The Wizard of Oz

I haven't really ever seen the movie in its entirety. Only bits and pieces. I read the picture book biography of the author, L. Frank Baum, last year and was intrigued by his background. He didn't start off as an author - actually he failed at most of his business ventures. One constant that made him happy was his ability to entertain his children with his storytelling. That was all it took to create the book that inspired the movie.

The best part for me was matching up parts that remained true to the book, and parts that were added in to make the movie "better." If you read the book, you, too, will learn that Dorothy's shoes were silver, not red. That Oz is a "real" place that Dorothy spent a year living in, so it was not a dream from a knocked out girl. If you enjoy this title, then you may enjoy reading the sequels as well. I also never knew there was a series based in Oz.

Stargirl

Stargirl is a great book for older middle school readers on the brink of high school. Usually when kids get to high school they are so busy conforming (being like everybody else) they never get to just "be themselves." Stargirl is totally herself and has an amazing affect on the kids in her school. The amazing impact, though, can work both ways - making a good impression and making a bad one. Leo, our "hero" in this story takes an interest in this different girl who likes playing Happy Birthday to students on her ukulele in the cafeteria, brings her pet rat to school every day, and cheers for both teams at sporting events.

Say What?

Sukie and her brothers begin to notice something's up when their parents start behaving strangely. Normally nags who say parenty things at them all day - "Clean up your mess! No running in the house!" - they now are talking nonsense. Instead of yelling at Sukie for spilling glitter all over the carpet, Dad says "don't pick your nose!" Huh? That doesn't make sense!

The kids are trying to solve the mystery of their parents actions, then decide to give them a dose of their own medicine.

Scat

I really like Carl Hiaasen's books. He has a formula that has really worked for him. Get some passionate kids who stumble upon a mystery and make it be environmentally friendly. He is the author of Hoot and Flush, and both of those stories involve the same mix.

Scat is the story of Nick and his biology teacher who is mean and horrible and intimidates all her students. On a field trip to Black Vine Swamp, a small forest fire begins and the students had to evacuate immediately and return to school. Miss Starch, the teacher, goes back to retrieve a student's inhaler but never returns. It seems simple enough, but the tangled web in finding Miss Starch which includes the recently humiliated student who surprisingly disappeared while all this is going on.

Bad word alert: the book is peppered with 10-15 PG rated "bad words."

Among the Betrayed

This the the third book in the series The Shadow Children. Haddix has me hooked on this group of books that is about society after the food shortage has required the government to step in and change the rules. All families must have no more than two children - if a third were to be found, the penalty is death. There is a special unit called the Population Police who are hungry to find these illegals since the reward is worth millions.

Elodie, or as she is referenced in the book, Nia, is a third child. She is tucked away in a girl's school, but is betrayed by a friend, accused of a crime she did not commit, and lands herself in prison. While there, she is used as a pawn to get other third children to reveal their family information for the Population Police to make arrests.

The Gingerbread Pirates

Jim and his mom bake gingerbread cookies for Santa and design them into pirates. His favorite one is Captain Cookie, who he accessorizes with a sword (cutlass) and a toothpick peg leg. Once Jim falls asleep, Captain Cookie goes off to save his men from this aweful Santa Claus who will soon attempt to eat them.

Beacon Street Girls: Best Friends/Worst Enemies

This is the first in a series of girls for upper elementary and middle schoolers. Charlotte's dad is an author and they constantly move to places where his books are based. It's been exciting, but she gets to pick where they go next, and she picks "home," where she was born.

Making new friends isn't easy, and the pressure is on after the biggest cafeteria blunder in the history of her new school. She's going to have to come up with something if she is going to impress the girls. As the title suggests, will the girls be worst enemies, best friends, or could it be a little of both?

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig

Mercy Watson is the pet pig of Mr. and Mrs. Watson. They don't seem like the smartest people on Earth and remind me of Amelia Bedelia. The neighbor ladies plant some pansies. By the time they get all the way around the house to admire their hard work, guess who has eaten most of them up? The solution? Call Animal Control (the dog catcher type people). Will the plan work?

Hachet

I had always wanted to read this adventure story, but finally had the motivation when my buddy was caught reading it. Brian, a 13-year old son of divorcing parents, is riding in a two-person plane to visit his father. While heading to northern Canada, the pilot has a heart attack and Brian has the length of time for the fuel to run out to contact help or figure out how to successfully crash land the aircraft. This story tells of the events of living (rather, surviving) in the wilderness.

If you enjoy this book, you may want to check out the others involving Brian.

How Santa Got His Job

You may think you know how Santa got his job. To earn a job like his, it takes quite a bit of background skills to properly prepare yourself. He had many ups and downs along the way, but ended up with the greatest job of all.

Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat

Sadie is taking care of her four brothers while their mom is away. She leaves to get firewood and extends a kind gesture to her and is rewarded with a magic skillet which will make all he latkes they need for every meal. Sadie promises not to share the magical words, but leave it to a brother to eavesdrop.... A great holiday story that has a moral and reminds me of Stega Nona or Stone Soup.

Jimmy's Boa and the Big Splash Birthday Bash

I love these books as one event leads into the next as another crazy day transpires with Jimmy's boa. This time the location is Jimmy's birthday party at a Seaworld type place. When the whale tries to kiss the trainer but smooches Jimmy's mom, she falls into the tank and chaos breaks out. Ultimately the entire party is in the tank with whales, sharks, and penguins! Another good cause and effect book!

Frindle

Nick is a generally good kid who is famous for launching time wasters in his classroom. It has been great entertainment for the kids, but a problem for the teachers. Most of the time, he has gotten away with it. enter 5th grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Granger.

She's probably seen and hear it all in her career. She looooooves the dictionary. When Nick attempts to delay the inevitable homework assignment by asking a question, she turns the tables and makes him do it as a research paper! While writing it he discovers that words exist because the people are in agreement that they have a certain meaning. With this small idea and noticing a pen in the road, Nick comes up with naming it a "frindle." This begins a chess game and war of the minds that includes the school, a news reporter, David Letterman, and kids all over the country.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

What an interesting book! Hugo Cabret is twelve years old and is now an orphan. He lives and hides inside the inner walls of a train station, where his uncle had worked as the clock keeper. Once the uncle disappear, Hugo had no where to go, so he continued to do the clock work and steal to survive.

He has a few run ins with a toy shop owner who catches him stealing which results in an interesting coincidence. With the help of the toy man's goddaughter, Isabelle, Hugo is able to capture his dream.

The book seems an overwhelming 532 pages, but can be read in a couple of hours. The authors moves the storytelling along quickly by incorporating illustrations that sequence us from movement to movement and as scenes change. I loved combing the pictures to narrate the events as if I were the author. Selznick uses his illustrations to zoom in on expressions and build suspense for the reader. Also, he cleverly mixes in true parts of his story, such as Georges Melies being a real filmmaker and A Trip to the Moon was a real movie, with lots of fiction (Hugo and Isabelle are made up). I had fun reading through the credits at the end to see what was real and what was made up.

My Louisiana Sky

What a simple but beautiful story. Tiger is the daughter of very simple parents, who aren't very intelligent. All three live with her grandmother who keep an eye on hings. Life is hard for Tiger. She is athletic and has earned the respect of the boys as a teammate, which costs her the friendship of the girls. Following a softball game, she makes a decision to become more ladylike so she can fit in with the admirable girl group.

Will this work for Tiger? What will she do to change her image to others? Will she need the guidance of others? Will the girls accept her?

Sheep

Jack, a border collie, was raised on a sheep farm. As he narrates this story, we learn of how his ranch was destroyed by fire and how he ends up at the pet store. He ends up with a couple of different families, but misses his herding days. I could relate to this story since I have a border collie and he is always trying to herd birds or people!