A Monster Calls - read the book first!

A Monster Calls (with Liam Neeson as the monster) is due out in theaters this month.  The movie is based on a book which was begun by Siobhan Dowd and finished by Patrick Ness. I wrote a booktalk for A Monster Calls in 2011.  You can read it here.

It's too soon to tell if the movie will be as good as the book, but give yourself a chance to find out.  Read the book first.  Below is the original book trailer, followed by the new movie trailer.

Enjoy.

I am Princess X - the sleeper hit that I didn't review this year

I received an advance copy of I am Princess X months before the book's actual release. The artwork wasn't completed—but it didn't matter.  Even with sample art and text descriptions of illustrations, I loved it.  I shared it with my colleagues, I gave it to one of the kids in my book club, I nominated it for a 2015 Cybils Award in the YA Fiction category (fingers crossed).  The one thing I didn't get around to doing is reviewing it. So, better late to the party than never ...

I am Princess X is a unique mix of webcomic and prose. Set in Seattle, it's a mystery, a thriller, and a look into a lifestyle that includes the literal Seattle underground and the dark web. 

Here's a quick booktalk you can use:

May is 16-yrs-old when she begins seeing stickers and graffiti of Princess X throughout Seattle.  When May was younger, she and her friend, Libby, created the Princess X comic.  May wrote the story and Libby illustrated it—but that was years ago—before Libby died.  So who's drawing Princess X now?

I think it's a sleeper hit, that will only become more popular with time. It received starred reviews in School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist.

You can listen to an audio excerpt of I am Princess X here: [http://iamprincessxbook.tumblr.com/post/124693032795/listen-to-an-excerpt-from-i-am-princess-x] (not sure how that will work without the embedded comic book pages)

The Canadian Scholastic site also posted a print excerpt.  You can access it here: [http://www.scholastic.ca/books/view/i-am-princess-x]

Lulu's Mysterious Mission - a booktalk

I'm still working my way through all the books I picked up at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.  Lulu's Mysterious Mission is the third installment in this illustrated, chapter book series.  I don't know why I never got around to reading the first two, but I'm making it up with a booktalk and a book trailer.  Enjoy!

Viorst, Judith. 2014. Lulu's Mysterious Mission. New York: Atheneum.
(Advance Reader Copy supplied by publisher - artwork not final)

Lulu's Mysterious Mission - a booktalk

Lulu's parents are going away on vacation, and they're doing the heretofore unthinkable, they're going without Lulu! When she meets her babysitter, the militant, Ms. Sonia Sofia Solinsky, and eats her first bean-and-beet omelet (a "taste" of things to come), Lulu begins to hatch some desperate plans.

Eeny meeny miney mo,
That babysitter’s got to go.
Sooner, not later,
Fast, not slow.
That babysitter's got to go.

Funny with frequent asides by the author, Lulu's Mysterious Mission will appeal to humor fans, ages 6-10. Oh, and, yes, there may be a mysterious mission.

On a bookshelf near you, beginning April, 2014.

Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace - a book trailer

Today is the official launch date of Nan Marino's new book, 

Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace (Roaring Brook Press, 2013).

 In honor of the new book, I've created a short video booktalk to go along with my previously published Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace booktalk . Enjoy them both, feel free to share, and be sure to read the book!


 



Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace 
(a booktalk by Shelf-employed)

Cecilia has no rhythm, and not too many friends; but she has something special - a story. A story of a song that connects her to New Jersey's wild Pine Barrens as firmly as the roots of its Pygmy Pines and Atlantic Cedars. Everyone in Wares Grove knows the story of the song played by the forest on the night of Cecilia's birth. Only the story of the Pineland's most famous inhabitant, the Jersey Devil, is known more widely.

But two unexpected things occur as Cecilia's 12th birthday approaches. Cecilia's mother begins to doubt the song, and a young boy, a boy who has perhaps lost a song of his own, has arrived in the middle of the night under suspicious circumstances - and he's hiding out at Piney Pete's Pancake Palace.

