School Library Journal» Grades 5-8

Pick of the Day: Counting by 7s

SLJ — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:00:29 +0000

SLOAN, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s. 384p. Dial. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3855-3. LC 2012004994.
Gr 5-8–Twelve-year-old Willow Chase lived with her adoptive parents in Bakersfield, California. There in the midst of the high desert, she grew a garden in her backyard, her sanctuary. She was excited about starting a new school, hoping this time she might fit in, might find a friend. Willow had been identified in preschool as highly gifted, most of the time causing confusion and feelings of ineptness in her teachers. Now at her new school she is accused of cheating because no one has ever finished the state proficiency test in just 17 minutes, let alone gotten a perfect score. Her reward is behavioral counseling with Dell Duke, an ineffectual counselor with organizational and social issues of his own. She does make a friend when Mai Nguyen brings her brother, Quang-ha, to his appointment, and their lives begin to intertwine when Willow’s parents are killed in an auto accident. For the second time in her life she is an orphan, forced to find a “new normal.” She is taken in temporarily by Mai’s mother, who must stay ahead of Social Services. While Willow sees herself as just an observer, trying to figure out the social norms of regular family life, she is actually a catalyst for change, bringing together unsuspecting people and changing their lives forever. The narration cleverly shifts among characters as the story evolves. Willow’s philosophical and intellectual observations contrast with Quang-ha’s typical teenage boy obsessions and the struggles of a Vietnamese family fighting to live above the poverty level. Willow’s story is one of renewal, and her journey of rebuilding the ties that unite people as a family will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page.–Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH

Grades 5-8 Fiction | September 2013

SLJ — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:25:13 +0000

LAFLEUR, Suzanne. Listening for Lucca. 240p. Random/Wendy Lamb. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74299-3; lib. ed. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99088-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-98031-1. LC 2012030911.

Gr 5-8–Thirteen-year-old Siena moves from New York City to a Maine coastal town before the start of eighth grade. Unlike most teens, she doesn’t mind the change. Her strange visions make it difficult to establish close friendships, and she’s hoping a new school will allow her to shed her reputation as a weirdo. Like her parents, Siena also hopes the new environment will encourage her mute three-year-old brother to begin speaking again. Siena starts to uncover oddities about their new home: she sees and hears flashes from the past, and an old pen begins writing its own story. She becomes engrossed in discovering all she can about the house’s former inhabitants, a family living there during World War II. Although her weirdness doesn’t disappear, Siena is able to form friendships and even a budding romance as she continues to investigate the house’s secrets. Her ability to see, interact with, and even alter the past eventually provides her with the insight to help her brother regain his desire to speak. Although Siena’s propensity for strange visions has the potential to create a creepy, suspenseful mood, the plot, especially in the first half of the novel, is more deliberate than gripping. The introduction to World War II battlefield trauma lends an interesting historical aspect. Recommend this one to readers willing to stay with a slow beginning for a satisfying conclusion.–Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY

O’BRIEN, Annemarie. Lara’s Gift. 208p. bibliog. glossary. Knopf. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-307-93174-0; lib. ed. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97105-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97548-5. LC 2012034070.

Gr 5-8–Lara Ivanova Bogdanova loves the borzoi, the dogs her father breeds on the Count’s estate in imperial Russia. Training and caring for the animals alongside her father, she dreams of following him as kennel steward. Then her baby brother is born, and she is devastated when her father determines that she will marry instead. But visions regarding the dogs still come to her despite her father’s demand that she stop them. She knows that Zar, the runt she saved from death despite her father’s disapproval, has an important part to play in hunting the wolves that plague the estate if only her father would give him a chance. The story develops beautifully from Lara’s saving Zar and moves swiftly through the conflicts between Lara and her father as well as the confrontations between Zar and the wolves. Lara bravely steps forward to fight for her dreams in an era in which women were seen as fit only to be wives and mothers, seamstresses and midwives. Birth and fight scenes are handled realistically and factually. The imagery creates a vivid sense of time and place. Compelling historical fiction, this is also a powerful story about the bond between dogs and humans, fathers and daughters. The author’s note explains how the story came to be written and which minor aspects of the time and place were adapted to fit it.–Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT

SLOAN, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s. 384p. Dial. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3855-3. LC 2012004994.

