveler's Wife and now I know why I enjoy kid lit. I just can't finish this book. Everyone loves it, I know. And I enjoyed it to begin with. Oh, well.

Favorites: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson/Lightning Thief series, Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan (I had to sew a ranger's cloak so he could be one for Halloween), TIGER by Jeff Stone (first of the Five Ancestors series, chinese martial arts series), Skulduggery Pleasant series, MORIBITO GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT (Japanese fantasy).

I know what you mean about adult lit. My gosh, some of those writers spend 1000 words saying nothing! Just get to the point, already!!!

[kellion92]

I just loved Well Witched by Frances Hardinge. I thought Fly by Night was too complex though. I'm about to finish The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, and it's beautifully written and succinct but not really my thing.

[SheilaJG]

Favorites: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson/Lightning Thief series, Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan (I had to sew a ranger's cloak so he could be one for Halloween), TIGER by Jeff Stone (first of the Five Ancestors series, chinese martial arts series), Skulduggery Pleasant series, MORIBITO GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT (Japanese fantasy).



I read Tiger a while back because I thought my then 11 year-old would like it, but the decapitation early on put me off. They are action-packed, though. Has he read the Alchemyst series by Michael Scott? Those would fit right in on that list. I'm going to have to check out the Ranger's Apprentice series, I've heard a lot of good things about it.

[SheilaJG]

I just loved Well Witched by Frances Hardinge. I thought Fly by Night was too complex though. I'm about to finish The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, and it's beautifully written and succinct but not really my thing.

I love, love, love Frances Hardinge. I think she is just brilliant. Her latest book, The Lost Conspiracy, is a little bit more Fly By Night than Well Witched, in that she's unleashed her imagination to create a new world, rather than base her story in a familiar one. When she creates a world, she really pays attention to every little detail.

[MsJudy]

Has he read the Alchemyst series by Michael Scott? Those would fit right in on that list.

Haven't read it, so we'll check it out! He was getting a little worried about running out of books to read... Silly kid.

[fringle]

I just read The Magician's Elephant. It was a nice little read with some beautiful prose, but I like her other works better. This one doesn't feel as personal as her other books.

[sissybaby]

I enjoyed The Magician's Elephant when I read it a while back.

Last night I stayed up until 1:00 and read Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree. I laughed, and I cried. It's a lovely book.

It really surprises me that I liked it so well. When it first began, I wasn't sure I liked the style of her writing. But it is stunning and simply amazed me. I was sorry when I finished it, but I couldn't put it down.

So real, so real, the way she portrayed the girls in seventh grade. I knew some of each kind back in the day.

I guess some things in life never change.

Now I'm on to the next in my list. It's called The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu. I think I've read something by her, but I can't recall now what it is.

Anyone familiar with this who can tell me if I should read it or not? I've also got A Crooked Kind of Perfect waiting on my nightstand.

Sissy

[SheilaJG]

Hi Sissy,

You're in luck - Emma Jean has a sequel, called Emma Jean Fell In Love. I haven't read it, but it's on my list.

I have read the Shadow Thieves. A while back my son devoured anything even remotely related to Greek Gods (thanks to Rick Riordan). We both liked it, but not enough to run out and get the sequel. What I remember liking about it was the humor and the suspense. Oh, and Philonecron is a great villain. It's always refreshing when an author adds a little something extra to your basic megalomaniacal evil guy, and Ursu does that well with Phil.

[Kitty Pryde]

I just finished "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" at JudScotKev's suggestion. Loved it! What a powerful story. It's about a kid with a lousy homelife who has ADHD, and how he's trying to pull his life together. It was powerful because his episodes of doing bad stuff are written so they're kind of exhilarating and horrifying at the same time, which is sort of how the MC feels about it--really fun stuff that he knows he's a 'bad kid' for doing. Wow. I would definitely recommend it. Great strong voice too. It was also a great portrayal of a kid with a disability--everything that I thought was terribly wrong with Percy Jackson/The Lightning Thief, this book got exactly right.

The one weird thing was the plot arc--the kid tries really hard all the time, but nothing changes until a doctor gives him new medicine. And then all his trying he's been doing finally pays off. I thought it was unusual because usually the MC has to try a lot harder and summon inner strength and such building up to the climax. He just kind of lucked out. It worked though. The alternative character arc is really interesting to me. I've read a few other kid books with similar weird arcs as well.

[Smish]

The one weird thing was the plot arc--the kid tries really hard all the time, but nothing changes until a doctor gives him new medicine. And then all his trying he's been doing finally pays off. I thought it was unusual because usually the MC has to try a lot harder and summon inner strength and such building up to the climax. He just kind of lucked out. It worked though. The alternative character arc is really interesting to me. I've read a few other kid books with similar weird arcs as well.

I like how realistic Joey Pigza is. Yes, he needs the medicine to calm down. Lots of kids (and adults) do. No matter how hard they try, they simply can't control their actions without medication. I like that Gantos is so honest about that.

The next Joey Pigza book (I think it's called Joey Pigza Loses Control) is also worth reading. I haven't read beyond the second book.

:)Smish

[C.J. Rockwell]

I'm getting through a few longer books and some shorter ones.

On the PB front I read Meerkat Mail by Emily Gravett. Nice story with good art. Good for nighttime reading or during the day.

I'd recommend it to anyone who's got a kid with new sibling anxieties and frustrations.

In the realm of beginning readers (Typing Easy Readers just makes my blood boil) I read almost all of the stories in Rats on the Roof by James Marshall.
Enjoyed them a lot. I've always liked his illustrations, but his writing's great too. It's easy to read, yet it conveys more than simple texts in the vein of
"See Spot Run" or "The ball was red."

I just don't get how he does it.

I'm so glad it came in the mail today to cheer me up, as I'm coming down with a cold.

In terms of novels (My first love, from a writer's standpoint)
Still getting through The Daring Adventures of Penhaligon Brush, and still loving it!

I ordered the sequel The Curse of the Romany Wolves knowing I'd want to read it soon after, and it came last week. The second one has a really cool cover.

[C.J. Rockwell]

I like how realistic Joey Pigza is. Yes, he needs the medicine to calm down. Lots of kids (and adults) do. No matter how hard they try, they simply can't control their actions without medication. I like that Gantos is so honest about that.

The next Joey Pigza book (I think it's called Joey Pigza Loses Control) is also worth reading. I haven't read beyond the second book.

:)Smish

Speaking as someone who needs medication for my mental shortcomings, I know better than anyone that even when you need medicine, it's NOT going to fix everything.

It won't stop you from blowing up sometimes.

It won't stop you from being easily annoyed with certain things.

I can't stop you from having a short temper.

It helps, but YOU still have to take responsibility when you lose it.

Also, no matter what mental barriers you've got, sometimes you just have a bad day, period. Your particular mental barriers may make it worse than it normally would be, but I find that's a serious misconception with people who don't have these issues or know someone who does.

I like books are talking about these issues, but I wish people could see us as individuals and not just part of a larger problem.

Not everyone who's depressed is suicidal. Not everyone who's got mental barriers is certifiably insane and can't take care of themselves. I'm living proof of that.

Didn't mean to step on you Smish, and I debated whether or not to reply, but I'm very emotionally vocal on this subject.

[mbroadway]

I just started reading IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Cormier. (It's YA, but I'm mentioning it anyway.)

I've only read the prologue, but it floored me. He talked about himself and his sister and how they're going to a theatre to watch a magic show. The last sentence of the prologue reads: Ten minutes later, Lulu was dead.

Now that's a pager-turner.

[Smish]

Speaking as someone who needs medication for my mental shortcomings, I know better than anyone that even when you need medicine, it's NOT going to fix everything.

It won't stop you from blowing up sometimes.

It won't stop you from being easily annoyed with certain things.

I can't stop you from having a short temper.

It helps, but YOU still have to take responsibility when you lose it.

Also, no matter what mental barriers you've got, sometimes you just have a bad day, period. Your particular mental barriers may make it worse than it normally would be, but I find that's a serious misconception with people who don't have these issues or know someone who does.

I like books are talking about these issues, but I wish people could see us as individuals and not just part of a larger problem.

Not everyone who's depressed is suicidal. Not everyone who's got mental barriers is certifiably insane and can't take care of themselves. I'm living proof of that.

Didn't mean to step on you Smish, and I debated whether or not to reply, but I'm very emotionally vocal on this subject.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that medicine fixes everything, CJ. I don't think Jack Gantos implies that in his books, either. Even with medication, it's often a struggle for Joey (the MC) to be calm. But without medication, it's damn near impossible. Have you read the Joey Pigza books? It'd be interesting to see what your thoughts are.

And you should never hesitate to respond. This is a discussion forum. :)

:)Smish

[Kitty Pryde]

I just finished reading "Odd and the Frost Giants" by Neil Gaiman. It started off so great, but I felt it fell off later on and I was disappointed. It's by far the weakest of his kid books. Weird use of random British expressions in ancient Norway, lousy writing, and a climax that wasn't nearly as exciting as the set-up. Also, I felt cheated because there was only one frost giant. I thought it was weird that there was a lot of talk about drinking beer (including a vague implication that binge drinking is bad), and a lot of talk about how some women are really difficult for their men to deal with, which I wouldn't think belongs in a kids book, but perhaps I am mistaken.

The biggest let-down was that he had a really strong main character with a disability (shattered leg, can barely walk, needs a crutch). The character accomplishes really difficult things despite this fact, and seems to be extremely competent in the way a good fantasy child protagonist can be...so at the end he was randomly cured of his disability, which is an ending that I hate with the fiery rage of a thousand burning suns. It really served no purpose in the narrative, and the ending would have been equally triumphant without it. More so, even. I don't understand why he didn't just leave it that the character was both heroic and disabled. Bogus.

A few good things: the good old Gaiman humor was definitely present. The illustrations were beautiful.

[Smish]

But one of my favorite's kids series is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books.


