NIGHTSONG by Ari Berk
When the time comes for little Chiro the bat to fly out into the world in search of food on his own, he is afraid. How will he see in the dark? But his mother encourages him to “use his good sense” and sing his song. If he does this, the world will become clear to him. At first when Chiro flies out of his cave, he cannot see a thing. But once he begins singing, he can see the world as clear as day.
This is an adorable new picture book with entrancing illustrations by Loren Long. It is slightly long for a preschool storytime, although it may work, depending on the attention span of your group. It would be great for kids in grades K-2 and as a conversation starter about the five senses and/or echolocation!
WILLIAM’S MIDSUMMER DREAMS by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
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When William and his younger siblings escaped from the home they shared with their abusive half-brothers, the Baggetts, he thought they had left their Baggett identities behind them. Adopting their aunt and new guardian’s last name of Hardison, they get a fresh start in a new town. Best of all, William may have a chance to pursue his dream of becoming a Shakespearean actor by auditioning for the role of Puck in a nearby professional production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But although the acting portion of the summer goes just as he imagined it would, friendships and family relationships begin to make his summer more complicated. Most ominously, his understudy for the role of Puck seems willing to go to any length to get William out of the role.
Despite the fact that this book was about Shakespeare, it was not my favorite Zilpha Keatley Snyder book. The Egypt Game was significantly better. But if you like theatre and you like realistic fiction, this book may interest you. It is fairly slow-paced and focuses on William’s development as he learns more about himself, his hopes for the future, and his relationships with the characters around him.
THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin
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Sixteen seemingly unconnected people are invited to live in Sunset Towers, a strange apartment building with the West wall made solely of window glass, looking out toward the beautiful sunsets and millionaire Samuel Westing’s old mansion. But when several of the children sneak into the Westing house on a dare and discover the millionaire’s dead body, the sixteen strangers learn that they are not unconnected after all. They are all named as heirs in Samuel Westing’s will. The will itself, however, is unconventional to say the least. It claims that Samuel Westing was murdered by someone in Sunset Towers and challenges the heirs to find the murderer in order to inherit the $200 million fortune that Westing left behind. The heirs divide into eight teams, and each team receives a different clue. Now the race is on to discover who killed Samuel Westing and nab the $200 million before the mysterious killer strikes again.
Anyone who enjoys the Thirty-Nine Clues series should check out this 1979 Newbery Award winner. Although similar in plot, however, the style could not be more different. Sixteen eccentric characters compete in a bizarre and confusing game that will keep the reader as invested as the characters in puzzling it out. Ultimately, however, the point of the story is not the murder mystery but the development of the characters individually and as a community.
If you liked The Westing Game, try The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. If you enjoyed the somewhat eccentric characters, you may also enjoy A Wrinkle in Time and Saffy’s Angel.
BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell
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Pietro has worked hard to become a doctor, and the witness protection program has worked hard to keep him safe from the mafia hitmen who want him dead. It seems you can’t throw a mob boss’s son out of a sixth-story window without ending up on someone’s hitlist. But everyone’s hard work goes to waste when a ghost from Pietro’s mob days shows up in his hospital. The mobster tips off a friend as to Pietro’s whereabouts and instructs him to spread the word–unless Pietro can save the dying mobster’s life. Now Pietro is locked in a race against time and nature. As he struggles to save the man’s life, he remembers the events that led up to his involvement in the mafia and his life on the run.
If you like horrifically violent, action-packed, suspenseful thrillers, this is the book for you! If you do not like horrifically violent books, do not read this book. I have read a lot of thrillers, serial killer mysteries, etc., but this book was officially the most violent book I have ever read. At several points I actually felt dizzy and physically ill from the level of violent detail. That said, I couldn’t put it down! The protagonist was such an intriguing character with a fascinating, intricately designed past! And of course the suspense and action from the plot kept me on the edge of my seat. A great read, but definitely, definitely not for the squeamish.
(Movie rights were purchased in 2009, but it does not appear that any substantial steps have been taken toward a film adaptation.)
WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE by Julie Otsuka
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The woman read the notice with relatively little emotion. Things hadn’t been the same since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Her husband had been gone for months, and the house hardly seemed the same. Now because they were Japanese-Americans, she and the children would have to leave as well. They did not know where they would be going. Nor did they know what would happen to their house and their possessions while they were gone. They could take only what they could carry. So the family packed their belongings and left for the hot desert where they would live for years until the end of the war. And though they would one day return, their lives would never be the same.