A song, a secret, and the legendary tale of the Jersey Devil are entwined in this imaginative story of discovery set on the fringes of New Jersey's Pine Barrens, a natural wonder.

Find out who's Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace.

Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace - a booktalk

Marino, Nan. 2013. Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace. New York: Roaring Brook.
(Advance Review Copy provide by NetGalley)

Due on shelves April 16, 2013

Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace 
(a booktalk)


Cecilia has no rhythm, and not too many friends; but she has something special - a story. A story of a song that connects her to New Jersey's wild Pine Barrens as firmly as the roots of its Pygmy Pines and Atlantic Cedars. Everyone in Wares Grove knows the story of the song played by the forest on the night of Cecilia's birth. Only the story of the Pineland's most famous inhabitant, the Jersey Devil, is known more widely.

But two unexpected things occur as Cecilia's 12th birthday approaches. Cecilia's mother begins to doubt the song, and a young boy, a boy who has perhaps lost a song of his own, has arrived in the middle of the night under suspicious circumstances - and he's hiding out at Piney Pete's Pancake Palace.

A song, a secret, and the legendary tale of the Jersey Devil are entwined in this imaginative story of discovery set on the fringes of New Jersey's Pine Barrens, a natural wonder.

Find out who's Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace.

##

• a Kirkus, starred review book

Note:
Lest you think that the Pine Barrens is a made-up place, or that New Jersey is nothing more than exits off the Turnpike or Parkway, be assured that the Pine Barrens are in fact, one of the world's most interesting places. The Pinelands cover 1.1 million acres, or 22 percent of New Jersey's land area. (from the official NJ tourism site - see below)

Learn more about the Pine Barrens and other locations in Nan Marino's new book at these sites:

• Pinelands Preservation Alliance
• VisitNJ.org , the official tourism site of New Jersey
• Albert Music Hall
• Weird NJ (for information on The Jersey Devil, namesake of NJ's professional hockey team)
• New Jersey Historical Society (for more on the Leeds Devil)

If I didn't have a sore throat, this one would have been a podcast.  Look for a podcast or video booktalk for Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace soon.

May B. A Novel - a review

Rose, Caroline Starr. 2012. May B. New York: Random House.

(booktalk)

In Kansas' early days as a state, there is no help in the prairie schools for a child with what will later become known as dyslexia.  Nor is there help for a farmer whose spring wheat crop has failed.

So it is neither unforeseen, nor unusual when the parents of Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, May B., literally "farm her out" as hired help to a prairie neighbor.  Hiram, the Betterly's son, will stay at home, he, being of more use to the frontier family.

The closest homestead is 15 miles away, a full day's journey by wagon.  Young May Betterly passes the long hours to the Oblinger's simple, sod house that will be her home until Christmas,

I play a game inside my head,
counting plum trees that dot a creek bed,
rabbits that scatter at the sound of wagon wheels,
clouds that skirt the sky.
For hours, that is all,
and grass,
always grass,
in different shades and textures
like the braids in a rag rug.

Miss Sanders told us that lines never end,
and numbers go on forever.
Here,
in short-grass country,
I understand infinity.

When Mrs, Oblinger takes a horse and deserts her new husband to return east, Mr. Oblinger goes off in pursuit.

"Don't worry about supper," he says.  "I could be gone some time."

"Some time" will be longer than May could ever have dreamed. It will take all of her courage, strength and perseverance to survive.

I am afraid
in the dark
all alone
I am afraid

 ######

In similar style to Karen Hesse's Newbery-winning, Out of the Dust, and Witness, Caroline Starr Rose's novel in verse is deeply affecting.  May's honesty in assessing her shortcomings is balanced by her inner optimism that she may yet overcome her situation - against all odds.

We all share that struggle.  May B. gives voice and hope to us all.

Teacher's Study Guide for May B.



Note:
The librarians of the NJLA's Children's Services Section will likely be discussing this book in the upcoming months on our new mock award blog, Newbery Blueberry Mockery Pie.  Please join us.