I had to spend two days last week at a boring law conference... so I got lots of reading done. ;)

I read the first three books in the Percy Jackson series and LOVED them. I can't wait to pick up books 4 and 5. And I plan to buy the series for both my father and my brother for Christmas. We all loved the HP books and still talk about them lots; I'm sure they'll both love this series, as well.

[Viking Horse]

I've been meaning to pick up one of the Percy Jackson books for awhile, especially since there's a movie coming out soon (which means I'll likely end up reviewing the game, if there is one). I'll also be reading through the Artemis Fowl books again (I think I only got to the first three before), since there's that FLIPS Nintendo DS compilation in the U.K. now - I mean, whenever I can combine work and entertainment, I'm going to. :D

[MsJudy]

SheilaSeeGee, thanks for recommending THE ALCHEMYST! Kevin just finished it, and he really enjoyed it. Now it's my turn!

[SheilaJG]

Awesome! The next two in the series are just as exciting.

My son just finished Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (of Uglies fame), and he said it was really good. A MG steampunk book. I'm about 3/4s into it, and it's a fun book.

[Kitty Pryde]

Awesome! The next two in the series are just as exciting.

My son just finished Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (of Uglies fame), and he said it was really good. A MG steampunk book. I'm about 3/4s into it, and it's a fun book.

I thought Leviathan was YA? It's put out by Simon&Schuster's YA imprint. Amazon seems confused about what it is, but in all the author interviews they imply it's YA.

[SheilaJG]

You're right, Kitty, it's YA. I just thought it read like an upper-MG novel. The two protagonists are fifteen, I think. It's such a blurry line between upper MG and YA.

[Manectric]

I read a book last week called "Ugly," by Dianne Jo Napoli. It's a novel-length version of "The Ugly Duckling," set in Tasmania. It has the same feel as Bambi...in terms of the animals, etc..though many animals die in Bambi and only a few geese are killed by humans in Ugly.

[Smish]

I finally got around to reading Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love (sequel to Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree), and it's just as fabulous as the first book. Emma-Jean is definitely one of my favorite characters of all time!

The voice is spot-on, and Emma-Jean still gets into loads of trouble by meddling in the lives of her fellow classmates. However, this time around, she's also having a bit of a personal crisis; she's afraid she may be infected with the 'spring fevor' everyone keeps talking about. :)

We get to know Colleen a lot better in this book, too, which is nice.

:)Smish

[kellion92]

I just read John Connolly's The Gates and I really loved and admired it. My confusion is that it seems to be literary, comic MG fantasy, but it was shelved and is categorized as adult. The MC is a child, the book is replete with footnotes that are addressed (ironically?) to children), and the character's dilemma -- getting over his parents' divorce, being taken seriously, saving the world from a horde of demons -- is very MG. So why isn't this book considered MG? Is it too difficult, or did the publisher think he could reach a broader adult readership and thus didn't position this book as it really is?

I am very interested in this question because this is the kind of MG book I aspire to write. At the same time, I've been wondering whether I'm really suited to MG at all because my writing and references are somewhat difficult, kind of like Connolly's or Frances Hardynge's (although not half as good).

[Kitty Pryde]

I just read John Connolly's The Gates and I really loved and admired it. My confusion is that it seems to be literary, comic MG fantasy, but it was shelved and is categorized as adult. The MC is a child, the book is replete with footnotes that are addressed (ironically?) to children), and the character's dilemma -- getting over his parents' divorce, being taken seriously, saving the world from a horde of demons -- is very MG. So why isn't this book considered MG? Is it too difficult, or did the publisher think he could reach a broader adult readership and thus didn't position this book as it really is?

I am very interested in this question because this is the kind of MG book I aspire to write. At the same time, I've been wondering whether I'm really suited to MG at all because my writing and references are somewhat difficult, kind of like Connolly's or Frances Hardynge's (although not half as good).

How funny. Amazon.com categorizes it as an adult novel, but amazon.co.uk categorizes it as a kid novel. I'm guessing it's a combination of the fact that Connolly already has a large adult audience who will buy the book, and the fact that it's about satanism. I mean, it looks like a good book for a kid, but I'm picturing the marketing meeting in my head. "It's a delightful romp through the world of devil-worship! Perfect Christmas gift for any child!"

Reading the first chapter it feels a little bit like a kids book written to entertain grownups. Have you read any of Walter Moers' books? The first one in the series is about a giant talking blue bear who is a sea captain and battles monsters in the fantastical land of Zamonia. The author illustrates the books himself with pictures every five pages or so. And yet they are shelved in the adult section. It's similar I think, a kids book for grownups.

[kellion92]

I will check out Walter Moers! Thanks for the rec Kitty. And The Gates isn't about satan worship exactly -- the MC and his friends DEFEAT the Great Malevolence and the demons unleased by the coincidence of satanic-parlor-game-dabbling neighbors and an atomic collider.

[SheilaJG]

I just read John Connolly's The Gates and I really loved and admired it.

I just bought that book for my son, who is 13. He really liked Connolly's Book of Lost Things, which was a very clever book, tho a bit dark for MG, I think. I don't know about The Gates, but if it's similar to The Book of Lost Things, I can see why it gives the people who categorize books trouble. In Lost Things, the main character there is a young boy, too, but it is a very dark twist on fairy tales. Fairy tales have been softened up through the ages. Connolly goes in the opposite direction and makes them even darker. Which is a blast for a 13 year-old.

On a lighter side, I just finished Kathi Appelt's The Underneath and it is the most beautifully written book I've read in a long time. I heard a bit of writerly advice about how an ending has to be both inevitable and a surprise, which sounds impossible, but I think Appelt did a masterful job of weaving together three stories.

Happy Holidays everyone!

[Sage]

On a lighter side, I just finished Kathi Appelt's The Underneath and it is the most beautifully written book I've read in a long time. I heard a bit of writerly advice about how an ending has to be both inevitable and a surprise, which sounds impossible, but I think Appelt did a masterful job of weaving together three stories.
I just read this, and I felt this about the end too, at least the very last chapter. I knew in my heart what would happen, but felt surprised, pleasantly, by it.

On the other hand, I felt that the three stories weren't as well woven together as they could have been. The middle pretty much ignored the present-day story--the chapters with the kittens were tiny compared to the Night Song/Hawk Man chapters, and basically repeated the same things over and over. I feel she kinda put them on hold to tell us the past, but felt she needed to keep reminding us that they were there. That was my biggest complaint with the book.

[kellion92]

When I bought Book of Lost Things, I expected to really really love it and savor it and reread it. But I only liked it. I thought it needed a bigger end to justify the journey.

[SheilaJG]

When I bought Book of Lost Things, I expected to really really love it and savor it and reread it. But I only liked it. I thought it needed a bigger end to justify the journey.

I'm trying to remember how it ends, so I guess you're right. It was an exciting journey, though.

I don't know how to quote two separate posts in one post, but Sage, I'd have to agree with your comment on The Underneath. There were parts that I thought were a little too repetitious. I think a lot of the repetition was part of her literary style, and it worked for the most part. But at times I wanted to say, enough about that already.

[kellion92]

I just read two very good books -- Princess Academy by Shannon Hale and then A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz. PA was quite good -- the storytelling pulled me along, even though I didn't buy the quarry-speech element and you could see where it was going from the beginning. The writing annoyed me a little because it reminded me of the things I don't like about my own writing (although I'm sure it's still a hundred times more accomplished). Libba Bray is the same way in YA an Carol Goodman is the version for adult fiction.

A Drowned Maiden's Hair was luminous and haunting and utterly wonderful, joining my recent MG top three: The Graveyard Book, Well Witched, A Drowned Maiden's Hair.

[AngelicaRJackson]

Nearly finished with Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor. It's got 3 stories in it; I like the first one the best, but then I'm not finished with the last one yet. Reminds me of some of Angela Carter's or Tanith Lee's stuff.

Maybe even some shades of Charles de Lint in there, but it still stands on its own as outstanding fantasy writing.

[ILove2Write]

I'm currently reading the third book in the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. I really enjoy them! Very imaginative.

I've been looking over your posts and I've gotten some great suggestions for books to read. :)

[MsJudy]

Just finished CITY OF EMBER by Jeanne DuPrau. Really charming little book, not what I expected. Nice focus on the characters so the world-building never takes over the story, and the problems are developed so nicely in the context of the world-building. It feels very real.

Also some YA to recommend: IF I STAY by Gayle Foreman and MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD by Francisco Stork. They are amazing books, really honest.

[kposa]

I read 'The Magician's Elephant' by Kate DiCamillo a few weeks ago, and still think it's one of the most beautifully written books I've read in a while. It's very short, so at first I didn't think there would be much to it. But the way she wove the story and the development of every character is amazing. How she did it seems like magic to me. Her writing is something I aspire to.

[SheilaJG]

Christmas break reads - RAIDERS RANSOM by Emily Diamand - well written and imagined adventure set in post-flood England. THE CASE OF THE CRYPTIC CRINOLINIE, An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer. Enola is the 14 year-old sister on the run from her famous brother, who wants to put her into boarding school. Not only does she have to solve the mystery of why her landlady was kidnapped, but she has to evade the brilliant Sherlock at the same time. It made for a fun read. This author writes other "alternate" tales, Rowan Hood, Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest. I think I'd have loved these as a girl.

And, like every 4th grader in California, I read Island of the Blue Dolphins. My son hated reading this, so I started reading it to him. I think it is an incredible tale (and true, in general), but told in such a flat voice, I could see how he had trouble connecting to it.

[MsJudy]

sheila, I read the first Enola Holmes mystery and thought it was fun. Definitely one I would have read as a kid!

I also finished THE ALCHEMYST, and have to admit I had very mixed feelings about it. My son loved it without reservation, so the plot and the magic and the villains and the battles are all great. But there were some issues with the writing craft that bugged me... First, he head-hops. We always nag new writers not to shift POV within a scene, but he does it all over the place. That seems like such an easy thing to fix! And I don't think he ever really developed the characters of the two teenagers. If someone had posted it in SYW, I would have coached them to give us more of a sense of the two kids and what made them unique before the story begins, so we are more invested in how they grow over the course of the adventure. He really just makes two Generic Teens who turn out to be Special. So I guess you can ignore my two pet peeves and still write a pretty good, successful book. shows how much I know...