Julie Otsuka’s writing style is quiet and distant. She never gives her characters names, but allows the reader to experience the thoughts of all three major characters–mother, son, and daughter–as they live in the internment camps. Though the writing style is subdued, there is disturbing content, so it is not a “gentle read.” But it will be more enjoyable to readers who like a gentle writing style than those who enjoy suspenseful or plot driven novels. Personally, the quiet style did not engage me, but it may be more engaging to other readers. The historical content itself was certainly interesting.
GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!: VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE by Laura Amy Schlitz
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What was life like for children growing up in Medieval times? Some were peasants, tied to the land they farmed, so poor they had to trick and steal from their lords and masters just to make sure they had food to eat. Others were apprenticed to tradesmen in the village, working as blacksmiths or falconers. And others were children of the lords living in luxury inside their palace halls.
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! tells the stories of over twenty Medieval children and their variety of dreams, fears, pranks, mistakes, and achievements. The stories are written as monologues and dialogues which could be read aloud as a play. They can also be read silently as short first-person narratives. The monologues are interspersed with more information about each of the time periods to keep readers informed about the history and culture surrounding the characters. A Newbery Award winner, these plays are a fun read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. If you would like a more dramatic experience, listen to the audio book which has each character read aloud by a different actor!
If you liked Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! you might like Crispin by Avi.
THE 100 YEAR OLD SECRET by Tracy Barrett
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Xena and Xander Holmes have always been very observant. They can notice things about a person and deduce his occupation or details about his personal history. It is their favorite game. But when they learn that they are the great-great-great-grandchildren of the famous Sherlock Holmes and that they have files upon files of his unsolved cases at their disposal, they decide to upgrade their game to solving real-life mysteries. Their first mission: to find a priceless painting that disappeared over a century ago.
If you like the Thirty-Nine Clues series, you need to check out the Sherlock Files. There are plenty of clues to unravel and a decent amount of suspense in this mystery series. If you like character-driven mysteries, however, you will not find a lot of depth here. For character-driven Sherlock Holmes-related mysteries, I would instead recommend the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer.
SPORK by Kyo Maclear
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Little Spork didn’t fit in with the other silverware. He was a little bit fork and a little bit spoon, but not enough of either one to feel that he truly belonged with either group. And he never got picked to be set at the table. Until the Messy Thing arrived and all of the cutlery customs went out the window. Could the spork have found his purpose at last?
As you may have gathered, this is one of those picture books that is supposed to make kids who feel “different” or who “don’t fit in” realize that they have unique talents and contributions to the world. It most directly addresses the concerns felt by children whose parents each come from a different racial or ethnic group. Also, the main character is a spork. What more could you want?
ALL THE LOVELY BAD ONES by Mary Downing Hahn
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Corey and Travis are bad. Not evil, but mischievous. They were “not invited back” to summer camp as a result of all of the pranks they pulled last year, so instead their parents send them to spend the summer at their grandmother’s bed and breakfast inn in Vermont. They are afraid the summer may be boring until they find out that the inn is supposed to be haunted. Their grandmother insists that all of the ghost stories are nonsense, but Corey and Travis realize they could have a lot of fun pretending to be ghosts and frightening the guests. That is, until they accidentally wake the real ghosts from their sleep. . . .
Mary Downing Hahn excels at writing creepy ghost stories with a historical twist. In this particular story, the realistic depiction of a nineteenth century poor farm is perhaps more horrifying than the ghosts themselves. A great scary story with an interesting history behind it. I highly recommend it!
THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY by Sheila Burnford
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When a Canadian family travels to Europe for six months, they must leave their three pets–an old bull terrier, a young Labrador retriever, and a Siamese cat–in the care of a friend who lives several hundred miles East of the family’s home. While the bull terrier and the Siamese cat settle into life with their new caretaker, the Labrador is restless. He knows that he is far from home and longs to be with his family again. So, when the opportunity presents itself, he leads his two companions to escape from their caretaker and journey across the Canadian wilderness toward home. But with bears, porcupines, and other hazards to face along the way, all three animals may not make it home alive.
The Incredible Journey is the book on which the film Homeward Bound was based. The book is less humorous than the movie, but it is filled with the same adventure and heartwarming moments. The imagery is dense and the reading level may be above the interest level. But the book would make a great family read aloud for families who have pets or love animals and have children in grades 2-5.
If you liked The Incredible Journey, you might like Babe, the Gallant Pig by Dick King Smith.
Susan the Librarian 