Kids
MISSING MAY by Cynthia Rylant
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Summer grew up with Uncle Ob and Aunt May, in the first home where she felt she truly belonged. But May’s death leaves a gaping hole in her life and Ob’s, and they both find themselves spending all of their time just missing her. With the help of their strange neighbor, Cletus, Summer and Ob begin searching for May’s spirit and for the peace to continue living their own lives.
I often hear complaints from people who do not like Newbery Award winning books because they are always about death and dealing with grief. Missing May certainly fits that profile. But this novel deserved its Newbery for more than just its weighty subject matter. Missing May is very well-written, with wonderful characters. Rylant takes you through a realistic heart-warming journey from grief to hope and renewed joy in life. I highly recommend this book! The audiobook is narrated by Frances McDormand.
If you liked Missing May, you may like Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech.
IDA B: . . . AND HER PLANS TO MAXIMIZE FUN, AVOID DISASTER, AND (POSSIBLY) SAVE THE WORLD by Katherine Hannigan
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Ida B spends most of her time with her mother and father in their Wisconsin orchard. She has no brothers and sisters or neighbors to play with, but she has an incredibly creative imagination, and befriends all of the trees, the river, and the animals in the orchard. She tried going to public school in kindergarten, but the rules and rigid structure of her strict teacher’s classroom were so suffocating to her that her parents decided to let her stay at home and be homeschooled. But when her mother is diagnosed with cancer, everything changes for Ida B and her family. They will have to sell part of the orchard—the trees who were Ida B’s friends—in order to pay for her treatment, and perhaps worst of all, Ida B will have to start public school for fourth grade. Horrified by her parents’ betrayal, Ida B decides to harden her heart. She will go to school, but she will not enjoy herself. She will not make friends. She will not allow herself to like her warm-hearted teacher. She will feel nothing. At least she will try. . . .
Although the premise may sound depressing, Ida B is an incredibly uplifting, funny, endearing book, with a spirited, witty narrator and the wonderful teacher who softens Ida B’s hard heart. Its intended audience is upper elementary readers, although I suspect many adults will find it as relatable and touching as I do. I highly recommend it!
ARTEMIS FOWL by Eoin Colfer
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Artemis Fowl, Jr., is not your average twelve-year-old. For one thing, he is the son of an incredibly wealthy crime lord and has grown up surrounded by advanced technology and bodyguards. For another, since his father’s disappearance and the onset of his mother’s mental illness, Artemis has virtually no adult supervision, managing his own life and the family’s assets. And most importantly, Artemis is a genius. It is precisely his unique position on the boundary of childhood and very mature adulthood that allows him to perpetrate his latest scheme–because when he learned of the existence of fairies, he was just innocent enough to believe in them, and plenty brilliant enough to concoct a foolproof plan to extort their gold.
After stealing the Book of the People from an alcoholic sprite in Vietnam, Artemis returns to his home in Ireland to crack the fairy language and learn all of their secrets. He then proceeds to Phase Two of the plan: kidnap a fairy and hold him for ransom, threatening to reveal their secret, underground world to the humans if the Lower Elements Police (LEP) do not comply with his financial demands. Unfortunately for Artemis, he kidnapped Captain Holly Short, an officer in the LEP Recon division, and she just may be his match. While Artemis uses his brilliant mind to stay one step ahead of Commander Root and the LEP technology, and his formidable bodyguard Butler keeps the perimeter secure, Holly tries to find a way to escape and take down the super-genius “mud-man.”
This book is a great blend of science fiction and fantasy, popular among upper elementary and middle grade readers (and certain nerdy librarians . . . ). The characters are fantastic, there is a decent amount of action, and humor is blended in quite nicely. I highly recommend this series to both eager and reluctant readers. There are eight books in the series.
THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger
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This book is a casefile compiled by sixth grader, Tommy, as he struggles to figure out the truth: does Origami Yoda have magical powers? Dwight, who created Origami Yoda and wears him on his finger, is the weirdest kid in school, and it seems like he never does anything right. So how is it possible that when Dwight is speaking as Origami Yoda, he gives the best possible advice and even sees into the future? It is vitally important to determine whether or not Origami Yoda is really magic or just a hoax, because Tommy needs to decide whether to take Origami Yoda’s latest advice in a matter of life-changing proportion.
This book is incredibly funny and great for upper elementary and middle school students; it is especially popular among boys. It includes instructions for creating your own personal Origami Yoda (magic powers not included).
If you liked The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, you might also be interested in How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, and the Big Nate books by Lincoln Peirce.
THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES by Jody Feldman
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Gil Goodson has had a very difficult year. Since his father was accused of embezzling money from his employer, the Gollywhopper toy corporation, no one has treated his family the same way. Even though his father was found not guilty, all of Gil’s friends believe that he did it and have forced Gil out of their social circles and off of his sports teams. But now, one year later, Gil has the chance to escape it all. Gollywhopper is hosting a huge scholarship competition called the Gollywhopper Games. If Gil wins the games, his family could afford to move to a new city and leave The Incident behind them. Much to the dismay of the Gollywhopper CEO, Gil is determined to solve every puzzle they throw at him. But personality differences among his teammates make the task much more difficult than he had previously anticipated.
If you like brainteasers, solving puzzles, and unraveling mysteries, this is a very fun book! It is aimed at an upper-elementary school audience.
GREGOR THE OVERLANDER by Suzanne Collins
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If you are one of those people who believes that there must be a colony of gargantuan rats and cockroaches living under the streets of New York City, consider your paranoid fears vindicated. When Gregor’s baby sister crawls into an air vent in the basement of their apartment building, he follows her down a long dark chute and into the Underland. Fortunately, they are found by the friendly giant cockroaches and not the malicious six-foot-tall rats. The cockroaches bring them to the city of the Underland humans. There, Gregor learns that his father who disappeared two years earlier fell down the same chute and ended up prisoner of the rats. He also learns that he himself may be the warrior hero mentioned in an ancient Underland prophecy. Together with the snobby young Underlander queen and her insufferable cousin, two loyal bats, two kind cockroaches, and the snarky, bitter traitor rat, Ripred, Gregor and his baby sister set off on a quest to save the Underland human race from destruction.
This is definitely one of my favorite children’s fantasy series. The overall tone of the book is somewhat dark but also incredibly humorous. Collins also uses the series to challenge some of the notions of right vs. wrong and heroism vs. barbarism that are often taken for granted in heroic fantasy literature. And she is simply an excellent writer. If you enjoyed the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson series, or Suzanne Collins’ other series, The Hunger Games, you should check out this book! There are four subsequent books in the series: Gregor and the Prophecy of the Bane, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, and Gregor and the Code of Claw. Personally, I think they get even better, the farther you get into the series!
THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex
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What is the true meaning of Smekday–the day formerly known as Christmas, the day that the Boovish aliens arrived to colonize Earth, and the day the Boov left one year later? This is the essay question that Gratuity “Tip” Tucci must answer. The winning essay will be put in a time capsule that will be opened in 100 years. In her three attempts at writing the essay, Tip gradually reveals the story of the Boov’s arrival and the events that followed.
While trying to reach the human reservation in Florida by car, Tip and her cat, Pig, met up with a Boov criminal, who has taken as his Earth name J.Lo. (a name that he believes is a popular Earth name due to its frequent appearance in media publications). Together they travel across the country searching for Tip’s mom, who was abducted toward the beginning of the invasion. Then Tip, J.Lo, and Pig join forces with a gang of boys who have been hiding in a secret tunnel system under Disney World, and together, they drive the Gorg (another set of invading aliens–much more evil than the Boov) out of Earth. Throughout her story, Tip includes illustrations and pages of comics drawn by J.Lo who can’t write in English.
This book is both hilarious and poignant, a nice blend of hard- and soft-science fiction, approaching issues of race and prejudice through the blunt, sarcastic, witty voice of 11 yr. old Tip. The book is written for an upper elementary/middle school reading level. It is one of my all-time favorites.
THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY by Trenton Lee Stewart
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Reynie Muldoon is incredibly gifted at solving puzzles and logic games. Kate Weatherall is incredibly resourceful with the items she carries around in her beloved bucket; she can create almost anything. Sticky Washington can read at lightning speed and remembers everything he has ever read, heard, or seen. And Constance Contraire. . .well, Constance is stubborn. And for reasons that will not become clear until the very end of the book, Mr. Benedict insists that she is far more brilliant than the other children realize.
Mr. Benedict gathers this group of brilliant children together to form a team of secret agents who will infiltrate an institution for gifted children that is really a front for a madman’s secret plans for world domination. Although the implications of the madman’s plot are quite dark, the brain teasers and vibrant characters keep the tone of the book light. The book is intended for a 4th-6th grade audience, but anyone who loves puzzles and codes and a bit of science fiction and mystery will enjoy it. The Mysterious Benedict Society is the first in a trilogy, followed by The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma.
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Susan the Librarian 