[Kitty Pryde]

And, like every 4th grader in California, I read Island of the Blue Dolphins. My son hated reading this, so I started reading it to him. I think it is an incredible tale (and true, in general), but told in such a flat voice, I could see how he had trouble connecting to it.

LOL! I remember being little and being forced to read that book under extreme duress because I thought it was really boring and sucky at the start...I think my mom made me do it. by the end I had come around and I liked it, though.

[kellion92]

I read 'The Magician's Elephant' by Kate DiCamillo a few weeks ago, and still think it's one of the most beautifully written books I've read in a while. It's very short, so at first I didn't think there would be much to it. But the way she wove the story and the development of every character is amazing. How she did it seems like magic to me. Her writing is something I aspire to.

Kposa, I've read a lot of Kate DiCamillo, and I admire it, but never love her books. She's too grim for me. I aspire to her brilliance, her broad career, and her publishing house (LOVE Candlewick) but she doesn't tell my kind of story...

[adktd2bks]

First, he head-hops. We always nag new writers not to shift POV within a scene, but he does it all over the place. That seems like such an easy thing to fix!

I've started reading more kid lit, and last night started my first book of the New year with The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White. And do you know what? He does it too! I suppose one could say that it was more of an omniscient narrator because it wasn't too distracting or confusing. But if it had been posted in SYW or if I knew that it wasn't a published book, I would have pointed it out to the author. It's got me wondering if maybe I've conditioned myself to pick up on those things since I started writing. I don't necessarily think that a kid would notice it.

[SheilaJG]

I also finished THE ALCHEMYST, and have to admit I had very mixed feelings about it. My son loved it without reservation, so the plot and the magic and the villains and the battles are all great. But there were some issues with the writing craft that bugged me... First, he head-hops. We always nag new writers not to shift POV within a scene, but he does it all over the place. That seems like such an easy thing to fix! And I don't think he ever really developed the characters of the two teenagers. If someone had posted it in SYW, I would have coached them to give us more of a sense of the two kids and what made them unique before the story begins, so we are more invested in how they grow over the course of the adventure. He really just makes two Generic Teens who turn out to be Special. So I guess you can ignore my two pet peeves and still write a pretty good, successful book. shows how much I know...

I completely agree, and I noticed the head-hopping and cut-out characters, too. What also bugged me (and this is kind of a spoiler - warning) was that whenever the twins were in trouble, they suddenly discovered another power that, surprise, surprise, got them out of trouble. So I never really felt like they were in danger.

[MsJudy]

I completely agree, and I noticed the head-hopping and cut-out characters, too. What also bugged me (and this is kind of a spoiler - warning) was that whenever the twins were in trouble, they suddenly discovered another power that, surprise, surprise, got them out of trouble. So I never really felt like they were in danger.

And yet, they're bestsellers. Proof that the bar really is higher for debut authors trying to break into the field, than for people who've already made a name for themselves.

[C.J. Rockwell]

Just finished CITY OF EMBER by Jeanne DuPrau. Really charming little book, not what I expected. Nice focus on the characters so the world-building never takes over the story, and the problems are developed so nicely in the context of the world-building. It feels very real.

Also some YA to recommend: IF I STAY by Gayle Foreman and MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD by Francisco Stork. They are amazing books, really honest.

I bought City of Ember awhile back, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Your testimony makes me eager to bump it up on my reading list. Thanks for reaffirming my purchase, JSK.

I've been very curoius about MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD for awhile, but haven't gotten the chance the to check it out yet, but I will.

I'm almost finished with The Daring Adventures of Penhaligon Brush. I didn't read a lot of swashbuckling adventures when I was younger, but this book makes me wish I had!

I may have problems getting action going in my stories, but I can certainly appreciate when other writers do it so well.

It's a tad slow at the start, but you can easily forgive that because of the witty prose and dialogue. If you can get through the brief first chapter, the action speeds up at an astonishing rate. Not that the opening chapter is badly written, mind you, just a bit slow.

I can't wait to start The Curse of the Romary Wolves, the sequel to the book above, the cover and title alone make me want to dive in!

Other books I plan to read in January-

Time to smell the Roses (Hermux Tantamoq Series #4) by Micheal Hoeye

The Wainscot Weasel by Tor Seider (Love this author!)

Gully's Travels by Tor Seidler (I said I loved his work, didn't I?)

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon (Not for kids, but I didn't get around to reading it yet, and I'm sure a sophisticated teen reader would love it)

I also plan to re-read a couple books, I'm still debating to dive into first.

As some of you know, I had it tough with reading last year, but now it's finally both instructive and fun for me again. One of my 2010 goals is to read at least one book every month, be it a novel, or a picture book, since I hope to one day write those right, too!;)

[C.J. Rockwell]

And yet, they're bestsellers. Proof that the bar really is higher for debut authors trying to break into the field, than for people who've already made a name for themselves.

...:cry:

All I can say to that is-

WE WORK HARD TOO!

Besides, how can we make a name for ourselves if no one gives us a shot?

[vwyler]

I completely agree, and I noticed the head-hopping and cut-out characters, too. What also bugged me (and this is kind of a spoiler - warning) was that whenever the twins were in trouble, they suddenly discovered another power that, surprise, surprise, got them out of trouble. So I never really felt like they were in danger.


I've never read the book in question, but head-hopping seems more common in older kids books than the more recent ones. I read a lot of MG and chapter books from the 50s through the 70s and hopping was fairly common, as I recall... at least in the ones told in 3rd person.

I don't really mind it, myself. Many adult novels - some of the Star Trek stuff, for example - head-hop a lot. Sometimes, in an ensemble situation, it isn't so distracting. I frequently do it myself.

Speaking of older kids books... has anyone read the Lewis Barnevelt books by John Bellairs? House With A Clock In Its Walls, the first one, was a favorite of mine as a kid. It has illustrations by Edward Gorey. Good stuff.

My mother loaned me some of her old Donna Parker and Jean Burnaby books from the 50s for research purposes. Very different kind of writing in those... The sort that'd drive crit-driven people mad. But, still fun and charming.

My all-time favorite children's book has to be Space Ship Under The Apple Tree, by Louis Slobodkin. A real oldie, but good.;)

[Lindzy1954]

What a great thread! My nearly 8 year old son and I spend a lot of time reading together and here are some of our favorites:
1. We just finished Where the Red Fern Grows - was one of my favorites when I was young and he loved it as well
2. The Boxcar Children
3. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
4. How to Eat Fried Worms

There are a ton more, but these have been some of the ones that we laughed at, cried over and commented on long after we finished the book.

[Kitty Pryde]

Speaking of older kids books... has anyone read the Lewis Barnevelt books by John Bellairs? House With A Clock In Its Walls, the first one, was a favorite of mine as a kid. It has illustrations by Edward Gorey. Good stuff.

My all-time favorite children's book has to be Space Ship Under The Apple Tree, by Louis Slobodkin. A real oldie, but good.;)

I loved all the John Bellairs books. The ones you mentioned, plus the others, with Johnny whats-his-name. Beautiful illustrations. I think they´re sadly unread these days. He writes a slow, creeping dread sort of tense mystery story, and I think modern readers go for more action. And less having old man sidekicks. Plus I think most of the stories involved Christian mythos in some way, like pieces of the True Cross, or performing exorcisms, or whatever. I dunno how well that would go over today.

I love the Spaceship Under The Apple Tree, too! What a sweet but still exciting story. I think that one might hold up better to the modern reader, but is the series out of print?

[MsJudy]

Just finished THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. What a marvelous imagination he has!

But here's the thing that stuck with me the most: At the end, Gaiman writes that he had the idea for it 20 years before he got around to writing it. Sometimes, hanging out here, reading posts by the NaNo folks and the 2000-words-a-day folks, I feel like such a failure for taking so long to figure out my ideas. But, hey, if that puts me in the same company as Gaiman, then I guess I have nothing to worry about! As long as I do eventually get around to finishing those ideas, anyway...

[AngelicaRJackson]

I just finished Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale. When I looked in the back, I discovered she also wrote Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, which I'd just recommended to someone. I have a terrible memory for authors, which makes me worried that Karma will bite me in the ass once I have a book published.

I think Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow is the better of the two titles, but I enjoyed both. She manages to avoid the wordiness and overwrought descriptions common in YA fantasy. (I'm not naming names, so please don't think I have a specific author in mind!)

[vwyler]

I loved all the John Bellairs books. The ones you mentioned, plus the others, with Johnny whats-his-name. Beautiful illustrations. I think they´re sadly unread these days. He writes a slow, creeping dread sort of tense mystery story, and I think modern readers go for more action. And less having old man sidekicks. Plus I think most of the stories involved Christian mythos in some way, like pieces of the True Cross, or performing exorcisms, or whatever. I dunno how well that would go over today.

I love the Spaceship Under The Apple Tree, too! What a sweet but still exciting story. I think that one might hold up better to the modern reader, but is the series out of print?


I re-discovered the Bellairs books a year or two ago after locating the first one in a local thrift shop. I ordered the first two sequels from Amazon later. After lending them to my sister, also in her late thirties, she was hooked and devoured the whole series.

Since I'm agnostic, I long ago learned to ignore religious messages in books, so I wasn't all that bothered by the Catholic themes. However, as you point out Kitty, others might be.

I admit that I honestly prefer a book with a slower, less frantic pace. It builds mood. But, again, that's just me.

Yeah, the Spaceship books are long out-of-print, I believe. Sad. They were great, and still very readable. You can find copies on Amazon, however.

I also got a kick out of some of those old Ruth Chew witch books, like The Witch's Garden. They were charming in a sweet, harmless way that one doesn't see much anymore.:)

[ILove2Write]

I'm now reading The Lightning Thief, the first in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan.

