The Cat With Seven Names by Tony Johnston - OPTIONAL

Johnston, Tony The Cat With Seven Names, 31 pages. $16.95. Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.  PICTURE BOOK.  

This story is told from the point of view of six people in a neighborhood who run into the same cat who wants food and love. He means something different to each person. It tries to teach about community, but does so weakly; I think there are better books about teaching community than this book. 

EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL. Reviewer: AS, 2^nd grade teacher

Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir - ADVISABLE

Monir, Alexandra Timekeeper, 252 pgs. Delacorte Press, 2013.

Language - PG (11 swears, 0 "f"), Sexual Content - PG; Violence - PG; 

Michele and Philip can finally be together in the same time period. Or, they would be able to if Philip remembered Michele and there wasn't a vengeful time-traveler chasing down Michele. In a world determined to keep Michele and Philip apart, they must fight to keep the happiness they experience together. 

While I loved seeing the time-traveling ability develop and information about Michele's father unfold, I found that Timekeeper wasn't as enjoyable as its prequel, Timeless. When Philip didn't remember Michele, I was confused and annoyed. The reasoning was later explained, but it uses a non-time-traveling theory. By using another type of theory, I feel like Monir is taking on too much. 

HS - ADVISABLE. Reviewer: CCH

When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky by Lauren Stringer - OPTIONAL

Stringer, Lauren When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, 27 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. $16.99. Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.  PICTURE BOOK.  

Stravinsky composed music that was wildly popular, and Nijinsky was a fabulous dancer who was known world-wide. However, both dreamed of doing something bigger and different. This story tells of their meeting and what they created together. 

It didn’t capture me as a reader, and I wasn’t interested in the story-line at all. This could be used in a music teacher’s classroom, but would not be necessary in a general library or classroom teacher’s library. 

EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL. Reviewer: AS, 2^nd grade teacher

Zero Tolerance by Claudia Mills - ADVISABLE

Mills, Claudia Zero Tolerance, 231 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux Books, 2013. $16.99. Language PG (9 swears, 0 ‘F’); Violence G; Mature Content PG;

Sierra is in seventh grade, she has good grades, she is a leader at school and she has never gotten in trouble. She believes in taking responsibility and always doing the right thing.  One day, during lunch she discovers that she grabbed her mother’s lunch bag by mistake.  Inside the bag, she finds that her mother packed herself a paring knife to cut her apple.  The school has a zero tolerance on weapons and Sierra knows immediately that she has a problem.  Her friends know that she didn’t do it on purpose and tell her to pretend it isn’t there and that no one will know, but she can’t do it.  She knows the knife is in her bag so she does what she believes is the right thing.  She turns the knife into the office.   The principal, following school policy, sends Sierra home and informs her parents that she will not be able to attend class until the school board can meet to determine if she will be expelled. Until that time she will be required to attend in-school suspension.  

The book was a quick read with realistic, likeable characters and provided some food for thought on our actions and consequences.  Sierra is a sympathetic character trying really hard to do what is right but finds herself in an impossible situation wondering what she should have done differently, if anything, as she navigates her way through the unintended consequences of her actions.  The book presents both sides of the issue but neither demonizes nor makes light of either side and could be used in a class discussion.          

MS – ADVISABLE Reviewer: RB

Dust Lands: Rebel Heart by Moira Young - ESSENTIAL

 

Young, Moira Dust Lands: Rebel Heart, 424 pgs.   Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2012.  $17.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (105 swears); Violence: PG-13; Mature Content: PG-13. 

This is the second book in the Dust Lands series.  Saba is with her brother and sister and their rag tag group headed for the Big Water, where she is supposed to meet her love, Jack.  On their journey, Saba can’t forget the horrors of what she has done and she feels the ghosts of her past following her.  She also has a price on her head issued by the government leader, DeMalo.  She comes across a compound, where people who have been displaced by DeMalo have gathered and Saba is told that she will be a great leader among the people.  While there, she learns that Jack needs her help and she ignores her siblings, and turns back to find him.  But will the Jack she remember be who she finds?   

Saba is a well-developed character with depth and passion and you can’t help but want to know what happens to her and her friends.  The setting of this book is also interesting and easy to picture.  Sometimes the second book in a series doesn’t have enough story to keep me interested, but this book had as much action as the first and was impossible to put down.  The characters continue to grow and change and learn more about who they are at pace that is believable and maintains interest.  This is a great series. 

MS, HS-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Truck Stop by Anne Rockwell - OPTIONAL

Rockwell, Anne Truck Stop  Illustrated by Melissa Iwai  Viking, 2013.  $16.99  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G. 

This story is told from the perspective of a little boy whose parents own a truck stop.  He helps his parents get breakfast made and then he talks about the different trucks and their drivers as they come in to eat.  He tells what each driver orders from the menu.  However, one truck, Green Gus, hasn’t shown up this morning, but when the little boy is driving to school on the bus he sees Green Gus broken down on the side of the road.  The little boy has the bus driver call the diner and the tow truck comes and gets Green Gus. 

The inside cover has different kinds of trucks pictured and labeled which is fun for truck lovers, but this story is more about the people that drive the trucks and what they eat, rather than the trucks themselves.  The story and book are interesting enough for young readers. 