Dumpling Days - a review (redux)

Lin, Grace. 2012. Dumpling Days. New York: Little Brown

I very seldom, if at all, repeat reviews, however, today I make an exception of sorts.  I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of Grace Lin's Dumpling Days, more than six months ago.  There is some debate within the kidlitosphere about when is the best time to post reviews of Advance Reader Copies.  Most would agree that mine was too early.

In any case, when the publisher mentioned that I had posted my review a tad early (6 months - can I help it?  I liked the book!), I offered to re-post it at a later date. 

Well, the time is now.  Dumpling Days is due out on January 21.  However, rather than re-post my review, I offer you a booktalk, a link to my previous review, and a look at Grace Lin's book trailer.

So without further ado ...

a booktalk

In Dumpling Days, Pacy Lin, her parents and two sisters (one older, one younger) are going to Taiwan for Pacy's grandmother's 60th birthday - for 28 days! Twenty-eight days?! What is Pacy supposed to do for 28 days without her friends in a country where she may look like everyone else, but inside, she's definitely not. At least there will be dumplings!

my review

Click here

the trailer

and, just for fun, a photo of me and Grace Lin

 She was ever so gracious at her book signings in New Orleans.

Enjoy Dumpling Days!

A Monster Calls

Ness, Patrick. 2011. A Monster Calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

 (Advance Reader Copy, courtesy of NetGalley.)

(booktalk)

There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.

When the monster calls, Conor is not afraid. For this monster, this powerful, all-seeing monster, born of the earth, the trees and all the ages is not nearly as frightening as the monster that lurks within his nightmare.

... it does not matter what you think, the monster said, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day.

You do not write your life with words, the monster said. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.

Dumpling Days

Lin, Grace. 2011. Dumpling Days. New York: Little Brown.

(Advance Reader Copy supplied by publisher - artwork not final)

(a booktalk)
In Dumpling Days, Pacy Lin, her parents and two sisters (one older, one younger) are going to Taiwan for Pacy's grandmother's 60th birthday - for 28 days! Twenty-eight days?!  What is Pacy supposed to do for 28 days without her friends in a country where she may look like everyone else, but inside, she's definitely not. At least there will be dumplings!

Pacy Lin is Grace Lin's semi-autobiographical character from her previous books, The Year of the Dog and the Year of the Rat.  In Dumpling Days, Grace Lin has made a departure from her earlier books.  Breaking out of "The Year of the" formula, with its limited page numbers, Dumpling Days is a longer book (approximately 265 pages), that offers Lin a chance to explore many facets of Chinese art, food, and culture,  as well as offer deeper glimpses into the lives of Pacy's sisters, Lissy and Ki-Ki, and even their parents,

Mom and Dad had told us about how they had moved to the United States, but I hadn't thought about their not understanding TV commercials, not being able to order food, being ignored because you didn't speak the language - all the things I found hard here in Taiwan.  Maybe when Mom ad Dad were first in America, everything was just as strange and confusing to them as Taiwan was to me now. It was surprising to think about.

A beautifully concise thought channeled through the voice of a young girl, easily undertood and profoundly important. In addition to offering cultural perspective, through the family's travels and activities, the reader learns much about the Chinese/Taiwanese culture.

Hero

Lupica, Mike. Hero.  2010. Read by Dan Bittner.  Penguin Audio.
5.5 hours on CD or digital download

(booktalk)

On the day that Zach Harriman's dad dies in a plane crash, his life begins to change.  At first, he's not sure what is happening.  He has an intense sixth sense. He feels to compelled to do things but can't explain why. His eyesight has sharpened.  He can't get hurt. 

When he meets "Mr. Herbert" at the remote crash site on Long Island, he discovers the truth. With Tom Harriman's death, Zach has become the world's only hero.  There's no time to think about it.  He's got work to do.

This is sci-fi that reads like contemporary fiction, and although it’s somewhat of a departure from sports for best-selling author, Mike Lupica,  sports fans can rest assured that there are many sport analogies and references within Hero. This is a smartly written book - mixing political intrigue and adventure seamlessly with the school and family life of a wealthy, 14-year-old Manhattanite.

Only one person is listed as narrator, Dan Bittner, but it sounds as if there are two, so distinct are the adult voices from that of Zach Harriman's.  Chapter One opens with the voice of Zach's dad, Tom Harriman.  The listener is immediately enveloped in Tom Harriman's latest "mission,"  witness to his powers, privy to his thoughts. And then, Tom Harriman is gone. The mature voice of Tom Harriman makes the opening of Hero sound like an adult political thriller - a gripping and powerful beginning. Bittner switches effortlessly between the voices of Zach, best friend Kate, Mrs. Harriman, and the many adult males in the story. Although school features prominently in the story and Zach is the target of the school bully (obligatory for those with superpowers, no?), the real action takes place outside of school where Zach must navigate the dangerous adult world of politics, lies and evil.

There's sure to be a sequel and kids will be looking for it!
Listen to an audio excerpt or
Read Chapters 1 and 2

I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat

Beccia, Carlyn. 2010. I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures.  New York: Houghton Mifflin.

(a booktalk)

When you're trying to relieve a sore throat, do you prefer a frog down your throat, a necklace made from earthworms, or a dirty sock tied around your neck?  None of these? Well, I'm not surprised, but these were the cures of choice for Medieval Europeans and early 20th century Americans. Have a stomachache?  Have you tried urine, dirt, or millipedes? Medieval Europeans, Ancient Native Americans and 17th Century Britains did!

 Did any of them work?
 Yes!
To find out which ones, you'll have to read the true, humorously illustrated new book, I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures. It's science, history and mystery combined!

Disclaimer: Side effects from reading this book may vary. Patients may experience rapid brain growth.

Highly recommended.

Reviews @
Kirkus Reviews
A Patchwork of Books
Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian

Author interview @
Three Pipe Problem

Today is another Nonfiction Monday. Today's host is Playing by the Book.  Be sure to stop by.

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Octavia Boone's Big Questions About Life, the Universe, and Everything

Rupp, Rebecca. 2010. Octavia Boone's Big Questions About Life, the Universe, and Everything. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

(a booktalk)



(If you're having trouble viewing this video, try these links instead:  http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/p/booktalks-video-and-podcasted-versions.html , http://voicethread.com/share/1524991/ )

 Vermont, seventh-grader, Octavia O'Keeffe Boone has lots of questions:

Why is there Braille at the drive-up ATM?

Is there a purpose to life?

Why is there algebra?

She lives with her dad, Boone, an artist, and her mother Ray, an environmental lawyer, always seeking a purpose in life. With her best friend Andrew, and caring neighbors, Octavia has a good life, At least she did, until her mother joins The Redeemers, a conservative Christian group that believes in strict obedience and a ban on the worldly influences of the Internet, television, public school and modern clothes.

At first, Octavia and Boone assume it’s another of Ray’s passing fancies.  But when it doesn’t pass, Octavia is forced to attend the Redeemers’ School. When the teacher asks the students to share stories about how God has helped them in their daily lives, Octavia is still asking the big questions,

Ronnie said that last Saturday he lost the money his mother had given him to go to the movies, but he asked God for help and then he found a five-dollar bill under a bush.

Marjean told how she’d lost her math homework and couldn’t find it anywhere, but she prayed and then she heard a voice in her head telling her where to look for it and she did and it was there.

What a waste of God’s time, I thought. What if he was supposed to be off taking care of starving people in Africa and instead he has to turn around and help some whiny kids find stuff?

If you're not the type to question authority, both earthly and otherwise, then this is not the book for you - for that is precisely what Octavia Boone does best. In the end, it may be that some questions just don’t have answers. And for Octavia, that just may be OK.

##

A review:

The Dreamer

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 2010. The Dreamer. Illustrated by Peter Sís. New York: Scholastic.

The Dreamer is a book that almost defies description.  Is it poetry?  Is it biography?  Is it fiction?  This fictional account of  real life poet Pablo Neruda's childhood is all of these things.  Born Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, he was a shy, stuttering, skinny youngster with a larger-than-life domineering father. Working with Neruda's prose and poetry, along with anecdotes of his early life, Pam Muñoz Ryan invents the thoughts, hopes and dreams of the shy young man who quietly refuses to become the man his father wishes. With beautifully poetic language, she paints a portrait of a boy determined to be true to himself.  This is a book for thinkers and dreamers and poets and all children who yearn to be nothing but themselves.