[kellion92]

Reading Murder at Midnight by Avi, but the main character is so annoying. He really is a fool so far.

[kellion92]

Murder at Midnight didn't get much better. But I'm excited that I just got a $10 gift card from Amazon because an order was late, so I order the Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which sounds like a book I wish I wrote. Very excited!

[timp67]

I'm reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.
Love the adventure aspect ... but I'm having some qualms about the war scenario. I can't see how a fun, exciting book about battle doesn't somehow glamorize war. :( Have to see how it all wraps up!

[mware01]

Murder at Midnight didn't get much better.
Wow, a disappointing AVI book. What a surprise, he's normally so good!

[SheilaJG]

I picked up a few MG books at the used bookstore while waiting for my daughter. I read The 13th Floor by Sid Fleischman (very nice ghost story), and Horns and Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson. I really liked that one, very witty and fun. A little predictable, despite the attempted mis-direction, but a funny little book about river trolls in the Mississippi.

[AngelicaRJackson]

I picked up some of Amelia Atwater Rhodes early books based on the recommendations here. I have to say I wasn't too impressed by In the Forests of the Night and Demon in My View--they were good, just not outstanding for me. I couldn't even get into Midnight Predator.
But then I read Persistence of Memory and thought that one was well done, so I agree she can write.

I'm reading Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams right now, I'd never heard of it but am liking it so far. I don't always like collaboration books, but this one is well done.

Also, I finished Lips Touch: 3 times that I mentioned in an earlier post, and I ended up liking the last story the best. Really well done with a creepy, created mythology. Reminded me of Gene Wolfe (that's a good thing).

[timp67]

Wow, a disappointing AVI book. What a surprise, he's normally so good!

Um ... is that sarcasm? I can usually tell. :)

Only asking cuz I'm curious. I've never read an AVI book.

[MsJudy]

Probably not sarcasm. Avi is well-respected and has won a Newbery for CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD.

Which I read recently, by the way. Found it very well-written, and yet... I couldn't see my sons choosing to read it over some of the more adventurous books they prefer. Usually I pass a book on to my boys when I'm done with it, but that was one I just didn't think they'd get into. Historically accurate, vivid detail, intriguing characters, but somehow...just not an exciting enough plot for their tastes, I don't think.

So I'm curious to read other Avi books, see what I think of those.

[kellion92]

That's only Avi book I've read. Yes, it was well written, but I couldn't stand the main character.

I read Tunnels -- well, 98% of it. It started out with an amazing concept but gradually lost me as it went along. Then I was right at the end, and I put it aside for something else and never went back. The MC was confusing to me -- contradictory. Maybe that's partly because of the collaboration? I believe this book was self-published, then got picked up. Did anyone read Drood, by Dan Simmons? That adult book also has a London underground dwelling society (MC is writer Wilkie Collins), but it's an amazing book. Loved it.

[SheilaJG]

So I'm curious to read other Avi books, see what I think of those.

I'm with you on Cross of Lead. I enjoyed it, but I didn't think my boys would.

I loved two of his other books: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and The Secret School. The TCoCD is a great adventure book with a girl protagonist, sailing from England to the US in the 1800s. It was a Newberry Honor book.

[abctriplets]

I loved the Ember series (well, except for book 3, Prophet of Yonwood). Haven't started Tunnels yet (I'm waiting for the 3rd book to be published), and I'm right now working on the last book in the Time Quake trilogy - I have a few issues with Linda Buckley-Archer's writing, but it is a good adventure series.

My 3 two-and-a-half-year-olds are right now enjoying reading the Owly books by Andy Runton, which are collections of a wordless-comic strip about an owl and his worm friend.

[kellion92]

Charlotte Doyle sounds good, and I was always meaning to read the Ember series.

But does anyone else ever get turned off by series? Like Tunnels was OK, and I could read maybe one more book, but two? I really liked the first Septimus Heap book by Angie Sage, but during the fourth one, I just put it down and said, "Enough."( That was probably contracted as a seven-book series, right?) I read Gone by Michael Grant (YA) and it was pretty good, but I didn't see how the premise could be stretched over six 600-page books. Maybe I'm reading as a writer, and after book or two, I've gotten what I need from the books, but I'm still a reader, and I just didn't love the characters or stories enough to devote the time.

[SheilaJG]

But does anyone else ever get turned off by series?

Yes!

Series that I started but didn't finish (and I'm not their target audience, they are all very well done):

Guardians of Ga'Hoole -
Septimus Heap - read the first one
The Time Quake series (read book one and two, haven't gotten around to three)
Inkheart, Inkspell - read the first two, started the third and put it down
Fablehaven - read the first two
Gregor the Overlander - read the first one
Kiki Strike - read the first one

[Kitty Pryde]

Yes!

Series that I started but didn't finish (and I'm not their target audience, they are all very well done):


I can relate. Sometimes when I start a series, it feels like the author is holding back some of her clever ideas so she'll have enough to spread thin throughout a long series. I want action now! And torturing the protagonist! And awesome stuff! On every page! much much more than I want multiple books. And if book 2 just promises to be more of book 1, book 1 has to be really darn good, good enough for me to want to reread.

Some authors pull it off well, surely, like JK Rowling. And if we are talking older books, Beverly Cleary's Ramona series, Terry Pratchett's Gnome trilogy and Johnny Maxwell trilogy, and Judy Blume's books about Peter Hatcher and Fudge and Sheila can't be beat. They are a different sort of series, though. They take place in a certain order and talk about growing up, but they aren't like labeled BOOK ONE OF SEVENTEEN!

[C.J. Rockwell]

I think it just depends on the series, the author, and the individual reader.

I personally like series if I like the characters or particular hooks in the plot.

For me, the mark of great series books are ones that have a good mix of "Familiar yet new," in that that each book isn't a complete rehash of the one before. Or they take place in different locations. Or the character has unique enough voice or outlook across all the books that they feel complete on their own, yet complete a chapter in the MC's life.

The only pet peeves I really have for series fiction is that when the characters don't retain what they learn from the previous book. Or when the

The only times series are hard for me to read are when they're by authors I really admire or respect, or if they're stories are in the same genre as what I write. Then I feel like "Can I be THAT good?"

Then there are those series that I'm just afraid to read, either because of the prestige behind them, or the subject matter makes me uncomfortable.

I keep debating whether or not to check out the Percy Jackson series. Though I have heard about Rick Riordan's new series, and I think that might be more up my alley.

[kellion92]

I read the Lightning Thief only, I thought it was OK. The premise was good but it wasn't executed in an imaginative enough way.

[SheilaJG]

The previous comments make me think of the series books I did enjoy, and read to the end. What was it about these that made them so compelling?


HP
His Dark Materials
Bartimaeus Trilogy
Skullduggery Pleasant (still going)
The sea of Trolls series by Nancy Farmer
The Hunger games (also still going, but going strong)
The Lightning Thief (I did kinda lose interest toward the end, tho)
The Twilight books (finished, but not thrilled)
Books of Bayern, by Shannon Hale (I just love anything she writes)
The Clique books (just seeing if you are paying attention)
And for younger readers, Clementine, Babymouse, Diary of a Wimpy kid

They seem to all be fantasy (or is it that fantasy lends itself to series books?). But what else is it about these that kept my interest? Fantastic writing? Imaginative worlds? A plot that spans many books? Tho I have to admit, if I get to the end of the book and it ends on a cliff hangar and I have to wait 18 months to find out what happens - I am not pleased.

[Kitty Pryde]

I think part of it might be that mystical ability of the author to convince the reader that the protagonist is genuinely going to fail to save the world and/or die, even though by the laws of kidlit, the action-adventure protag cannot die (although the literary protag can die, but only to teach his sidekick an important life lesson).

In HP and His Dark Materials, I really felt like they were going to fail. The odds were too high, the bad guys too powerful for them to succeed.

On the other hand, for me The Hunger Games didn't work AT ALL. From the first chapter I knew exactly what would happen in the rest of the book, because of the conventions of the YA genre (ending must be optimistic, and protag must maintain ethical purity--from there the whole plot basically played itself out with no surprises). I wasn't worried about the MC or her buddy for even a second.

[kellion92]

I haven't read all of Sheila's list (wow!) but I may be one of the few that thought then end of His Dark Materials made no sense metaphysically or morally. But I loved the first two!

I liked Hunger Games a lot, but yeah, it was a little wishywashy with the hardcore premise.

I think three is my limit for a single story arc, like HDM, LOTR, even Gemma Doyle. After that, it begins to feel a bit padded. HP kept my interest, but in rereading, there is an awful lot that could be cut out.

[abrenner]

Currently making my way through The Sisters Grimm. Charmed me in the first two pages - and those are some short pages!

[ILove2Write]

Just started the "Bloody Jack" series by L.A. Meyer and I must say, I find it very difficult to read. I know its supposed to be in an old english prose, but I find meself havin' ta rally pay attention you know, like.

[kellion92]

Argh, I hate phonetic speech unless it's really, really lightly done.

[timp67]

I haven't read all of Sheila's list (wow!) but I may be one of the few that thought then end of His Dark Materials made no sense metaphysically or morally. But I loved the first two!

I felt exactly the same. :)

Just finished Leviathan. Loved the weird adventure, but less thrilled that it couldn't help but glamorize war. Hard to ignore the body count in-between the fun.

[abctriplets]

Just finished the Time Quake trilogy. Aside from the writer-side of me being annoyed by her having some unrealistic expository dialogue from know-it-all characters (who really shouldn't know it all), and the historian-side of me being annoyed at her simplistic view of history (that not only the character had to research, but from the epilogue the author explained she had to research it as well), it was a fresh tale nonetheless.

Now on to Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants.

[Kitty Pryde]

Right now I'm working my way through "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" by Salman Rushdie, because a friend recommended it to me. So far I can't get into it too much. It feels like a bad imitation of the best nonsense kidlit, like Alice In Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth. I keep waiting for the story to get more interesting, but so far not really.