Gr 5-8–Twelve-year-old Willow Chase lived with her adoptive parents in Bakersfield, California. There in the midst of the high desert, she grew a garden in her backyard, her sanctuary. She was excited about starting a new school, hoping this time she might fit in, might find a friend. Willow had been identified in preschool as highly gifted, most of the time causing confusion and feelings of ineptness in her teachers. Now at her new school she is accused of cheating because no one has ever finished the state proficiency test in just 17 minutes, let alone gotten a perfect score. Her reward is behavioral counseling with Dell Duke, an ineffectual counselor with organizational and social issues of his own. She does make a friend when Mai Nguyen brings her brother, Quang-ha, to his appointment, and their lives begin to intertwine when Willow’s parents are killed in an auto accident. For the second time in her life she is an orphan, forced to find a “new normal.” She is taken in temporarily by Mai’s mother, who must stay ahead of Social Services. While Willow sees herself as just an observer, trying to figure out the social norms of regular family life, she is actually a catalyst for change, bringing together unsuspecting people and changing their lives forever. The narration cleverly shifts among characters as the story evolves. Willow’s philosophical and intellectual observations contrast with Quang-ha’s typical teenage boy obsessions and the struggles of a Vietnamese family fighting to live above the poverty level. Willow’s story is one of renewal, and her journey of rebuilding the ties that unite people as a family will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page.–Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH

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The following titles are reviewed in the September 2013 print issue. Visit Book Verdict for the full reviews.

Grades 5-8

ABDUL-JABBAR, Kareem & Raymond Obstfeld. Sasquatch in the Paint. Bk. 1. 265p. (Streetball Crew Series). Hyperion/Disney. Sept. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-7870-5. ebook available.

BRAUNER, Barbara & James Iver Mattson. The Glitter Trap. illus. by Abigail Halpin. 240p. (Oh My Godmother Series). Hyperion/Disney. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6373-2. LC 2013930976.

BRENDLER, Carol. Radio Girl. 208p. Holiday House. Oct. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2861-8. ebook available. LC 2012045937.

CARLSON, Caroline. Magic Marks the Spot. Bk. 1. illus. by Dave Phillips. 344p. (The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates Series). HarperCollins/Harper. Sept. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219434-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219433-6.

CARLTON, Kat. Two Lies and a Spy. 256p. S & S. Sept. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8172-5; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8174-9.

CARTER, Rachel. This Strange and Familiar Place. Bk. 2. 264p. (So Close to You Series). HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-208108-7. ebook available. LC 2012031814.

CATANEO, D. M. Eggplant Alley. 352p. Bunker Hill. Sept. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-59373-146-5. LC 2013934778.

COOPER, Susan. Ghost Hawk. 328p. map. S & S/McElderry. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8141-1; ebook $11.76. ISBN 978-1-4424-8143-5. LC 2012039892.

ENGLE, Margarita. Mountain Dog. illus. by Olga Ivanov. 224p. Holt. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9516-6.

GANSWORTH, Eric. If I Ever Get Out of Here. 368p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41730-3. LC 201202030553.

GEORGE, Jessica Day. Wednesdays in the Tower. 240p. Bloomsbury. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-645-4; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-1-61963-051-2. LC 2013000262.

GIFF, Patricia Reilly. Hunter Moran Hangs Out. 144p. Holiday House. Sept. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2859-5. ebook available.

GORMLEY, Beatrice. Friends of Liberty. 197p. Eerdmans. 2013. pap. $8. ISBN 978-0-8028-5418-6. LC 2012048444.

HARPER, Suzanne. A Mischief of Mermaids. Bk. 3. 288p. (The Unseen World of Poppy Malone Series). HarperCollins/Greenwillow. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-199613-9. ebook available. LC 2012046725.

HELDRING, Thatcher. The League. 240p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74181-1; lib. ed. $18.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99025-0; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98713-7. LC 2012035296.

JARVIS, Robin. Dark Waters of Hagwood. Bk. 2. 314p. (The Hagwood Trilogy). illus. Open Road. 2013. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-1-4532-9920-3. ebook available.

KELLEY, Jane. The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya. 208p. Feiwel & Friends. Oct. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02348-3.

KERRIN, Jessica Scott. A Narrow Escape. Bk. 2. illus. by Shelagh Armstrong. 136p. (Lobster Chronicles). Kids Can. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-642-9.

KORMAN, Gordon. The Hypnotists. Bk. 1. 232p. (The Hypnotists Series). Scholastic. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-50322-8. LC 2012040458.

KRISHNASWAMI, Uma. The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic. illus. by Abigail Halpin. 288p. S & S/Atheneum. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2328-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9591-3.

KURTZ, Jane. Anna Was Here. 288p. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. Sept. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-056493-3. ebook available. LC 2010017857.

LENNON, Maria T. Confessions of a So-called Middle Child. 288p. HarperCollins/Harper. Sept. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212690-0. ebook available.

MCCAFFERTY, Megan. The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection. Bk. 1. 228p. (Jessica Darling’s It List Series). Little, Brown/Poppy. Sept. 2013. Tr $17. ISBN 978-0-316-24499-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-24497-8.