A better artist than Peter Sís could not possibly have been chosen for this book.  The white spaces of his signature illustrations are filled with symbolism - the image of  the small and frightened faces of Neftali and his sister swimming in an ocean whose shoreline is the outline of his domineering father speaks volumes without words.  Illustrations are abundant throughout the book.

An illustrated, color discussion guide is available from Scholastic. Scholastic also offers this video booktalk, but this is a book that does better speaking for itself. It must be read to be appreciated.

If you've ever searched for a story with a calm and caring stepmother, this is that book, too.

Other reviews @
Kids Lit
Dog Ear



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Countdown

Wiles, Deborah. 2010. Countdown. New York: Scholastic.

Countdown.   The story is one of a girl named Franny - a nondescript, middle child with a beautiful older sister and a "perfect" younger brother.  Her father is in the 89th Air Force Division; her mother is a dutiful military wife.  Her neighbors are nosy, her "crazy" uncle is suffering flashbacks from the war. She is having a major fight with her best friend; she has a crush on her neighbor.

And as if that were not enough, it's October, 1962.  The Soviet Union has placed missiles in Cuba and the world as she knows it may end at any minute. Duck and cover!

 Interspersed between the pages of Franny's story are photos, advertisements, song lyrics, headlines and other depictions of realia from the "Camelot" years.

According to the author, Countdown is based on her own life, which accounts for the honesty and authenticity of it's protagonist.  The collected depictions add to the story and in some instances (the bomb shelter instruction pull-out that appeared in Life magazine, the "duck and cover" photos of young children at their desks) add a palpable sense of the fear felt by Americans during those tense October weeks. Young readers will relate to Franny and gain a greater understanding of the period, however many of the song lyrics and photos will be unfamiliar to them, and are presented scrapbook style, without caption, in the body of the novel. This format adds dramatic impact at the expense of context.  Will children recognize the smiling Nikita Khrushchev or the silhouetted figures of JFK and his brother deep in thought? Probably not, but it's a minor complaint.

There's a lot of Newbery Award buzz about this ground-breaking "documentary novel."  It is the first in a planned trilogy about the 1960s.  Well-worth reading!

The author and Scholastic offer great resources.  Links are below. Be sure to check out the trailer!

An excerpt from Countdown.
Scholastic's Countdown booktalk.
Scholastic's Countdown Discussion Guide.



100 Scope Notes offers a "toon" review of Countdown.

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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda - Read it you must

Angleberger, Tom. 2010. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. New York: Amulet.

(My own Origami Yoda says "Read it you must!)

Dwight is a 6th grade oddball, but he's good at one thing - origami.  When his origami Yoda begins to tell the future and give advice, Tommy and his friends can't decide whether to believe him or not.  The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is the illustrated case file of the mysterious events surrounding Origami Yoda -- as told and illustrated by Tommy (whose future romance hangs in the balance), Harvey (the skeptic), Jennifer (the texter), Quavondo (a.k.a. The Cheeto Hog) and other members of McQuarrie Middle School.

Is this a great book? Irresistibly insightful and funny?

"Certain am I," said Dwight's Yoda.

I agree!

A sample chapter can be viewed online @ Abrams Books.

Reviews (and Origami Yoda instructions) at:

Fuse #8

100 Scope Notes

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The Limit

This is the final cover
art.  Advance Review
Copies differ.

Landon, Kristen. 2010. The Limit. New York: Aladdin.
(Advance Reader Copy)

from The Limit

...I heard a sharp gasp from Mom’s checkout worker.  My eyes shot up.  Checkout Lady had her hand over her mouth.  Mom seemed unflustered.  Checkout Lady must have made a mistake.  I kept reading. ... The usual noise and confusion of the megastore around me dimmed.  It was like it faded to almost nothing, leaving only the voices of my mom and Checkout Lady  Even Abbie put a lid on her usual nonstop chatter and stuck her thumb in her mouth.  I thought she’d stopped sucking her thumb a long time ago. 