And I just started Skulduggery Pleasant. I love the concept, but so far the story and the jokes are a little hit or miss for me. I'm going to keep reading because it's supposed to be good :)

And! I know it's not a kids book...but it's based on a kids book. Did anyone else see the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZKekhgbh5A&feature=player_embedded)for "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"? I have to say it looks really good, and very much in the spirit of the books.

[kellion92]

Just read The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin. It was a fun, sweet, old-fashioned story. I had been thinking about trying to write a doll story, but I didn't know if the idea was totally dated. I suppose there is room for another one, if I can come up the right idea...

[charlotte49ers]

Percy Jackson/Lightning Thief

It's pretty good so far.

[MsJudy]

Kitty--Haroun doesn't get better or worse, really, it's just weird and either you get into it or you don't. I thought I was enjoying it, but by the end I felt sort of dissatisfied.

Skulduggery Pleasant is kind of the same. Kevin (my 10-year-old) loves the series, but I find myself wishing there was a little more meat to it. I like my characters to grow up a little by the end of the adventure, not just save the day. But it's a fast fun ride, so I guess that's more my grown-up take on it than the kids' perspective.

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty--Haroun doesn't get better or worse, really, it's just weird and either you get into it or you don't. I thought I was enjoying it, but by the end I felt sort of dissatisfied.

Skulduggery Pleasant is kind of the same. Kevin (my 10-year-old) loves the series, but I find myself wishing there was a little more meat to it. I like my characters to grow up a little by the end of the adventure, not just save the day. But it's a fast fun ride, so I guess that's more my grown-up take on it than the kids' perspective.

Doh! Oh well, I push on. I just started "Love, Aubrey" by Suzanne LaFleur and it's soooo good. I'm totally loving it. I may finish that before reading on in the other two. :)

[SheilaJG]

And! I know it's not a kids book...but it's based on a kids book. Did anyone else see the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZKekhgbh5A&feature=player_embedded)for "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"? I have to say it looks really good, and very much in the spirit of the books.

Thanks for that link, Kitty, my 10 year-old loved that. It looks pretty funny.

I need something to read. I'm waiting for The Forest of Hands and Teeth from the library. I think I'll go back through this list and see what I can find.

[MsJudy]

Well, I showed my boys the Wimpy Kid trailer and they gagged. Live action? Really? What's the point, then?

The books have no plot. They're just a bunch of dorky jokes strung together with hilarious cartoons. Seeing them as real people is just...pathetic.

We'll pass.

[Kitty Pryde]

Well, I showed my boys the Wimpy Kid trailer and they gagged. Live action? Really? What's the point, then?

The books have no plot. They're just a bunch of dorky jokes strung together with hilarious cartoons. Seeing them as real people is just...pathetic.

We'll pass.

Oh no! I dunno, the books are sort of 'slice of life' rather than having a thrilling plot, but I think it could work as a movie. I saw a french kids movie last month called "Le Petit Nicolas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_petit_Nicolas)", which is based on a 1950s kid book that is very much like "Wimpy Kid". A dorky boy and his weirdo friends try hilariously to survive at school, and any plot is minimal. But it's still an interesting movie. For me, I'm just worried that there will be smarmy precocious disney-style child acting which will ruin it.

[MsJudy]

For me, I'm just worried that there will be smarmy precocious disney-style child acting which will ruin it.

I'd guarantee it. Just looking at the way they cast what's-his-name, Rodney?, the sidekick. "Let's reduce his character to fat-kid jokes! Everybody knows fat kids are stupid! And funny!"

Maybe I'm just too cynical.

[timp67]

I'm reading The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey now, and ...

well ...

it is SO gruesome and graphic that I can't believe it is recommended for 14+.

Definitely not for the squeamish! :)

[MsJudy]

Just finished SAVVY by Ingrid Law. What a neat book! It's fun to have one that includes so much fantasy and magic, without being about any kind of battle, except the internal one/self-control. Very heartfelt.

[Cassidy]

I loved Savvy...

[Kitty Pryde]

I recently picked up "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan as a gift for a kid in Germany--I wanted an interesting book that could match her age level (12) and her English level (she's only been studying it for a few years). She loves fantasy and fantasy art. "The Arrival" was perfect because it is for upper MG/lower YA, and it has NO WORDS! If you like weird imaginative fantasy stuff, the art is incredible. The story is about a man who immigrates to a weird fantasy place and has to adjust, though it's inspired by more mundane immigrants who came through Ellis Island and such. Anyways, great book, and great way to tell a profound story without using words.

[abctriplets]

Just read The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin. It was a fun, sweet, old-fashioned story. I had been thinking about trying to write a doll story, but I didn't know if the idea was totally dated. I suppose there is room for another one, if I can come up the right idea...

I recently read the 2nd book in the Doll People series (I think it is Meanest Doll in the World), and didn't enjoy it as much as the first. Haven't gotten around to the 3rd book, though.

[Ivan_B]

I'd guarantee it. Just looking at the way they cast what's-his-name, Rodney?, the sidekick. "Let's reduce his character to fat-kid jokes! Everybody knows fat kids are stupid! And funny!"

Maybe I'm just too cynical.

Do you know whether Jeff Kinney wrote the screenplay? Because that would make a massive difference. If he had next to nothing to do with the production of the film, I won't be going to see it. Personally, I really love the Wimpy Kid series: such a lot of fun and SO original! Let's just hope it's not all squandered by the film.

[MsJudy]

Do you know whether Jeff Kinney wrote the screenplay? Because that would make a massive difference. If he had next to nothing to do with the production of the film, I won't be going to see it. Personally, I really love the Wimpy Kid series: such a lot of fun and SO original! Let's just hope it's not all squandered by the film.

Good question, don't know the answer. But I'm not so sure it would make a difference. There's a droll quality to his books. The words are sort of plain, and then the cartoon takes it off into another territory. That sort of twist won't translate to live-action film, so the humor will either fall flat, or get translated into Disney sitcom silliness. Or they'll do a good job of creating humor that will work in live action, but it won't be the same story we loved in the book.

No matter how they approach it, they're going to have a hard time doing it well, in my opinion. Because it's a snarky, snide humor. Not sweet and innocent. The MC is really a despicable person, selfish and inconsiderate. He's the classic example of an unreliable first-person narrator. And how are they going to capture that?

[kellion92]

Savvy made me sad because it reminded me of certain aspects of my book on sub. I couldn't finish it because of the sound of my teeth gnashing.

I just read Steve Augarde's The Various, which was very lovely but a little slow to the develop the plot, much of which emerged in the last third or quarter. Then there was a plot reveal on the last two pages which sets up the rest of the trilogy but left me feeling peevish, since it's a twist I don't like. Still, I want to read the next book. I like the characters and the world he created.

Curiously, there were some very long (like 10 page) passages about things like how to lift heavy machinery that could have been done in two paragraphs. I thought his writing was very good and I don't mind long sections as a reader, but as a writer, I know that no one would let ME do that. Augarde is an accomplished and prolific illustrator but a first-time novelist with The Various.

[Thermocline]

I just finished The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart. It was a fun follow up to the first in this series. Not as many different puzzles to solve this time around but still a good amount of action and danger. I'm hoping the third one is still a fresh read.

[Kitty Pryde]

Just read "Agnes Parker...Happy Camper?" by Kathleen odell. It's the sequel to another book I haven't read. I just really wanted to read a summer camp story. I enjoyed it a lot. Great characters (with weird names! How the heck do you pronounce the first name Prejean? I really don't know!). And some low key high drama summer camp antics. There were some troubling racist remarks that went uncriticized early in the book, which I felt weird about. But all was redeemed near the end when the kid characters point out that they were very uncomfortable with hearing/making those remarks, and then the parents point out that they were nasty things to say.

The one thing I didn't love was that it was a lower (but not lowest) MG novel written in present tense. The combination of short simple sentences with present tense made the writing feel more simple and babyish than the plot seemed to call for. I like writing for that age level, but after reading this I will be very reluctant to try present tense.

Anyone know any other good summer camp books (not Percy Jackson plz)?

[timp67]

I got used to the grossness in The Monstrumologist, and ended up really enjoying it. Good and scary ... and gross. :)

[Kitty Pryde]

I'm in the middle of "In Ned's Head" by Soren Olsson and Anders Jacobsson. It's translated from Swedish, the first book in a series that is supposedly the best-selling books in Sweden EVER. I think there's some kind of large cultural differences, because there's a lot of strange stuff going on. MC is 12, and the book is very similar in tone to Wimpy Kid, but he's simultaneously as immature and clueless as a 1st grader and way interested in girls. Sometimes he has a Calvin-like ridiculous imagination, and other times he's obsessing over staring at boobs.

MC and his friend feed the friend's little sister a "Werewolf Potion" that includes liquid detergent as one ingredient, and then lock her in the closet...Call me a prudish old boring grownup, but that seems like a dangerous recipe to include in a book. Later, MC reveals that every day after PE, the boys peek into the girls' locker room and then scream "Tiny-tits!" at the girls. Is it just me, or would that stuff not really fly in a kid's book originally published in English? The original book came out in the 80s, that might be it too, and the English version came out in 2001.

[kellion92]

Has anyone read The Phantom Isles by Stephen Alter? I'm having trouble getting into it. He's an adult writer who branched into kid lit for this book, and I feel like he's missing the mark on authenticity. For example, the action of the book is set into motion when three 11-year-olds (OK, one is 12) break into a library at night to read an incantation from an old book. It's hard to buy that set up.

[kellion92]

Huh, Kitty, that doesn't sound like it's for me. By the way, I did try Captain Blue Bear on your recommendation, but it didn't grab me -- a lot of wackiness but not much plot. I commend you for your commitment to children's world literature!

[adktd2bks]

I started reading the Graveyard Book, but had a lot of trouble getting into it once the ghosts arrived. I abandoned it and started Percy Jackson #2. GYB was a library book, don't know if I'll ever try it again.