MARTIN, Lisa & Valerie Martin. Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea. illus. by Kelly Murphy. 256p. Algonquin. Oct. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-61620-246-0.

PIERPOINT, Eric. The Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole. 288p. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. Sept. 2013. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-8171-6.

SACKETT, Frances. The Misadventures of the Magician’s Dog. 192p. Holiday House. Oct. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2869-4. ebook available. LC 2012041540.

SIMON, Seymour. The Impossible Shrinking Machine: And Other Cases. Bk. 1. 102p. ISBN 978-1-936503-05-6.

––––.Lightning Never Lies: And Other Cases. Bk. 2. 116p. ISBN 978-1-936503-10-0.

ea vol: illus. by Kevin O’Malley. (Einstein Anderson: Science Geek Series). diag. websites. StarWalk. 2013. pap. $6.99.

SNICKET, Lemony. “When Did You See Her Last?” Bk. 2. illus. by Seth. 277p. (All the Wrong Questions Series). Little, Brown. Oct. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-12305-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-22503-8. LC 2012955921.

SONNENBLICK, Jordan. Are You Experienced? 304p. Feiwel & Friends. Sept. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02564-7.

STRASSER, Todd. Fallout. 272p. Candlewick. Sept. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5534-1. ebook available. LC 2012955123.

STROUD, Jonathan. The Screaming Staircase. Bk. 1. 384p. (Lockwood & Co. Series). Hyperion/Disney. Sept. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6491-3. LC 2013000352.

THOMPSON, Mary G. Escape from the Pipe Men! 352p. Clarion. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-85905-7. LC 2012022615.

TRACY, Kristen. Too Cool for This School. 288p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74070-8; lib. ed. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98962-9; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89984-3.

VERNICK, Shirley Reva. Remember Dippy. 162p. Cinco Puntos. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-935955-48-1; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-935955-58-0. ebook available. LC 2012043174.

VOORHEES, Coert. In Too Deep. 336p. Hyperion/Disney. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-4035-1; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-8109-5. LC 2013002329.

WALLACE, Rich. Wicked Cruel. 208p. Knopf. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86748-4; lib. ed. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96748-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89800-6.

WHITNEY, Daisy. Starry Nights. 272p. Bloomsbury. Sept. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-61963-133-5.

WOLF, Elisabeth. Lulu in La La Land. 272p. illus. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-8504-2. ebook available.

ZAHLER, Diane. Sleeping Beauty’s Daughters. 224p. HarperCollins/Harper. Sept. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-200496-3.

Book/Multimedia Review Stars | September 2013

SLJ — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 16:44:01 +0000

Fiction

BĂDESCU, Ramona. Pomelo’s Opposites. tr. from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. illus. by Benjamin Chaud. (Pomelo the Garden Elephant Series). Enchanted Lion. p. 112.

BEST, Cari. Beatrice Spells Some Lulus and Learns to Write a Letter. illus. by Giselle Potter. Farrar/Margaret Ferguson. p. 114.

GRAHAM, Bob. The Silver Button. illus. by author. Candlewick. Oct. p. 120.

HOLUB, Joan. Little Red Writing. illus. by Melissa Sweet. Chronicle. Oct. p. 122.

KNOWLES, Jo. Living with Jackie Chan. Candlewick. Sept. p. 160.

LAFLEUR, Suzanne. Listening for Lucca. Random/Wendy Lamb. p. 146.

LAKE, Nick. Hostage Three. Bloomsbury. Oct. p. 160.

LUDWIG, Trudy. The Invisible Boy. illus. by Patrice Barton. Knopf. Oct. p. 125.

MACLACHLAN, Patricia. Snowflakes Fall. illus. by Steven Kellogg. Random. Oct. p. 126.

NAKAWAKI, Hatsue. Wait! Wait! tr. from Japanese by Yuki Kaneko. illus. by Komako Sakai. Enchanted Lion. p. 128.

O’BRIEN, Annemarie. Lara’s Gift. Knopf. p. 147.

RASCHKA, Chris. Daisy Gets Lost. illus. by author. Random/Schwartz & Wade. Oct. p. 129.

SALERNI, Dianne K. The Caged Graves. Clarion. p. 164.

SLOAN, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s. Dial. p. 148.

WIESNER, David. Mr. Wuffles! illus. by author. Clarion. Oct. p. 135.

Graphic Novels

LEWIS, John & Andrew Aydin. March. Bk. 1. illus. by Nate Powell. (March Series). Top Shelf. p. 171.

Nonfiction

BUTTERWORTH, Chris. See What a Seal Can Do. illus. by Kate Nelms. Candlewick. p. 174.