   “I’m sure it’s a mistake,” Mom said.  “A computer glitch somewhere.”

    Checkout Lady punched a few buttons on her computer while her front teeth gnawed her lower lip like a beaver working a tree.  “I’m sorry.   It’s not a mistake. You’re over your limit.”

   An electric current zapped through me.  No. Wait. Stuff like this didn’t happen to our family.

But 13-year-old Matt was mistaken.  It did happen to his family, and now he was the one chosen by the Federal Debt Rehabilitation Agency (FDRA) to repay his family’s debt under Federal Debt Ordinance 169, Option D which decrees compulsory service in an FDRA workhouse.  Whisked away from his family by a burly guard and smooth-talking, Miss Smoot, Matt is taken to a workhouse without so much as a change of clothes.  Likely based on his above average intelligence, Matt is designated a “Top Floor,” and receives a challenging job, a rigorous school curriculum, and plush accommodations.  Unable to contact the outside world, he learns to live with his fellow “top floors,” Coop, Jeffrey, Isaac, Paige, Neela, Kia, Madeline, and the unseen and mysterious Reginald.  At first glance, all appears in order at the workhouse, but Matt and his friends begin to discover something more threatening than unpaid debts at the Midwest Federal  Debt Rehabilitation Agency workhouse.

Matt narrates this thriller about a high-tech society in which the government assigns every family a spending limit based on its income - not just any limit - the limit, the limit that cannot be exceeded without the direst of consequences. Eye scans and Big Brother-style monitoring are commonplace in this society that readers will find much like our own, where advertising and consumerism reign supreme. Although The Limit’s premise is the consequence of negligent overspending, the heart of the story is the high-tech, cat-and-mouse game between the brilliant “top floors” and the outwardly beautiful but sinister Miss Smoot, as Matt and his fellow inmates make increasingly shocking revelations as they attempt to discover the story of the other workhouse floor assignments and the headaches plaguing some inhabitants. Cautionary, but not didactic, The Limit is sure to hit a nerve with readers old enough to understand even the most basic aspects of family finances. The financially illiterate have even greater reason to read The Limit. Highly recommended.

Ms. Landon’s site offers Lesson Plans and other resources for educators.

On shelves in September.

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Babymouse Burns Rubber

Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew. 2010. Babymouse Burns Rubber. New York: Random House.

In pink, white and black, Babymouse is back.  Can it be almost 5 years since Babymouse first made her debut? Time flies when you're daydreaming and eating cupcakes.

Time to see what our favorite pink, sassy, messy-whiskered mouse is up to!

(booktalk)
In Babymouse Burns Rubber, Babymouse leans heavily (a bit too heavily perhaps?) on her friendship with Wilson as she endeavors to enter the soap box derby.  The fact that she can barely ride a bicycle and has no skill in building or fixing things never even enters her mind, which is, of course, full of daydreams - Babymouse's alien encounter, Babymouse the race car driver, Babymouse the worldwide traveler, Babymouse the captain of the Titanic. Will Babymouse win the race?  Will her selfishness cost Wilson the chance to enter?  You'll find out in Babymouse Burns Rubber!

Siblings Jennifer and Matthew Holm keep the fun coming in this latest installment of the very popular Babymouse series. Holm pays tribute to Star Wars films (imagine the scrolling text rolling into deep space),

CHAPTER VII
A NEW CUPCAKE
It is a dark time for the REBELLION. The brave pilot,
 BABYMOUSE, has badgered her
best friend into building her a
SOAP BOX DERBY CAR.
...
for the blah blah blah blah...
are you still reading this?

and Margaret Wise Brown's, Goodnight Moon.

In the great pink messy room ...
there was a telephone (somewhere on the floor underneath the dirty socks)
and a plate of half-eaten cupcakes.
Goodnight cupcakes.
Goodnight cupcakes being eaten by Babymouse.
Goodnight math homework that's not finished.
...

