Forget Me Not by Coleen Murtagh Paratore - ADVISABLE

Forget Me Not. by Coleen Paratore, 194 pages. Scholastic Press, 2009.

Content: G

EL, MS - ADVISABLE

Willa has a great life. Her boyfriend, JFK and her were voted most compatible couple at Bramble Academy, she has a great step-father, and now she gets to plan her Aunt Ruthie’s wedding! Thing take a turn for the worst, however, when Willa and her boyfriend seem to be drifting apart. With baseball season starting and new girls to draw his interest away, Willa seems to be taking a backseat! Even her friends are starting to hang out with other people who are intolerable. When Aunt Ruthie turns out to be Bridezilla, Willa has to use all of her determination to keep herself from going crazy. When a dog appears in her life, however, things start to look up when a mysterious boy starts appearing out of nowhere and making JFK jealous. Who is the mysterious boy? Who does the dog belong to? Does JFK still like her?

Filled with humor and observations that are true to teenage life, this book is a great addition to any library. Girls will enjoy the unique perspective and mishaps Willa has to face. They may also enjoy the prequels to this series (Wedding Planner's Daughter, The Cupid Chronicles, and Willa at Heart)

Reviewer:Kira-Youth Services Librarian-HUN Public Library.

Galileo’s Leaning Tower Experiment by Wendy MacDonald and Paolo Rui - ADVISABLE

Galileo’s Leaning Tower Experiment by Wendy McDonald, illustrated by Paolo Rui. PICTURE BOOK. Charlesbridge, 2009. $8 

EL, MS – ADVISABLE

A young boy who is dropping his uncle’s lunch to him from a bridge, catches Galileo’s attention and leads the two to experiment. Based on a legend (never documented) of Galileo throwing things from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in order to disprove Aristotle’s teachings about falling objects.

Share this one with your science teachers, but be careful – if you read this one to your students, they will probably start dropping all manner of things from all manner of heights!

Cindy, Library-Teacher.

Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela by Bill Keller - ADVISABLE

Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela  by Bill Keller, 128 p. NON-FICTION. Kingfisher, 2008.

MS – ADVISABLE

Black and white and full-color photos and ever-changing colored watermarks highlight the life of Nelson Mandela in this visually stunning work of non-fiction. The basic biography lasts only 90 pages, but several articles from the New York Times, many of them by the book’s author, add some important source material to the book. Student’s looking for a Mandela biography will enjoy this one.

Cindy, Library-Teacher

City of Time by Eoin McNamee - OPTIONAL

McNamee, Eoin City of Time, 336 p. Wendy Lamb Books, 2008

Language: G; Sexual Content: G; Violence: PG.

MS - OPTIONAL

Owen and his friends, Cati and the Professor, make an astonishing journey to Hadima, a desperate move in order to save their planet from totally being destroyed from lack of time. On this journey Owen begins to understand his great responsibility as the Navigator.

This was an OK book. It had a very interesting storyline, and interesting characters, but the book just wasn't that fun to read. It held out scenes and jumped through others so fast, it didn't flow smoothly, which made it difficult to read.

Student Reviewer: KH

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan - ADVISABLE

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan, 96 pages. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008

Language – PG; Sexual Content – G; Violence – G

EL, MS - ADVISABLE

This collection of 15 short stories – some very short, only a paragraph or two long – are combined with illustrations that relate stories about events and characters in a most unusual suburb. There is a water buffalo that offers directions, stick figures whose presence confuses the other residents, an amnesia machine, and a missile in every back yard. Brothers travel to the end of the map; a family takes in a foreign exchange student; grandpa relates the events of his wedding day.

From curious to thought-provoking, these stories offer interesting reads. Useful to discuss relationship between text and images, or to practice predictions.

Reviewer: P.K. Foster, MS teacher-librarian.

Here’s How I see It; Here’s How It Is by Heather Henson - OPTIONAL

Here’s How I see It; Here’s How It Is by Heather Henson, 264 pages. Atheneum (Simon), 2009. $17

EL, MS – OPTIONAL

Something is wrong with 12yo Junebug’s summer – her mom has moved across the property and Dad is running their summer stock theater by himself. To add insult to injury, a gorgeous actress from New York seems to be taking up her dad’s attention and a strange young man, who June nicknames Thespis, seems to want to take over her place in the company.

Turning 13 is hard enough without all of this other turmoil. Each short chapter starts with Junebug’s observation on how she wishes the world would be and then goes on to explain what is really happening. I have a feeling that adults will be charmed by the format and characters – and I think most students will give it a pass.