[MsJudy]

Just finished YOUNG SAMURAI: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR by Chris Bradford. Very well-written adventure. He does an nice job of starting out with lots of breath-taking action, gets you hooked, then settles in and develops character and culture. So in the end it feels emotionally satisfying, without dropping the pacing or letting the action take over the characters. The final battles are as much about the confrontation between two characters--the psychological victory--as about the physical fighting.

Definitely one I'm recommending to my boys.

p.s. it's published by HyperionTeens, which makes it sound YA, but it's really not. Nothing in it that's inappropriate for MG. I'd say ages 8 and up.

[jilly61]

I've been trying to get my head round rhythm and rhyme. I've been concentrating on books by Julia Donaldson. So far I've read The Gruffalo, Gruffalo's Child, Rosie's hat and Room on the Broom.
They're good examples of how to rhyme without it being forced and they have a story to tell.

[Amarie]

Just finished YOUNG SAMURAI: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR by Chris Bradford. Very well-written adventure. He does an nice job of starting out with lots of breath-taking action, gets you hooked, then settles in and develops character and culture. So in the end it feels emotionally satisfying, without dropping the pacing or letting the action take over the characters. The final battles are as much about the confrontation between two characters--the psychological victory--as about the physical fighting.

Definitely one I'm recommending to my boys.


My son devoured this book! I think if he had a top ten list last year, this would have been on it.

[C.J. Rockwell]

Just finished YOUNG SAMURAI: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR by Chris Bradford. Very well-written adventure. He does an nice job of starting out with lots of breath-taking action, gets you hooked, then settles in and develops character and culture. So in the end it feels emotionally satisfying, without dropping the pacing or letting the action take over the characters. The final battles are as much about the confrontation between two characters--the psychological victory--as about the physical fighting.

Definitely one I'm recommending to my boys.

p.s. it's published by HyperionTeens, which makes it sound YA, but it's really not. Nothing in it that's inappropriate for MG. I'd say ages 8 and up.

So why HyperionTeens?

Is it one of those crossover books? Or was it some odd fluke? It sounds like a good read, regardless of who it's for, I'll have to make a note of it.

Anyway, I'm still trying to decide what I'm reading next.


As part of my new writer's plan for 2010, I want to read at least 1-3 books a month minimum.

I read a few stories in a short story collection I bought a couple weeks ago. They were quite good.

I plan on getting The Postmistress next month (Adult title), I've head a lot about it lately, and it seems right up my alley. Normally, I'm too much of a chicken to read fiction about or involving war, but I do like reading historical fiction at times, and this seems too interesting to pass up.

Plus, from a aesthetics perspective, the cover demands I at least check it out. I also in part blame/thank The Guesrney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for giving my backbone newfound strength in this area.

Right now, I'm starting The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt. After finishing The Thirteenth Tale, I need another sprawling epic. While I loved The Thirteenth Tale for it's richness and well-drawn characters, I hope The Children's Book is a little less dark in some respects.

In the kids arena, I plan on finishing The Wainscot Weasel by Tor Seidler.

I'm also getting through The Curse of the Romany Wolves, the sequel to a book I loved called The Daring Adventures of Penhaligon Brush.

[kellion92]

CJ, I've got the Children's Book in my TBR pile. I'm saving it for when I can really pay attention!

Didn't love The Thirteenth Tale as much as I wanted to...

Right now I'm reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Fantastic.

[C.J. Rockwell]

CJ, I've got the Children's Book in my TBR pile. I'm saving it for when I can really pay attention!

It's a long one, but from what I've read so far, it seems good.

Didn't love The Thirteenth Tale as much as I wanted to...


I almost felt the same, but for me the ending saved it from being way too dark for my liking. But you must admit it was well written if nothing else.

I will say this though, this book really makes me feel guilty for not beign able to get into Dickens or Austen. I've really tried in the past to embrace these authors, but they're just so hard to read. Many have complained my children's stories are too complex, try reading Great Expectations sometime. I know it's not a kids book, but it's harder than anything I can achieve currently.

Besides, I've heard of many writers who've read Jane Austen novels at 14 or younger, and I don't think I'm a particularly weak reader, so what's the deal?

Right now I'm reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Fantastic.

How is it so far? She's one of the writers whom I'm always terrified of reading as she usually dabbles in subject matter that I'm too chicken to face on the page, never mind in real life. Is it really scary? Scary as in touching some severe emotional sore spots.

[Kitty Pryde]

I just read "The Savage" by David Almond and Dave McKean. Sooooo good! I highly recommend it. It's written half as a (short) novel and half as a comic book. Great art and a great story, about a kid who starts writing a story about a savage boy that becomes more and more real. It's short and quite gritty for an easy MG novel, so I think it would be great for the fabled Reluctant Boy Reader.

[sissybaby]

Has anyone read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate? Just picked it up at the library, and came highly recommended, but hadn't heard of it. Still haven't finished my current read, but got this and The Thirteenth Princess.

Sissy

[C.J. Rockwell]

Has anyone read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate? Just picked it up at the library, and came highly recommended, but hadn't heard of it. Still haven't finished my current read, but got this and The Thirteenth Princess.

Sissy

I haven't read it yet, but I've heard about it for awhile now, and I've heard good things about it over the grapevine.

It's on my list for books to read in March.

[CarlP]

I started reading the Graveyard Book, but had a lot of trouble getting into it once the ghosts arrived. I abandoned it and started Percy Jackson #2. GYB was a library book, don't know if I'll ever try it again.


GYB is good, though it does drag after the opening scene. It starts to pick up again after about page 80, if I remember correctly. Kind of episodic, but beautifully written. It wasn't one of my favorites, but I hate to see someone give up on it.

[CarlP]

I'm trying Dan Gutman again, Getting Air.

I am just getting over Post Traumatic Homework Machine Syndrome.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I just finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox. It certainly is different than any other YA I've read. My only gripe was that the "mystery" seemed pretty apparent by page 44, and there were over 200 pages left in the book. Satisfying read nonetheless.

I have The Graveyard Book and The Underneath sitting on the nightstand. Not sure which I'll read next, but I first need to finish the Edwidge Danticat novel (adult) I've been enjoying.

[sissybaby]

Just this minute finished THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly. This is a beautifully written story, and that surprises me because it took me a while to really get into it. So glad I finished it.

[SheilaJG]

I just finished The Seven Keys of Balabad by Paul Haven. It takes place in the made up country of Balabad, which, according to the author is a bit of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The story is based on the finding of a treasure, called the Hoard of Bactria, in Afghanistan in 1978, which is a great story in itself.

[C.J. Rockwell]

I forgot to mention this in my last update.

I recently read this really neat picture book called " Meerkat Mail" by Emily Gravett.

It's told through letters and cool pop out pages and effects.

I loved the art, and the interesting Easter egg that pops up on a lot of the pages.

The letters themselves are the most impressive as they perfectly capture a kid's mindset well, while at the same time not sounding patronizing. Not an easy combo to pull off in this (Sometimes seemingly impossible) short format.

I enjoyed it a lot. I highly recommend it to any curious reader who like animals, and might be a budding writer in their own right.

My only warning is that because some parts of the book pop out, or you need to pull a tab to get at some of the letters, I wouldn't give it to kids who aren't reasonably gentle with books.

Until my next update,

C.J.

[kellion92]

Hi Sissy! I just started Calpurnia Tate this morning. I've been "saving" it. I've been surprised already with the voice -- it's very sophisticated and dense. I think I'll like it, but it's a bit depressing because I just cut 7,000 words from my WIP. I'm sure my book is better off, but this is the case of me trying to do a better job of following rules while reading a book that doesn't follow them.

[C.J. Rockwell]

Hi Sissy! I just started Calpurnia Tate this morning. I've been "saving" it. I've been surprised already with the voice -- it's very sophisticated and dense. I think I'll like it, but it's a bit depressing because I just cut 7,000 words from my WIP. I'm sure my book is better off, but this is the case of me trying to do a better job of following rules while reading a book that doesn't follow them.

I hear you, K92.

This continues to prove my point that in many ways, we writers can be each other's worse critics, I seriously think we're harsher with ourselves than readers ever are. If we can ever get to the point of having them in the first place!

As for agents and editors, they're in their own world, and each live by their own rules. I will say this though. If I have to hear one more time, "What you've done here is a serious pet peeve to editors and/or agents" as it pertains to my work, I will lose it...

I'm doing my best, whether some around these forums believe me or not.

I may not be the most evangelical listener zen master of patience on Earth, but God help me I do listen.

(Slaps himself)

Okay, I'm back, but I meant what I said.

[kellion92]

CJ, I heard from my rejecting editors that I had a pacing problem. I hope I stepped it up.

I hope I can enjoy reading the book without lamenting that I cannot do the same. I think I'm going to put it aside and go to A.S. Byatt's The Children's
Book to immerse myself in some densely woven prose without any regrets or comparisons whatsoever.

[charlotte49ers]

The fifth Percy Jackson came in the mail today, so I'm reading it.

[Gretad08]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but I just read Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I felt compelled to add to this thread b/c I haven't read any kidlit in years but all my old kiddie books are in my daughter's room. She's not even two yet, but she was bringing them all to me the other day so I picked up the first one and ended up finishing it within the day.

For anyone who hasn't read it, it's about an indian girl who gets left behind on her island when the tribe moves to avoid violent hunters that have been coming to the area. Really enjoyable read. I've always loved stories that have a survival aspect to them. Hatchet was one of my favorites as a kid. I also loved the Boxcar Children b/c they figure out how to make it without their parents.

[MsJudy]

Just started ELEVEN by Patricia Reilly Giff.

Sigh. Now I'm depressed. Talk about Show vs. Tell... I'm just not that good yet. I want to be able to do that! She uses so few words, and builds up a complete world so quickly. Really lovely.