Of course, the illustrations complete the package.  Simple, yet expressive and full of humorous details like aliens wearing bunny slippers, "Goodnight aliens hiding in the closet."

Next up: Babymouse Cupcake Tycoon - coming in September.


When I first checked in with Babymouse, she was Queen of the World in 2005. Since then, she's gone on to bookshelf fame as a Rock Star, Beach Babe, Skater Girl and more. This is the 12th book in the graphic novel series.

Click here to go to the Babymouse homepage.  (don't worry - you can turn the music off) You can find more information about Babymouse, create your own comics, make posters, or play other Babymouse games.

A Random House Babymouse Educators Guide for Babymouse is also available.

I'm in the midst of a great ALSC sponsored course, Out of this World Youth Programming.  My assignment for this week is to create a new library program for elementary school-aged children.  I think I just did my homework.  Come this fall, I'll be "Calling all Cupcake Tycoons!"
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When You Reach Me

I had a few days off for the Independence Day weekend, but took a little time out to make a video book trailer for Rebecca Stead's Newbery Medal winner, When You Reach Me. A video is perfect for this book that is difficult to promote without giving too much away! I actually made two.  You can find the other one on the Multimedia Booktalks page.  If you haven't tried Animoto, you're missing out.  Hope you like it.  The book is awesome!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.



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The Batboy

Lupica, Mike. 2010. The Batboy. Read by Lucian Doge. Penguin Audiobooks.
(About 6 hours)

Fourteen-year-old Brian Dudley lives with his divorced mother.  His father, a one-time major league pitcher, is coaching in Japan, unable to give up the game he loved once his pitching career was over. Brian shares his dad's love of baseball.  He plays on a travel team with his best friend Kenny and has just landed the job of his dreams - batboy for the Detroit Tigers.

With his favorite player returning to the Tigers after a steroids scandal, his travel team, The Sting, heading for the playoffs, and the Tigers making a run for the pennant, the lineup reads like a perfect summer.  But a perfect roster doesn't always equal a win in baseball, and Brian's perfect summer lineup may be in for a few losses.

Mike Lupica's latest is a home run.  Just close your eyes and you can smell the hot dogs, hear the crack of the bat, and see the play at first. No one does sports like Mike!

If you're a fan of baseball or ever wondered what it's like to be a batboy, Batboy is your summer reading!


Read an excerpt or enjoy this interview with the author and a trailer for the book.






A podcast of this booktalk will be is available on the Multimedia Booktalk page soon now! :)
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The Boy Who Dared

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2008. The Boy Who Dared. Read by David Ackroyd. Listening Library.

Based on the true story of Helmuth Hübener, The Boy Who Dared is told in a series of flashbacks by an imprisoned Helmuth as he awaits his sentence of death by guillotine. Helmuth revisits the events and decisions that drove him to defy the Nazi party and the Gestapo.

Many children's books have been written on Nazi atrocities, each with its own particular vantage point.  Milkweed looks at the plight of a young Gypsy.  Number the Stars tells of the Danish resistance. The Boy Who Dared focuses on what Helmuth Hübener would have known best - the experience of Germany's young, non-Jewish citizens. Forced to join the Hitler Youth and adhere to strict curfews, forbidden to attend school with their Jewish friends or shop at Jewish-owned stores, and particularly grievous to Helmuth, forbidden to read non-German books or listen to any radio other than The People's Radio.

This is a powerful story for middle-schoolers and is especially relevant because it highlights the impact that one single young person can have on his society.

However, as is often the case, the truth is a more compelling story.  Susan Campbell Bartoletti's earlier book, Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. It's a powerful and fascinating story that follows the lives of numerous young Germans and explores why some succumbed to the Nazi propaganda machine and others resisted. The outcome of their decisions is revealed as well. Katherin Kana's accent and "matter-of-fact" style of reading, is perfect for setting a chilling tone to a horrific period in history. Hitler Youth is the winner of over 10 major awards including a Newbery Honor and a Sibert Honor. Best for 7th grade and up.

Scholastic's video booktalk for The Boy Who Dared is available here.


An excerpt from Listening Library's Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, also by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and read by Katherin Kana. (2006)

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