Cindy, Library-Teacher

A Season of Eden by J. M. Warwick

Warwick, J.M. A Season of Eden 248pgs. Grove Creek Publishing

Language~PG-13; Sexual Content~PG-13 Violence~PG

HS–PUBLIC 

“He's my teacher. I shouldn't be alone with him. But I can't help that he's irresistible.” taken from ARC’s back cover. Eden is looking forward to her last semester in high school and takes Chorus for an easy ‘A.’ What she didn’t expect was a new teacher, Mr. Christian, who was not much older than her and h-o-t! Eden falls fast and hard and knows she shouldn’t but can’t resist. Living in a ‘palace,’as she calls her multi-million dollar home, life is not so good. Her father and step-mom have all but ignored her since they got married. She lost her mother to cancer and not 2 months later she had a new young step-mom. Now 10 years later her father’s marriage is on the rocks and Eden just wants to ignore the whole thing. Meanwhile at school it is obvious that Mr. Christian is in to her and they begin to meet at a Starbucks away from school. Will they ever be able to be together in public?

Warwick has given readers a semi-believable novel about what can happen when a young teacher let’s down his guard and a senior goes after what she wants. Surprisingly, I only counted 1 swear an ‘h.’ There is heavy petting and lots of passionate kissing, but no sex. The relationship of teacher/student is disturbing and the story is mediocre and since the senior is 18, legally they have done nothing wrong. I would save this for public libraries.

Allison Madsen~Teen Librarian-SJO Public Library

First Stop, New York by Tracey West and Katherine Knoll - NO

First Stop New York by Tracy West and Katherine Knoll, 144 pages. Grosset and Dunlap

EL, MS – NO 

There are no ratings for this book, because I couldn’t get past the first ten pages without being absolutely turned off by how poorly written this book is. I highly doubt there are any swears or even hints at sexual anything. I was insulted at the pedantic and relatively stupid dialog. The writing is so ‘lame’ no teen would stick with it beyond page 1. Needless to say, I didn’t read the book in its entirety. I skimmed it and seeing that it didn’t get any better, I tossed it. I wouldn’t waste my time or money on this series.

Allison Madsen~Teen Librarian-SJO Public Library

Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson by Deborah Hopkinson and Stephen Alcorn - ADVISABLE

Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole, by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Peachtree, 2009. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK.

EL, MS – ADVISABLE

This very dense picture book contains a wealth of information about Matthew Henson and his trip with Robert Peary to find the North Pole – first. Whether for Black History Month or for a unit on Scientists and Explorers. This is not a book that could be read in one day – instead using only parts of it would be best in a classroom situation.

Cindy, Library-Teacher.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull and Amy June Bates - ADVISABLE

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Amy June Bates. Simon, 2008. PICTURE BOOK.

EL – OPTIONAL, MS – ADVISABLE

The Hillary Clinton’s dreams are laid out as Ms. Krull looks at her life from just a little girl to the woman who almost became the candidate for president. Ms. Bates’ illustrations are a perfect companion for the succinct text, and together they make their point without preaching. This is as much a book about the change in the opportunities available to women as it is a look at Clinton’s life.

Cindy, Library-Teacher

Artful Reading by Bob Raczka - ESSENTIAL

Artful Reading by Bob Raczka. First Avenue (Lerner), 2007. $10. PICTURE BOOK.

EL, MS, HS – ESSENTIAL

Through 24 paintings and a simple rhyming text, Raczka unfolds the worlds and dimensions of reading. Old masters and modern classics are side by side, showing how easy it can by to collect art that relates to a theme. I adore Raczka and I want to share this book (now in paperback) with both my art teachers and my Language Arts teachers.

Cindy, Library-Teacher

A Certain Strain of Peculiar by Gigi Amateau - NO

Amateau, Gigi A Certain Strain of Peculiar, 261 p. Candlewick, 2009. $17

Sexual Content: R, Language: PG.

NO

Mary Harold Woods is only 13 years old, but she is fed up with life in her Virginia town, being ostracized and criticized by everyone in the whole school, and sick of her mother’s resistance to moving back to their hometown. So, she takes matters into her own hands and drives herself to Alabama. There she hopes to find herself, and maybe a friend and a place.

Mary Harold is okay and I mostly enjoyed her story, BUT – there is one scene that, were this a movie, would make this rated “R”, easily. It’s kind of similar in thought to Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, but much more descriptive. I wasn’t charmed enough to ignore that. And doesn't it bug you when the cover of a book, especially a characterization of the protagonist doesn't match the author's description?

Cindy, Library-Teacher.

March Toward the Thunder by Joseph Bruchac - ESSENTIAL

Bruchac, Joseph March Toward the Thunder, 298 p. Penguin, 2008

Language: PG; Sexual Content: G; Violence: PG-13

MS - ESSENTIAL

Louis Nolette is an Abenaki Indian from Canada. When he joins the army for the final years of the Civil War, he learns that war is never what you expect. He also discovers prejudice, acceptance, courage, and cowardice in the most surprising places.

I really liked this book. I've never really been into historical fiction, but this book was really interesting and kept me entertained to the very end. It was very well written and a good viewpoint into what war was like in those times.