FREEDMAN, Russell. Angel Island. Clarion. Oct. p. 182.

GREENBERG, Jan & Sandra Jordan. The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. Oct. p. 184.

GUIBERSON, Brenda Z. The Greatest Dinosaur Ever. illus. by Gennady Spirin. Holt. Oct. p. 176.

LEWIS, Catherine. Thrice Told Tales: Three Mice Full of Writing Advice. illus. by Joost Swarte. S & S/Atheneum. p. 185.

MARKLE, Sandra. The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees. Millbrook. Oct. p. 186.

MONTGOMERY, Sy. The Tapir Scientist. photos by Nic Bishop. (Scientists in the Field Series). Houghton Harcourt. p. 188.

PINKNEY, Jerry. The Tortoise & the Hare. illus. by author. Little, Brown. Oct. p. 178.

From the Adult Books 4 Teens blog

LBARRY, Max. Lexicon. Penguin. (July 17 post)

FAGAN, Jenni. The Panopticon. Hogarth/Crown. (July 25 post)

ZAMBRANO, Mario Alberto. Lotería. HarperCollins. (July 25 post)

DVD

Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. PBS Dist. p. 63.

Nelson Mandela. Weston Woods. p. 63.

Audio

Hero on a Bicycle. By Shirley Hughes. Brilliance Audio. p. 69.

Oblivion. By Anthony Horowitz. Recorded Books. p. 71.

Out of This Place. By Emma Cameron. Brilliance Audio. p. 71.

Recess. Performed by Justin Roberts. Justinroberts.org. p. 76.

Shadow and Bone. By Leigh Bardugo. Brilliance Audio. p. 72.

Twelve Kinds of Ice. By Ellen Bryan Obed. Recorded Books. p. 74.

Pick of the Day: Sure Signs of Crazy

SLJ — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 09:00:38 +0000

HARRINGTON, Karen. Sure Signs of Crazy. 282p. Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21058-4.
Gr 6-9–Sarah Nelson is dreading the seventh-grade family tree project and hoping her alcoholic father, a college professor, will move them from Garland, Texas, by summer’s end. That has been their pattern whenever local acquaintances discover, usually through a resurfacing news story about two notorious court trials, that Sarah is the sole survivor of her mother’s attempt to drown her two-year-old twins 10 years earlier. With a plant as her only confidante, she conducts imaginary conversations with her dead brother and looks for signs of insanity in herself as she puzzles over the twice-yearly cryptic greeting cards from her mother, a patient in a home for the insane in Wichita. An end-of-sixth-grade letter-writing assignment has Sarah sharing her loneliness and confusion with an idealized father, Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird. But at least her own father has agreed to spare her a boring summer with her grandparents in Houston, deciding instead to leave her in the charge of a college student. Charlotte’s romantic preoccupations, benign neglect, and attractive brother who shares Sarah’s love of words start her on a road to self-discovery and give her the courage to challenge her father’s well-intended but misguided attempts to shield her from her past. Sarah is an introspective protagonist whose narrative, interspersed with letters and word definitions, keeps readers absorbed. The horrific premise is not belabored, and the focus remains on the plight of a girl juggling the normal challenges of adolescence with a complex family situation. Secondary characters add interest and texture to this compelling novel.–Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Pick of the Day: The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail

SLJ — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 09:00:08 +0000

PECK, Richard. The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail. illus. by Kelly Murphy. 240p. Dial. July 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3838-6. LC 2012027992.
Gr 4-6–Mouse Minor is the smallest mouse in the Royal Mews of Queen Victoria’s Buckingham Palace. Raised by kindly Aunt Marigold, he has no real family. He doesn’t even have a proper name–just a nickname. All he knows is that his mother was not a Mews mouse and that his oddly twisted tail marks him as different from his classmates at the Royal Mews Mouse Academy. Mouse Minor violates a cardinal rule of mouse society by accidentally allowing a human to see him dressed in his school uniform. Disgraced, he runs away, hoping to find some clues about who he is and where he came from. His quest takes him from the stables to the palace parade grounds to Victoria’s private chambers, but even the great Queen herself can’t give him all the answers he seeks. Set against the background of the 1897 Diamond Jubilee, the story portrays a secret animal society existing in the shadows of the human world. Mice, cats, horses, and other creatures have schools, armies, titles, and industries. Cultural attitudes and social ranks parallel the human ones, although because of the difference in life spans, the animal society moves a bit faster. Attractive mouse’s-eye-view drawings help establish the relationship between these two halves of Victorian society. With a plucky hero, exciting plot, and a satisfying, if somewhat predictable resolution, Peck’s latest is a gentle homage to old-school adventure tales.–Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL