By Iain Lawrence: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Historical Fiction/Fantasy, 304 pages

Synopsis

A girl’s imagination transports polio-afflicted kids into a fantastic world.

The spring of 1955 tests Laurie Valentine’s gifts as a storyteller. After her friend Dickie contracts polio and finds himself confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him in the hospital. There she meets Carolyn and Chip, two other kids trapped inside the breathing machines. Laurie’s first impulse is to flee, but Dickie begs her to tellthem a story. And so Laurie begins her tale of Collosso, a rampaging giant, and Jimmy, a tiny boy whose destiny is to become a slayer of giants.

As Laurie embellishes her tale with gnomes, unicorns, gryphons, and other fanciful creatures, Dickie comes to believe that he is a character in her story. Little by little Carolyn, Chip, and other kids who come to listen, recognize counterparts as well. Laurie’s tale is so powerful that when she’s prevented from continuing it, Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip take turns as narrators. Each helps bring the story of Collosso and Jimmy to an end—changing the lives of those in the polio ward in startling ways.

Critique

Lawrence has composed a beautifully written book that aptly creates two different worlds. The first, the ‘real’ world is a heart-wrenching account of children who are suffering from Polio, but are able to be brightened because one girl decides to be brave enough to show up every Saturday and narrate an ongoing story. The second world is the frame story, the fantasy tale that Laurie creates for the kids in the Polio ward, which feels equally as tangible as the first.

It soon becomes clear that the two worlds are merging, and each child represents a character in the story. Laurie doesn’t always necessarily intend for it to play out that way, but through the merging of the worlds, it becomes clear to the kids that the story must be finished. Lawrence has created a treasure where both stories keep the reader interested and informed at the same time, rooting for the heroes to overcome the giant, and for the kids to overcome Polio. I wouldn’t be surprised if this novel is in the clear running for theNewbery. I recommend it to all readers 8+.

Overall rating: 96%
For my rating rubric, classroom applications, other recommendations and reviews please go to original posting on LindseysLibrary.com

by Jacqueline Kelly -Henry Holt & Co, 2009 Historical Fiction 352 pages

Synopsis
Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones. With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.
Critique
Kelly’s debut novel is a wonderful exposé on Southern society life at the turn of the 20th century, rife with subtexts and references to post-slavery issues and mindsets, the rise of modern machinery like the car and telephone, and the clear and unbalanced gender lines that existed and the struggle of one girl to overcome those.
In particular, this is an important novel for those looking into pursuing sciences, especially because of the constant references and education around naturalism, its rise into society, the opposition it received from schools and a predominantly Christian culture, and the important role it played in the emergence of a new humanity in over the 20th century.
Calpurnia is a delight to follow as she begins to notice the world around her. In her own evolution, she begins in the larval stage and moves through pupae, cocoon, and eventually becomes a bright and beautiful butterfly (or moth as is a symbolic reference in the book). Kelly is witty and clever in her treatment of Calpurnia’s growth as a person, a scientist, and a courageous and curious mind. She exhibits a vast range of human emotion, showing empathy, sadness, self-sacrifice and exuberant joy, clearly a believable and lovable character.
Kelly also has deftly woven passages from Darwin’s Origin of Species, cunningly breaking the 4th wall for the reader in an effort to compare the evolution of Calpurnia and her world to that of Darwin’s scientific expositions.
For those looking for an excellent read that contains layers of depth that can be turned to several times before fully comprehending everything, then this is the perfect novel. I recommend it to all readers 10+.