Student Reviewer: KH

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman - OPTIONAL

Friedman, Aimee Sea Change, 304 p. Scholastic, June 2009. $17

Content – G (one sexual innuendo)

MS, HS – OPTIONAL

Miranda and her mother are headed off to Selkie Island for the summer to cloean up the family summer home and sell it off. Miranda has never been to Selkie, had never met her grandmother, and Mom hasn’t returned since high school. Miranda meets an intriguing local boy, but there are secrets hidden on Selkie Island and they aren’t all just family secrets.

The only thing I don’t like about this book is the cover – it looks hot, sexy and romantic, but the romance is probably the least of the parts of this story. Plus I can’t tell which is the girl and which is the boy (too much makeup!). This would be a better buy if it were coming out in paper.

Cindy, Library-Teacher.

Take the Reins by Jessica Burkehart - NO

Burkehart, Jessica Take the Reins, 249 p. Aladdin Mix

 Language R (says “G” way too many times), Sexual Content G, Violence G

MS – NO

Sasha Silver and her horse, Charm, have been accepted into the elite Canterwood Crest Academy. When they first arrive things start off disastrous! Canterwood is so big and spacious she is at first overwhelmed. On her first day she loses her horse, and causes trouble with her trainer and another girl in her grade. She makes an enemy on her first day. After she settles in, however, she begins school and makes some friends. She also meets this hot new guy named Jacob and makes some girls jealous.

This book was a pretty good book overall. I liked how it involved horse competition as well as normal everyday life. The only thing I did not like about it was how much it swore. It was hard to enjoy while trying to overlook all the swearing. Interest Level:

Student Reviewer: AR

Marvels in the Muck by Doug Wechsler - ADVISABLE

Marvels in the Muck: Life in the Salt Marshes by Doug Wechsler. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Boyds Mill Press, 2008. $17.95. 

EL, MS - ADVISABLE

Explore the flora and fauna of the salt marshes in this non-fiction title. Beautiful photographs on each page accompany detailed in formation on life cycles, food webs, and the interdependence of the species of the marsh. A classroom teacher could pick out certain pictures and pages to share with their students, but also any student doing biome research will find exactly what they need for their reports.

Cindy, Library-Teacher

Oooh! Picasso by Mil Niepold and Jeanyves Verdu- ADVISABLE

Oooh! Picasso by Mil Niepold and Jeanyves Verdu. Tricycle Press, 2009. PICTURE BOOK.

EL, MS – ADVISABLE, HS – OPTIONAL

Nieplod and Verdu have taken five of Picasso’s sculptures and brought them to life through re-imagining the parts and the whole, as they explore the whimsy and the expression of his art. While there are few words with the pictures, the multitude of lessons ideas that can come from this one book make this an important title to share with your art teachers.

Cindy, Library-Teacher

Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi - ADVISABLE

Uehashi, Nahoko Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness, 272 p. Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic), 2009.

MS – ADVISABLE

When Balsa was just six, she had to flee for her life with the help of her father’s friend, Jiguro. He protected her from the wrath of eight assassins and trained her in the fighting arts. Now, Jiguro is dead and Balsa feels the need to return to her homeland and meet his family and seek out what might be left of her own family. But though the evil king has died, Balsa does not know that danger and possibly death awaits her on the other side of the mountains.

What a very different story from the first in the Moribito series – and what a great one! Balsa is a fabulous fighter, but a also a great human being; her homeland is well-fleshed with mythos and culture and exciting people to meet. I know that my students enjoy Hoobler’s Asiatic books, so I think they will enjoy these also.

Cindy, Library-Teacher.

Independence Hall by Roland Smith - ESSENTIAL

I, Q: Book One: Independence Hall by Roland Smith, 293 pages. Sleeping Bear Press, 2008. $9

Content: G

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL

On the day of their parents’ wedding, Angela and Q are forced to help each other find their way through the treacherous path of step-sibling-dom. But more dangerous paths await the pair, because Angela’s real mother was a Secret Service agent, killed in the line of duty – or so everyone thought. It’s much more complicated than that! It involves international espionage, an unknown twin sister and a private firm of bodyguards who are willing to die in order to keep Angela from being kidnapped!

WOW! What a rollercoaster ride! Perfect for all of those students who are digging fast-paced detective novels right now.

 Cindy, Library-Teacher.

Mama Says by Rob D. Walker - ESSENTIAL

Walker, Rob D. Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Scholastic, 2009. $17 PICTURE BOOK

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL

Mothers from all around the world give their sons advise as they make their way into adulthood. Every beautiful illustration in this book is accompanied by text in English and text in language of that country.

This would be a fabulous book for the beginning of the year in any geography class to talk about cultural clues and identity. I showed this to one of my teachers and she went and bought her own copy that night. Oh, and it’s a great book for a mother to give to a son or vice versa.


Cindy, Library-Teacher.