PREK, EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Moustache Up! A Playful Game of Opposites by Kimberly Ainsworth - NO

 

Ainsworth, Kimberly  Moustache Up! A Playful Game of Opposites  Illustrated by Daniel Roode  Simon and Schuster, 2013.  $7.99  BOARD BOOK Content: G. 

This book shows all different kinds of moustaches.  Each page spread has a rhyme and then the opposite page shows a face that has an opening for a moustache to be inserted.  The book comes with an envelope of different kinds of moustaches that can be attached to the different pictures.  The rhyme is cute and I wish that it was just an opposite book using moustaches, because for some reason kids get a kick out of moustaches, but because the different pages have to have a moustache inserted it makes the book hard for little kids who would use a board book and it also makes it so you can’t use it in a library.  I wouldn’t even give this book as a gift because the moustaches are too hard to put in the tab and I think they are easy to lose.  Cute idea, but the format renders the book useless for a library. 

NO-PREK.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Man of Steel: Friends and Foes by Lucy Rosen - ADVISABLE

Rosen, Lucy  Man of Steel: Friends and Foes  Illustrated by Steven E. Gordon  Harper, 2013.  $3.99  EASY READER  Content: G. 

Based on the latest rendition of Superman, this easy reader simplifies the movie Man of Steel.  The book starts with the planet that Superman was born on and tells the story about how his parents saved him by putting him in a spacecraft that landed on earth.  His earth parents named him Clark Kent and he grew up hiding his powers, but once he became an adult he had to defend earth from three evil people who came to rule earth from his home planet.  Superman kept earth safe and was named Superman by Lois Lane in the newspaper. 

This is a brief retelling of the story of Superman’s birth and has some bad guys that Superman conquers.  Each page has about four sentences of storyline which makes it easy for newer readers.  I think the kids that like to read superhero books will be attracted to this story. 

EL (K-3)-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi - ESSENTIAL

Mafi, Tahereh  Unravel Me, 469 pgs.  Harper, 2013.  $17.99 Content: Language: PG-13 (164 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13. 

This is the second book in the Shatter Me series.  17yo Juliette is trying to learn how to control her ability to kill others with her touch, and she learns that she has an inhuman strength that can cause earthquakes.  As she lives in the underground building of Omega, she is trying to fit in with the other people who are harbored there and when she lets her guard down she begins to have friends outside of her boyfriend, Adam.  Juliette and Adam’s relationship takes a turn when they figure out what power Adam has that makes him able to touch Juliette without being killed.  As the war between the Reestablishment and Omega comes to a head, Juliette is put at the forefront and comes face to face with the enemy-Warner, a boy she can’t seem to make herself hate. 

I love love this series.  The writing style is amazing and the author makes the reader feel what the characters are feeling.  The chemistry between Juliette and Warner is intense and Juliette’s emotions about her abilities and her new need to socialize are expressed well.  I read the novella, Destroy Me (book #1.5) before this book and would recommend reading it as well.  I love this author and will read anything she writes-good stuff.  The swear count is high, and it mostly comes from one specific character, but it doesn’t take away from the overall story. 

MS, HS-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

You Never Heard of Willie Mays?! by Jonah Winter - ESSENTIAL

Winter, Jonah  You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!  Illustrated by Terry Widener  Schwartz and Wade Books, 2013.  $17.99  PICTURE BOOK Content: G. 

Willie Mays was a young black kid in the 1940s who worshiped Joe DiMaggio.  He spent a lot of time playing baseball with his father and at the young age of fifteen he was making money playing baseball with the Negro Leagues.  He was a natural at baseball and had amazing stats, so when the Major Leagues allowed blacks to play, he was quickly hired by the New York Giants.  While on the Giants he helped them with the World Series.  Willy Mays’ deep love of baseball made him one of the best baseball players of all times. 

This book has wonderful illustrations depicting amazing moments in Willie Mays’ baseball career.  There are occasional side bars with facts about other baseball players in history as well as information about the Negro League.  At the end of the book there is a glossary of baseball terms and other bits of information about baseball history.  It’s obvious the author worships this ball player, but he does such a great job pulling the reader in, that at the end of the book it’s impossible not to love Willie Mays. 

EL, MS-ESSENTIAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.  

Alek: The Children of Crow Cove Series by Bodil Bredsdorff--ADVISABLE

Bredsdorff, Bodil Alek: The Children of the Crow Cove Series, 134 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux Books, 2012. $16.99. Language: PG; Violence: PG; Mature Content: PG

Alek has spent the majority of his life on the small island of Crow Cove. He is growing up and decides it is time to seek adventure away from home. He leaves the island and goes to visit his older brother on the main land. While there he is the lone witness when a ship is lured onto the rocky coast by a group of shipwreckers intent on destruction and thievery. Alek rescues a young girl who is the only one to survive and now must hide and protect her while he attempts to gain justice for the wrong that has been done.

This book is the fifth in a series originally published in Danish in the 1990s. The story is a short and easy read with charming characters and an interesting story. It is not necessary to have read the other books in the series to understand or enjoy Alek. Readers will adore the adventure and mystery of the story and will desire to read the other books in the series if they have not already.

EL—ADVISABLE AEB Social Studies Teacher