[C.J. Rockwell]

I feel your pain, JSK. But we all have our innate strengths and weaknesses.

You know how to really embody a young child's sensibility very well.

I have a crazy (In a good way) imagination.

I will say this though. By working at my writing a little bit every day, I've been able to really improve and sharpen my skills.

Ever since I joined my first official critique group, we've been helping each grow the last couple of months.

We'll get there, JSK, only when we give up are we truly beaten. I've certainly come too far to just stop. I'm much too stubborn for that.

[CharleyGirl]

Just finished Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli and I LOVED it! I'd like to read a couple more by him--any suggestions?

[sissybaby]

Just finished The Thirteenth Princess, which is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Now I'm reading To Come and Go Like Magic by Katie Pickard Fawcett. I'm noticing a lot of the newer MG books are sort of a day by day accounting of every day life. I'm hoping to see more of these.

Also reading Candle Man, which is totally different!

[MsJudy]

Just finished Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli and I LOVED it! I'd like to read a couple more by him--any suggestions?

I like LOSER a lot. I haven't read STARGIRL or its sequel, but they were popular at the Jr. High last year.

[CharleyGirl]

I like LOSER a lot. I haven't read STARGIRL or its sequel, but they were popular at the Jr. High last year.

Thanks! I'll check those out.

[Smish]

Just finished Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli and I LOVED it! I'd like to read a couple more by him--any suggestions?

ALL his books are excellent. And so different from one to the next. Read Wringer. It is sooooooo good. Then Crash. Then Loser. Then Smiles to Go. Then Eggs. Then Stargirl and Love, Stargirl. :D

Um, yeah. I'm a HUGE Spinelli fan.

[Kitty Pryde]

I started reading "Tentacles" by Roland Smith, because it's about giant squid. It's the sequel to some other book which is not about giant squid. It's a pretty fun animal-themed adventure, with lots of educational type material in it. The only thing I don't like about it is that some of the dialogue is very awkward infodump, so awkward I'm surprised that the editor let it through. Anyways, it's pretty exciting, I'm just waiting for the giant squid to turn up!

[CharleyGirl]

ALL his books are excellent. And so different from one to the next. Read Wringer. It is sooooooo good. Then Crash. Then Loser. Then Smiles to Go. Then Eggs. Then Stargirl and Love, Stargirl. :D

Um, yeah. I'm a HUGE Spinelli fan.

Thanks Smish--I guess my reading list is set for awhile!

[Kitty Pryde]

Anybody read "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead? It just won the Newbery. My mom asked me to read it because she read it and she didn't understand it. She reads two novels a week, but not usually SF and not usually kidlit. I requested it at the library. Is it any good? Is it hard to figure out? I told her maybe she didn't get it because it wasn't written simply enough for an adult to understand :)

[PrairieTide]

This is my first post to AW!

I just finished "When You Reach Me." I thought it was terrific. It is basically about a girl in sixth grade growing up in New York City. It is interesting for a sci-fi book, because it is mostly about life in 1970's New York. The sci-fi/time-travel element important to the plot, but it's more about being 12 years old. I thought the MC, Miranda, was very compelling.

I also just finished the Thirteen Dancing Princesses. Fun and lightweight, imo.

Laurie

[timp67]

I'm reading When You Reach Me now and loving it.
I recently read The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood and thought it was terrific. Very funny and a little creepy. And Tales of Terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley. Very scary and funny. Also The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. A terrific adventure! :)

[ILove2Write]

I recently read The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood and thought it was terrific. Very funny and a little creepy.

I just started reading that one too.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I started The Graveyard Book, got about 1/3 way into it but then lost interest. It's okay, but so far doesn't nearly equal all the hype I heard. I set it aside and picked up The Underneath. Wow! Now that's a beautiful book. The voice is incredible and the structure (very short chapters) is unique to MG. It's like each chapter is a little song strung together to create a whole symphony.

But I admit, it's awfully quiet. I wonder how it's done in sales. Even winning a Newberry Honor and being a finalist for a National Book Award, it still might not appeal to the average kid. There are no kid characters in the book (only talking animals), and the language is so poetic and lyrical it might even be too sophisticated for the average preteen. But doggone! Kathi Appelt can write.

[C.J. Rockwell]

...Watch what you say Hedge.:);) Careful not to think in stereotypes. Not all girls like horse books, not all boys like excessive gross-out humor, and believe me, there are more fans of these types of stories than you think.

I bought The Underneath awhile back. I haven't finished it yet, but it certainly is well written.

Maybe it didn't sell as much as say, Percy Jackson or The Mysterious Benedict Society, but sales don't always dictate a good book, you know. Important as they are.

I also wouldn't worry about it being too sophisticated. There are kids under 13 out there reading Austen and Dickens for heaven's sake. Sure, not every kid in that range reads at that level, but trust me, they're out there, and I've seen them when I go book shopping.

I can tell you honestly though, I'd have no trouble reading The Underneath at eight or nine, unlike when I tried to read Pride and Prejudice at nine and was stymied on page one.


Besides, as someone who writes these kinds of stories (Minus the poetic part) this is encouraging to hear. Despite the high demand for Fantasy fiction it seems the only way to get your foot in the door now is to be as true to life as, well life.

I certainly come to these stories more naturally than say, a girl's misadventures at summer camp, set in the real world anyway.


That said, maybe having When you Reach Me with its sci-fi elements, winning the Newbury and all, will help give weary agents and editors an open mind.

I'll tell you, though, I often feel I'm "competing" more with Sarah Dessen, Andrew Clements, and Megan McDonald than anything else. Most of their books are realistic stories set in the real world, sell well, and kids and teens love them.

Don't get me wrong, I love reading their books too, but again, there are books we love reading that we're not the best at writing ourselves. Doesn't (Always) mean we can't, it's just not our best thing. I'm sure one day I'll have a nice contemporary story I'll actually get right, I don't seeing happening in the immediate future, though.

Since we're supposed to only send our best work out there, I need to find agents who haven't sold their souls completely to realism, if you get my meaning.

[Hedgetrimmer]

...Watch what you say Hedge.:);) Careful not to think in stereotypes. Not all girls like horse books, not all boys like excessive gross-out humor, and believe me, there are more fans of these types of stories than you think.

I bought The Underneath awhile back. I haven't finished it yet, but it certainly is well written.

Maybe it didn't sell as much as say, Percy Jackson or The Mysterious Benedict Society, but sales don't always dictate a good book, you know. Important as they are.

Ummmmm, I don't think anything in my post suggested it wasn't a good book. Just the opposite. It's a great book. Note that I chose to continue reading it when another book (Graveyard), which was awarded the Newberry and has received much more hype, didn't appeal to me as much.

Hopefully kids will appreciate it as much as adults, but I'm simply wondering whether this kind of story will prove as commercial as fantasy or humor or something contemporary that kids can actually see themselves in.

Don't get all bent out of shape. My post wasn't meant to cast aspersions onto anthropomorphic stories. I know how dear Gabriel is to your heart. But relax. It's nothing personal.

[C.J. Rockwell]

I know Hedge, I wasn't trying to shoot you down.

I wasn't even mad, just trying to be a bit comical.

I meant what I said, but not in rage.

Guess I failed.

I'm learning.

Ummmmm, I don't think anything in my post suggested it wasn't a good book. Just the opposite. It's a great book. Note that I chose to continue reading it when another book (Graveyard), which was awarded the Newberry and has received much more hype, didn't appeal to me as much.

I did notice, and I'm so glad!

Not that I'm against Neil Gaiman, or anyone really.

Besides, it's no different than the awkwardness I feel towards Twilight, not hatred, just awkwardness.

[sissybaby]

I didn't know The Graveyard Book won the Newbery. How interesting.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I didn't know The Graveyard Book won the Newbery. How interesting.

Yep, 2009. The Underneath was an honor book the same year. I checked the comments section on Amazon, and although this isn't a true indication of sales, it does give an idea of popularity. Graveyard -- 317, Underneath -- 50.

I'll eventually go back and finish Graveyard, just because it did win the award and I'm hoping the book gets much better. But Underneath has my attention for the moment. Appelt's prose grabbed me from the very first sentence and hasn't let up not once. Highly recommend this book.

[C.J. Rockwell]

I'm so glad I shelled out a little extra to get an autographed copy of The Underneath. I can't wait to finish it.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Oh, and just as a forewarning for anyone who may consider reading it. The book is plenty sad so far. Spoiler on: There's even a scene in which a man stuffs a cat and her kitten in a sack and throws it in the river. Mama doesn't make it. I was shocked to see something like this in MG.

Spoiler off: Despite the book being so gut wrenching at times, the writer in me is able to recognize Appelt's deft use of foreshadowing, symbolism and metaphor, which lets me know the end will be emotionally uplifting. But I wonder if young kids can endure so much sorrow until they reach the joy.

[SheilaJG]

Spoiler off: Despite the book being so gut wrenching at times, the writer in me is able to recognize Appelt's deft use of foreshadowing, symbolism and metaphor, which lets me know the end will be emotionally uplifting. But I wonder if young kids can endure so much sorrow until they reach the joy.

That's funny you mention that. I wasn't much of a reader growing up because all the books I was asked to read were so sad - Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Sounder, etc. I remember thinking that people only thought books were good if they were really sad.

But I like those books now. And I loved the Underneath.

[Hedgetrimmer]

That's funny you mention that. I wasn't much of a reader growing up because all the books I was asked to read were so sad - Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Sounder, etc. I remember thinking that people only thought books were good if they were really sad.

But I like those books now. And I loved the Underneath.

I can't wait to finish. The language is just so delicious. I'm at the part where Puck just got rid of his hiccups. Hopefully what happened to his mom is as bad as it gets. I don't know if I can take much more of that. :cry:

[abctriplets]

I set it aside and picked up The Underneath. Wow! Now that's a beautiful book. The voice is incredible and the structure (very short chapters) is unique to MG. It's like each chapter is a little song strung together to create a whole symphony.

I don't know anything about this book, but your description reminded me of when I read the Arthur trilogy - each book had around 100 chapters, a little vignette of the character/scene that allowed time to pass quickly.

I just finished reading the Skeleton Man. Reminded me of Coraline.

[SheilaJG]

I can't wait to finish. The language is just so delicious. I'm at the part where Puck just got rid of his hiccups. Hopefully what happened to his mom is as bad as it gets. I don't know if I can take much more of that. :cry:

I know! I read a review that said when the author got rid of a major character early on, that made her feel like anyone could get it after that. Nobody was safe. I felt the same way, and it really upped the stakes for me. I flew through the book, hoping that nobody else would die. Except for Gar Face - what a fantastic name!

I think I'm going to have to read it again.

[SheilaJG]

Just finished The Shifter by Janice Hardy (Danitha here on AW), and I really enjoyed it. Great world-building and a fascinating "power" that the main character has, the ability to shift pain from one person to another. She created a MC that has you rooting for her from the get-go. Lots of action, but a lot of introspection, too. Great balance. And a larger story-arc that has me wishing book 2 was out.

Next up, I think, will be Zaharah the Windseeker, which I saw mentioned here. And I have Monstrumologist waiting at the library. After what Timp67 said, I just wanted to see if I could take it (the gore). But after seeing the book trailer, I'm not so sure I can.

What do you guys think of book trailers? Seen any good ones?

[Amarie]

What do you guys think of book trailers? Seen any good ones?

Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong is on my to-read list. Here's the trailer:

http://vimeo.com/5192891

[Hedgetrimmer]

Next up, I think, will be Zaharah the Windseeker, which I saw mentioned here. And I have Monstrumologist waiting at the library. After what Timp67 said, I just wanted to see if I could take it (the gore). But after seeing the book trailer, I'm not so sure I can.

What do you guys think of book trailers? Seen any good ones?

Sheila, I have Monstrumologist on my list as well. I would love to check out the trailer. Can you post a link or tell me where to find it?

[CarlP]

I finished The Big Splash, by Jack Ferraiolo over the weekend and I'm about done with Mudville, by Kurtis Scaletta. The Big Splash is set in a middle school and done in a "faux noir" style. Very funny. Mudville is a middle-grade baseball story with a touch of magical realism. It has a nostalgic feel.

[SheilaJG]

I remembered seeing a whole bunch of book trailers, and it being one. But then I couldn't remember where it was, so I just googled Monstrumologist trailer and hit the first link. I think it's the facebook one.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Thanks, Sheila. I'll see if I can find it.

[CarlP]

Okay. Shameless plug.

You can find the Monstrumologist trailer on my blog site along with many other neat book trailers.

www.boylit.com

[SheilaJG]

That's where I saw it! Thanks, CarlP

[CarlP]

That's where I saw it! Thanks, CarlP


Oh, good! And, you're welcome. Now I don't feel quite as shameless. :D

[SheilaJG]

Oh, and I meant to say that I really enjoyed your blog. As a mom to three boys, I'm constantly on the lookout for books that will hook them. I love your collection of trailers!

[Kitty Pryde]

I started "The Sisters Grimm", the first book in the series, because some folks recommended it on this thread. But I have to say that I am not too crazy about it. As a mystery, it doesn't satisfy because there's really no way for the reader to play along at home, looking at clues and guessing. As a fairy tale it doesn't work for me, because none of the characters are very intriguing in the way fairy tale characters usually are. And as fantasy, I'm not that into it because I'm not feeling a sense of wonder. I guess I'm not seeing the appeal. I do like the MC and her role as extreme skeptic and fierce protector of her sister, but she just doesn't seem to be doing anything, just complaining and following her grandma around.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Okay. Shameless plug.

You can find the Monstrumologist trailer on my blog site along with many other neat book trailers.

www.boylit.com (http://www.boylit.com)

Thanks for the link. I didn't have much time to browse your blog, as I'm trying to finish up at work, but the focus and little content I did scan looks really good. I'll definitely check it out more thoroughly when I have time.

[Kitty Pryde]

Gave up on The Sister's Grimm. Started "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart. I LOVE it! It's a bit long-winded, but so great. Great mysteries and puzzle solving. I think I could TOTALLY join the Mysterious Benedict Society. I passed the quiz in the back of the book, and I'm quite short and often mistaken for being much younger than I am. Where do I sign up?

I also started "When You Reach Me". Loving it so far. I think I prefer the quiet adventure with bookish protag over the crazy epic quest with loud sassy protag. And lines like this I LOVE LOVE LOVE:

"Nice tights," I snorted. Or I tried to snort, anyway. I'm not exactly sure how, though people in books are always doing it.

[Kitty Pryde]

Finished reading "When You Reach Me". WOW! Great book. I think it's a really good example of writing your own story rather than something you think is trendy. Because quiet MG literary science fiction about nerdy girls is definitely not trendy. I also thought the choice of MC/narrator was genius. She's not the natural choice of MC, but the story would have really sucked written in someone else's POV. I figured out the mystery a long time before the MC did, but it was still brilliant. If I read this as a kid, I wouldn't have figured it out until it was revealed. And then I would have been really excited.

[CarlP]

I just read the River, the sequel to Gary Paulsen's book, Hatchet. I was disappointed. Has anyone read the rest of the books in the series? Are they any good?

[Hedgetrimmer]

Finished reading "When You Reach Me". WOW! Great book. I think it's a really good example of writing your own story rather than something you think is trendy. Because quiet MG literary science fiction about nerdy girls is definitely not trendy. I also thought the choice of MC/narrator was genius. She's not the natural choice of MC, but the story would have really sucked written in someone else's POV. I figured out the mystery a long time before the MC did, but it was still brilliant. If I read this as a kid, I wouldn't have figured it out until it was revealed. And then I would have been really excited.

Kitty, I've had this on my list and can't wait to read it. I'm wondering, though, what in your opinion makes it classified as YA rather than MG? The main character is only 12, and the description doesn't sound too heavy.

[Kitty Pryde]

Kitty, I've had this on my list and can't wait to read it. I'm wondering, though, what in your opinion makes it classified as YA rather than MG? The main character is only 12, and the description doesn't sound too heavy.

It's YA? Oh! I missed that. I totally do think it's MG, actually. It's heavily influenced by A Wrinkle In Time, and talks a lot about that book, which is a MG book. All the characters are 12 like you said. Amazon calls it "teen" and "grade 5-8". RenLearn puts it at grade level 4.5, but I think that's based strictly on word count/word length stats. Hmm, there's some innocent kissing, and some scary stuff, but nothing worse than plenty of other serious MG novels. The writing level is quite low, and the MC is smart but not really savvy like a YA protag would be. I can't see it really appealing to anyone older than 14. Maybe it's YA because the plot is complicated? I won't say anything to spoil it, but the central mystery has a very complicated solution. Like A Wrinkle In Time, it's a smart kid book.

[timp67]

I didn't know it was a YA book! But the kids seem a lot smarter than your average 12 year old. And there's kissing in it, which I didn't think was very 12-year-oldish either.
I ended up loving The Monstrumologist, btw. I got over the gore! :)

[Hedgetrimmer]

Yeah, I just checked Amazon.com to make sure I wasn't going crazy, and it has young adult under reading level. Maybe it's simply a misprint.

ETA: I read the Library Journal review, and they have it listed as grades 5-8. I'm thinking it was probably just a mistake on Amazon's part.

[SheilaJG]

I didn't know it was a YA book! But the kids seem a lot smarter than your average 12 year old. And there's kissing in it, which I didn't think was very 12-year-oldish either.
I ended up loving The Monstrumologist, btw. I got over the gore! :)

I just finished The Monstrumologist, after seeing it mentioned here, and really liked it. The story was riveting, and the characters were really interesting. I especially liked the monster hunter, who is very evil, but also kinda funny.

I've started yelling at my kids to "step to!"

[timp67]

I recently finished Tales of Terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley. Very Goth and creepy! I totally recommend it. :)

[CarlP]

I just finished The Big Splash, a faux-noir MG detective novel by Jack Ferraiolo, and The Maze Runner, a dystopian YA novel by James Dashner. I enjoyed both of them very much.

[Shelbs]

I just finished Atherton: the House of Power, by Patrick Carman - this dystopian MG series. It had some really awesome world-building, and since the MC is always rock-climbing around Atherton, I felt like climbing things too!

Now, I'm reading Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull. I kinda dragged my feet starting this series, even though I heard GREAT things, but I wanted to wait until the last book came out, which just happened last week actually. (I bit my nails for Percy Jackson for a whole year until The Last Olympian came out.) So far, it's TONS of fun. I love the back and forth between the bro and sis, but I wish the sis was less wimpy.

[Kitty Pryde]

Started a book called "The Giant Slayer" by Iain Lawrence. Loving it so far. I picked it up because it has a beautiful fantasy cover. But it's actually about a kid in the fifties, coming to see her friends in iron lungs in the polio ward of the hospital, and telling them a fantasy story. The 1950s setting is very well realized. I'm enjoying the real life part of the story more than the fantasy story. But it's fun because the polio kids keep interrupting the story to complain about it and make the girl change it. I think there is going to be some kind of tragic twist coming up, and I can't wait.

Last night I read "Loser" by Jerry Spinelli. Good lord that man can write a great book! It was a really sweet story basically showing how the kid that everyone else thinks of as a loser is a regular kid. It did so without being sappy or preachy. And the scene with the kid who collected all his earwax to make a candle was hysterically funny.

-Sarah, collecting her earwax to give to a friend

[Kitty Pryde]

In related news: Louise Fitzhugh must be rolling in her grave. I am currently watching a movie called "Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars". Harriet is 16 years old (WTF?) and she is trying to become the 'official class blogger' (Double WTF??) I can only guess she will inadvertently post her secret spy notebook on her blog and the whole class will read it, but seriously, WTF??? Currently she is trying to persuade Nanny that she shouldn't call her Nanny anymore. WTF????