CREECH, Sharon. The Boy on the Porch. Harper/Joanna Cotler Bks. Sept. 2013. ISBN 9780061892370. JLG Level: A : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3–5).

What kind of person would leave their child with strangers? Especially a child who doesn’t speak? Finding a young boy sleeping on their porch causes a young couple to open their home and later their hearts. They have no idea how he got there, just that someone would be back for him. Quickly becoming part of the family, Jacob rides the cow, runs with the beagle, and relaxes into a happy routine. All too soon, an unfamiliar car arrives to take the child away. His father has come for him. Feeling the hole that Jacob leaves, the husband and wife search for ways to fill it. Can they find happiness again? What will happen to the boy on the porch? Creech fans expecting a heart-wrenching story will not be disappointed.

DiCAMILLO, Kate. Flora & Ulysses. illus. by K. G. Campbell. Candlewick. Sept. 2013. ISBN 9780763660406. JLG Level: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3–5).

Flora Belle Buckman is a natural born cynic. She also loves comics and reads them until her mother, a romance novelist, writes a contract requiring Flora to “turn her face…toward the bright light of true literature.” When the lady next door accidently vacuums an unassuming squirrel, Flora springs to the rescue and learns that he has acquired super powers. Able to lift the heavy Ulysses vacuum and seemingly now able to communicate, newly-named Ulysses begins a journey that will impact every person he meets. Whether he saves lives or merely types a poem, the squirrel will delight readers. His supporting cast is unique and charming, exactly what one would anticipate from the author of The Tale of Despereaux. (Candlewick, 2006)

DONOVAN, Gail. The Waffler. Dial. Aug. 2013. ISBN 9780803739208. JLG Level: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3–5).

Eating a waffle is a fine thing. Being a waffler (a person who can’t make a decision) is not. Even though he would like to change, Monty has a hard time making up his mind. When the principal accuses him of waffling, he gets a new nickname: Waffles. Complicating matters is the annual reading buddy program. He is assigned to a kindergarten boy named Leo, but later learns that some kids don’t get to participate because they have special services during that time. Deciding it’s not fair, he makes them his “unofficial” partners, reading to them at recess. Just before the culminating event, Leo has to move. Mrs. Tuttle tells Monty he has to decide which of his three unofficial partners will be his new buddy, but how can anyone decide about something like that? Donovan’s new school story has plenty of humor and thought-provoking situations.

LUBAR, David. Numbed. Millbrook. Oct. 2013. ISBN 9781467705943. JLG Level: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3–5).

Fans of Punished (Darby Creek, 2007) and lovers of math will be thrilled to discover Lubar’s new sequel, Numbed. Logan is supposed to keep Benedict out of trouble when his sixth grade class visits the Mobius Mathematics Museum. Discovering a number-crunching robot, Benedict flips the switch and argues with the mechanical device. “Numbers are stupid,” he shouts. Then the robot speaks in a low voice, calm and scary, “You are wrong about numbers. You must be numbed.” The boys soon learn that numbers are integrated into their lives, and without them, they are in big trouble. Solving math problems under time pressure is the only way to reverse their inability to calculate even the simplest equations.

For audio/video versions of these booktalks, please visit JLG’s Shelf Life Blog.

Junior Library Guild is a collection development service that helps school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books. Season after season, year after year, Junior Library Guild book selections go on to win awards, collect starred or favorable reviews, and earn industry honors. Visit us at www.JuniorLibraryGuild.com.

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SLJ 2012 Day of Dialog: Keeping Middle Schoolers Engaged

From Left: Sharon Creech, Joan Bauer, Eoin Colfer, James Dashner, Jennifer Hubert Swain, Rebecca Stead

Middle school students are a “hormonally charged” bunch who are “full of complex contradictions” and just “want a voice,” say authors who participated in SLJ‘s 2012 Day of Dialog on June 4 at New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center.

Rebecca Stead, winner of the 2010 Newbery Award for When You Reach Me (Random, 2009) and a panelist in “Minding the Reading Gap: How to Keep Middle School Readers Engaged,” says she draws on her own childhood experiences when writing to “build a story out of small moments.” Her latest, Liar & Spy (Random), a funny tale about destiny, goofy brilliance, and courage, is expected this August.

Joan Bauer, who received a 2001 Newbery Honor for Hope Was Here (Putnam, 2000), says she was haunted by “middle school ghosts” during a recent visit to her old school, where she was reduced to a “social zero.” She now uses the power of fiction to share her past experience and give readers hope that the pain does end.

Sharon Creech, 1995 Newbery winner for Walk Two Moons (HarperCollins, 1994), says during author visits, she often sees a shy child holding one of her books close to their chests, and then approach her to say, “How did you know this was what I was thinking?”

Eoin Colfer, author of the “Artemis Fowl” series (Hyperion) says he still can’t understand why he was forced to read classics such as Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady, ” about an American heiress who travels to America, instead of Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, about British schoolboys who are stranded on a tropical island. His favorite reading spot was the trunk of his family’s car.

James Dashner, who writes the “13th Reality” fantasy series, describes himself as “supernaturally dorky” during his middle school years. His “most magical” moments growing up in Georgia were spending his summers sitting in front of the air conditioner and reading.

The topic of ebooks drew mixed reactions from panelists, with Colfer warning that books shouldn’t compete with technology. Dashner agreed, adding “anything that gets kids reading can’t be bad.” Meanwhile, Stead sees the convenience of ereaders, saying she was touched when her son, a middle schooler, recently put a paperback to his nose and remarked on the distinct smell of print books.

To see what other had to say about this and other Day of Dialog panels on Twitter using the hashtag #SLJDOD.