Overall rating: 90%
For my rating rubric, classroom applications, other recommendations and reviews please go to original posting on LindseysLibrary.com

by Shana Burg, Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 320 pages

Synopsis
For Addie Ann, graduating up to junior high means that she was grown. However, over the course of the summer and into the early school year, she realizes what being grown actually means and what terrible things can happen in the world of adults. Set in Kuckapoo, Mississippi in 1963, Addie Ann begins to see just what kinds of injustices her America carries with it. Her brother is hunted down for defending her against some white boys; the giant vegetable garden that was supposed to be for everyone was taken over by the Whites without another thought; and when the garden goes awry, her uncle is blamed for it, beaten, arrested, and put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit.
Critique
Very much in the tone of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird or John Grisham’s A Time To Kill, this exposé of the climate of the South in 1963 reveals the social and racial tension 100 years after slavery had been banned. The mentality of the African American community is still too often that of passive-aggressive servitude, and taking that final step to bridging the gap proves to be more of a mountain than it should be. The White community is often both cruel and two-faced when it comes to their African American townspeople, and it’s sad to see that people were treating each other this way even this long after slavery had been abolished.
Burg also relates the happenings of the townsfolk with that of the important historical moments during the summer of that year, which ushered in the Civil Rights movement in full force. This text is not for the faint of heart, but it’s a great tool in order to help us all remember how far things have come in America, and how far they still need to go for full racial equality and dissolving enmity between cultures. I recommend this to all readers 12+.
Overall rating: 83%
For my rating rubric, classroom applications, other recommendations and reviews please go to original posting on LindseysLibrary.com

by Kashmira Sheth - Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 2010, Fiction, 320 pages

For eleven-year-old Gopal and his family, life in their rural Indian village is over: We stay, we starve, his baba has warned. With the darkness of night as cover, they flee to the big city of Mumbai in hopes of finding work and a brighter future. Gopal is eager to help support his struggling family until school starts, so when a stranger approaches him with the promise of a factory job, he jumps at the offer.

But Gopal has been deceived. There is no factory, just a small, stuffy sweatshop where he and five other boys are forced to make beaded frames for no money and little food. The boys are forbidden to talk or even to call one another by their real names. In this atmosphere of distrust and isolation, locked in a rundown building in an unknown part of the city, Gopal despairs of ever seeing his family again.

But late one night, when Gopal decides to share kahanis, or stories, he realizes that storytelling might be the boys’ key to holding on to their sense of self and their hope for any kind of future. If he can make them feel more like brothers than enemies, their lives will be more bearable in the shop—and they might even find a way to escape.

Critique

What can I say about Boys Without Names? It is such an amazing book, that I’m not sure describing it, or just using words like ‘moving,’ ‘poignant,’ and ‘beautifully painful’ really do it justice. It’s a simple yet profound story that everyone in America should read, not just teens. It’s important that we as a culture understand that many of the nice things that we want at a cheap price often come at an incredibly high price for someone else. Including becoming a slave.

Read it! Expand your worldview. Change your perspective on what it truly, tangibly means to have your clothes made in sweatshops in poorer countries around the world. Our rampant materialism is an oppressor to people in other nations, and we should have to account for it.

Other than the message Sheth so profoundly communicates, the world she creates is beautiful. I can feel the heat, smell all the amazing smells, and learn a great deal about Indian culture. I feel as if I am also one of those boys without names, working in the sweatshop, and through their experience of creating family and bonds, and reminded fondly of my own childhood. All the more reason that I want to step into the story and save these children from injustice, and punish those who are responsible for it.

It was everything I was hoping for and more, and I recommend that everyone read it.

Overall rating: 94%
For my rating rubric, classroom applications, other recommendations and reviews please go to original posting on LindseysLibrary.com

by Trenton Lee Stewart - Publisher: Little, Brown Young , Fantasy Fiction, 400 pages

Synopsis

Join the Mysterious Benedict Society as Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance embark on a daring new adventure that threatens to force them apart from their families, friends, and even each other. When an unexplained blackout engulfs Stonetown, the foursome must unravel clues relating to a nefarious new plot, while their search for answers brings them closer to danger than ever before.

Critique

I really do love these books, and I was certainly excited to see another addition to the series. For those who are just entering the scene of The Mysterious Benedict Society here on this review, you may want to check out the other two that I’ve posted previously because this review will simply be a reaction and comparison to the others.

That said, I have to be honest that I was a little disappointed in this one. Although there are a lot of fun fight scenes between Milligan and the Ten Men, there aren’t nearly as many brain teasers for the readers to engage in with the four main characters. Overall, the book is great, and it’s certainly a fun read, but what I feel makes these books so particularly unique and such a great read are the puzzles that Stewart interjects throughout. Certainly, if you’re a fan, you should still read it, but I think it’s the weakest in the series so far.

The other two books in this series are The Mysterious Benedict Society (book 1), and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (book 2).

Overall rating: 77%
For my rating rubric, classroom applications, other recommendations and reviews please go to original posting on LindseysLibrary.com

by Brian Selznick -Scholastic Press, 544 pages, National Book Award Winner

Synopsis
Both of his parents have died, so Hugo Cabaret lives with his uncle inside of the clock room at the train station in London. He’s inherited his father’s ability to tinker with toys and anything that has working gears, parts, and pieces. Before the fire, his father happened upon a mechanical man that was calibrated to draw or write something as part of a magic act. Obsessed with the machine, Hugo steals parts from a local toy manufacturer in the train station in order to complete it and make it work. However, things begin to complicate when his uncle completely disappears and Hugo gets caught stealing. In a matter of only a few days, his mysterious and tenuous world again becomes dangerous, and the most surprising things happen as a result of the mechanical man.
Critique
This was surprisingly well done. I’m not sure what I was initially expecting, but the story far exceeded my expectations. The characters are interesting, and the graphic-novel style way of presenting the story is perfect for how it unfolds and the subject matter being used to move along the plot. Typically, I steer clear of saying things like, “this is the first of its kind” because that gets thrown around a lot as a marketing term. However, this is something of a first, especially as an award winner, and Selznick does a wonderful job of interlacing the pictures with the words in order to tell a complete story.
Even beyond that though, the story itself is wonderful, despite the method through which it’s told. The characters are all fascinating and mysterious in their own way, and everyone has secrets. Not to mention that each character’s personality and foibles adds to the depth of the narrative. I recommend this to all readers, but it will come alive especially well for readers 8-12.

Overall rating: 88%
For my rating rubric, classroom applications, other recommendations and reviews please go to original posting on LindseysLibrary.com

The Graveyard Book tells the story of Nobody Owens, Bod for short, and how he was orphaned and raised by inhabitants of a graveyard.  This may not sound like the best story for children and some parents may opt out of this one due to the appearance of ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, and witches.  But these supernatural beings allow Bod to face his deepest fears, learn about love and friendship, and grow into the life he is destined to live.

The story itself may seem a familiar one for anyone who has read The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. In Kipling’s tale, a young orphan, Mowgli is raised in the jungle by animals and has a mortal enemy who wants him dead.  Bod is raised by ghosts and has Jack, the man who assassinated his parents, out to get him.  But he is protected and watched over by Silas, a not dead but not quite alive character who wears black.  Structurally, many of the middle chapters read as stand alone short stories, but taken and pieced together form a coherent whole.  Black and white sketches are strewn throughout usually opening each chapter.

I enjoyed reading about Bod and his adventures.  I loved some of the quotes, especially this one from Silas to Bod:

“You’re alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you’re dead, it’s gone. Over. You’ve made what you’ve made, dreamed your dream, written yor name. You may be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is finished” (Gaiman, 179).

It’s also going to be made into a film, joining a couple of other Gaiman works, Coraline and Stardust.

Here’s a trailer of the book with Gaiman narrating to some of the illustrations.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You’ve heard the saying “It’s never too late.” We say, “It’s never too early!” Even children can be introduced to basic business principles and the rewards of entrepreneurship.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs With Big Ideas!

Many factors contributed to that change, but two tower above the rest: Harry Potter and the Internet.

