Stacked Shelves

I liked The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey, and I hope Odyssey plans to make it the first in a series (it already has a cool website ). Unfortunately, it could have used another edit. The problem lies with the uneven tone of the novel. At times the story is serious -- and some horrible things have happened (spoilers later). But the novel also has some quirks that seem to be attempts at humor, but miss. The heroine of the book is Oona Crate, a Natural Magician. She was born to do magic (other magicians must learn it), but after her father (The Wizard of Dark Street) was killed by the evil Red Martin and after she herself killed her mother and baby sister(!) with some uncontrolled magic, Oona wants to give up the family business and not be apprentice to her uncle (the new Wizard of Dark Street). Instead, she’d like to become a detective. In some ways, the book calls to mind the wonderful Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark. Dark Street is the last of the...

You wouldn’t know from the covers of these two books that Phoebe Stone writes more than tween romances. And that’s a shame. Because despite the old adage, we do select books by their covers, among other things, and the jackets on these books could be turning away readers. The more egregious cover of the two is that for The Romeo and Juliet Code . This book takes place during World War II and, while I’m sure some kids did wear tennis shoes and jeans then, this cover has too much of a contemporary look. Also, there is no tween romance in this book. None. Nada. Felicity Bathburn Budwig, the 11-year-old heroine of the novel, has come from England to live with her father’s family in Maine. While there she learns more about her family and her place within it. She also discerns that her parents may be spies (hence the title). It’s a great novel about displaced children during wartime, family secrets, and finding one’s true home. The Boy on Cinnamon Street suffers from both a bad cover a...

After I read The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett (months ago), I wrote myself a note comparing it to Life of Pi by Yann Martel and, hurrah, I found the note earlier this week. So, here's my insightful thought: Like Life of Pi , The Midnight Zoo asks readers to decide what is real and what is imagined. Are the protagonists imagining what is happening to cope with the horrific external circumstances? Or has all of reality turned upside down because of those events? The Lying Carpet by David Lucas does that too, though in a much lighter way -- no man-eating tigers or Nazis.

When I was a teen, I had summer ritual: Each July, I would re-read The Lord of the the Rings (by J.R.R. Tolkien, of course) and Little Women (by Louisa May Alcott, ditto). I read many other books, but these I were my summer vacation tradition. My reading habits have changed over the years--I read far less fantasy than I did as a teen. That genre has been replaced by mysteries (especially Nordic noir and gritty police procedurals). But I still have a spot in my heart for good, old-fashioned storytelling with strong characters. That’s why I’m hoping to get some kids hooked on “The Penderwicks,” “The Children of Ashton Place,” and the Flavia de Luce mysteries. These books will appeal to certain kids--quirky, intelligent, and a bit nerdy. Kids who appreciate a protagonist just like them. And those who think Jo should have married Laurie, but totally understand why she didn’t. (Well, maybe not totally.) The Penderwick sisters have appeared in three books by Jeanne Birdsall so far: T...

Sometimes—but not always—I have a hard time with animals talking in books. It bugs me that the author thinks he knows what animals are thinking and what they would say if they spoke our language. And then I have long conversations with my cats about it. So, I’m not 100 percent sure why I so much like The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. The story is told entirely by Ivan, a silverback lowland gorilla, and it’s based on a true story. The true part: As a baby gorilla, Ivan and his sister were captured in the Congo and sent to the United States. His twin sister died en route. Ivan at first lived like a pet with a man and his wife, then became an attraction at a mall until he was rescued and brought to Zoo Atlanta (he was even featured in National Geographic ). In the book, Ivan has suppressed his memories of being in the jungle and even of being a pet. He’s made himself adapt to his circumstances and his glass-walled and concrete “domain.” Then Stella the elephant, one ...

Lucky me: I already have two copies of the 2012 Newbery Award winning book: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos. My library is small and I hardly ever order two copies of the same book. That's what interlibrary loans are for. But I do happen to have two copies of Dead End in Norvelt . The company we order books from sent me the copy I ordered several months ago and then sent a copy to a library in Maine with a packing slip that listed my library. The library in Maine sent the book to me, thinking I hadn't received the copy I ordered. I called them and said, "No, you must have ordered a copy. I already have mine. Should I send this back to you?" They said nope, no one up there ordered a copy of the book. I laughed and said, oh, you should... it's very good. I kept the second copy behind my desk all these months. I figured I would have it cataloged if it won any awards and, if it didn't, I'd give the second copy away during our summer reading program. Wh...

Wonderstruck , by Brian Selznick, is beautiful to look at. But it’s so disappointing as a novel. I wanted so much more from this book. Several years ago, Selznick wrote and illustrated The Invention of Hugo Cabret (which has since been made into a movie called Hugo ). Selznick won the Caldecott Award for that book, and many of my colleagues have told me that they thought he should have won the Newbery Award for it. (The Caldecott is given to an artist for the “most distinguished American picture book for children,” while the Newbery is awarded to author for the “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”) So, I had really high hopes for Wonderstruck , his latest and much-lauded book. (Full disclosure: I never finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret . I read half of it and stopped. I don’t recall why, but I’ve been told by many that I should read it in its entirety.) Unfortunately, I found Wonderstruck clichéd and expected and rather empty. That’s n...