No other blockbuster book can approach the sales and influence of J.K. Rowling’s seven novels about the boy wizard. The first, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was published in 1997, but the series became a true phenomenon on July 8, 2000, when the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was published.

It was the subject of such anticipation that bookstores stayed open past midnight to let hordes of fans snap up copies the very minute they were released. That got-to-have-it urgency and communal enthusiasm fed the books’ sales; the final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold 8.3 million copies in the United States in 24 hours.

Worldwide, the books have sold more than 400 million copies; compare that with the runner-up phenoms of the decade, Dan Brown, whose conspiracy-theory adventures have sold 80 million copies; and Stephenie Meyer, whose teen vampire romances have notched 85 million.

But sales aren’t the only impact of the Potter books. They transformed children’s literature, which used to be a sort of kindly, avuncular sideline of the publishing and bookselling industries, into a powerful force. The Potter books dominated best-seller lists so mightily that in 2000 the New York Times created a separate best-seller list for children’s books, just to give books for grown-ups a chance to get back on the list.

Although they sparked controversy over their magical themes, Rowling’s novels brought millions of children to the joys of books and inspired parents to read along with them (not to mention all the adults who enjoyed the books on their own). Books for kids, from preschoolers through young adult readers, continue to be one of the growth sectors of publishing.

One new factor was the online presence of the books’ fandom. Harry’s fans didn’t just buy the books; they gathered at Web sites like the Leaky Cauldron, MuggleNet and the Harry Potter Lexicon, listened to podcasts, wrote fan fiction and visited Rowling’s sophisticated site.

Harry Potter Web sites might be extraordinary for their sheer numbers, but the Internet has swiftly come to dominate how all books are published, marketed, sold and read. No single entity exemplifies that more than Amazon.com, which went online in 1995.

At first the site grew relatively slowly. It didn’t turn its first profit, of $5 million, until the fourth quarter of 2001.

But in this decade it has become the 1,000-pound gorilla of bookselling. Its economies of scale, bargain prices and click-and-buy convenience have made independent bookstores an endangered species, and even chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble are struggling to keep their bricks-and-mortar operations going.

Selling books isn’t the only part of the industry that has moved to the digital realm. One of the fastest-growing segments of publishing is e-books. Last year they added up to only about 5 percent of book sales, but that percentage doubled over the previous year. Amazon’s e-reader, the Kindle, is the best-selling product on its entire site; Barnes & Noble’s Nook is on back order until February.

The popularity of e-books is affecting the pricing of print books. Many e-books cost less than half the price of the same book on paper, a paradigm greatly influenced by Amazon. Publishers, worried about profit margins and pressure from consumers to lower all book prices, delayed the release of digital versions of several fall best-sellers, such as Stephen King’s Under the Dome and Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue.

The strategy worked — they’ve sold briskly in print. Several publishers announced they’ll do the same for their big winter and spring books. But it remains to be seen whether that tactic will stabilize prices or just slow the shift to books as a largely digital product.

Technology has altered the experience of books in other ways in the past decade. Self-publishing has exploded as computers and the Internet have made it much less costly to distribute books in forms such as print on demand and e-books.

Both self-published authors and those whose books are published in the traditional fashion have turned to the Internet to market their books.

With publishers’ budgets shrinking, fewer authors benefit from such perks as marketing campaigns and book tours. Instead, they use Web sites, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other digital paths to connect with readers.

The Internet has even become a haven for book reviewing. As traditional venues for criticism such as newspapers and magazines shrink or disappear, there has been a proliferation of Web sites featuring both professional critics and reader reviews — one more phenomenon that first became popular on Amazon and now thrives on sites like GoodReads and Library Thing.

How we buy and read books may have changed in myriad ways, but our thirst for stories, old as our humanity, remains as strong as ever.

Related Article: Scholastic celebrates 10 years of Harry Potter

Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7)