I swear these just keep getting better. The current crisis at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School is... how will everyone get by without the guidance of Ori...moreI swear these just keep getting better. The current crisis at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School is... how will everyone get by without the guidance of Origami Yoda, now that Dwight has transferred to fancy Tippett Academy? And by the way, what is going ON with Dwight? Reports are filtering in that he is no longer digging holes and sitting in them, speaks in complete sentences, and, strangest of all, has stopped bringing Origami Yoda to school!
While Origami Yoda was about accepting and appreciating Dwight and his weirdness, and Darth Paper was about accepting - while not exactly appreciating - Harvey's oblivious jerkiness, each book also has seen the kids gradually gaining consciousness of how their actions affect other people. The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee continues this progress, in a way that I can't reveal without spoiling the Fortune Wookiee's actual Secret.
All this growth in emotional intelligence is delivered in a way that is subtle as hell, though, and conveyed with so much humor that no child will put down this book feeling like he has been Shown How To Be A Better Person.
BONUS: Han Foldo SEQUEL I CAN'T WAIT FOR: At the end of Fortune Wookiee, we get some big news about big changes afoot at McQuarrie Middle, and I am going to LOVE seeing Tommy, Kellen, Sara, Rhondella, Harvey, Quavondo, Cassie, Remi, Amy, Tater Tot, Lance, Dwight, and even stuck-up Brianna band together to take down the Evil Teaching To the Test Curriculum. I also can't wait to see the Star Wars puns Tom Angleberger will come up with for standardized testing. (less)
We have revisited Knucklehead this summer, now that it is available on audio, read by Mr. Scieszka himself. I checked it out of the library specifical...moreWe have revisited Knucklehead this summer, now that it is available on audio, read by Mr. Scieszka himself. I checked it out of the library specifically for the benefit of my husband and his multitude of siblings, many of whom were going to be in from out of town and spending copious hours in our minivan.
Gennifer Choldenko gives us a Hollywood-ready action story involving snakes and conspiracy; Bruce Hale 's protagonist has to go up against monsters in...moreGennifer Choldenko gives us a Hollywood-ready action story involving snakes and conspiracy; Bruce Hale 's protagonist has to go up against monsters in the sewers. Walter Dean Myers takes us to Somalia; we get a short, funny Diamond Brothers mystery from Anthony Horowitz; and Patrick Carman conjures up a ghost from the back pages of an old Archie comic.
Notably, the Guys Read books include plenty of stories that are entirely devoid of magic, and magic is what a lot of those foot-draggers in the children's section are trying to avoid.
I don't want to delve too deeply into why some kids think fantasy is a waste of time, or whether I think that maybe those kids are on to something, but it is a sure and true fact that contemporary realistic fiction for boys is in short supply in middle grade...
Maybe we should have paged through this funny book, to which each artist has contributed a virtuoso piece (Tao Nyeu embroidered hers! overachiever!) b...moreMaybe we should have paged through this funny book, to which each artist has contributed a virtuoso piece (Tao Nyeu embroidered hers! overachiever!) before I took the kids to a South Indian supper club dinner this week. The boys were polite and friendly, didn't jump the buffet line, tried all the exotic food - made me so proud - right up to the moment Mao lit the table on fire.
Like 'Captain Underpants' for a slightly older crowd. Or like 'Friday the 13th' for a slightly younger, slightly less bloodthirsty crowd. Light and fl...moreLike 'Captain Underpants' for a slightly older crowd. Or like 'Friday the 13th' for a slightly younger, slightly less bloodthirsty crowd. Light and fluffy, kids will find it exceptionally weird, and they will like it.(less)
Grade 2-5 Fun and funny. Brave Lunch Lady her reliable sidekick Betty, and those inquisitive kids Hector, Dee, and Terrence move the mystery and adven...moreGrade 2-5 Fun and funny. Brave Lunch Lady her reliable sidekick Betty, and those inquisitive kids Hector, Dee, and Terrence move the mystery and adventure to the road as they take on the slimy swamp monster that's been terrifying Camp Fun Times. There are plenty of suspects as the kids get to know their counselors, but Lunch Lady and Betty are ready for anything with new gadgets like an Underwater Bendy-Straw Breathing Apparatus and an Underwater Mixer-Propulsion Backpack. The two-color art is loopy and energetic, with varied, easy-to-follow page layouts. Jokes and puns are sprinkled throughout to keep the energy high until the exciting finale.
YES. Very slapstick, borderline rude, fast-paced, and virtually content-free. Cartoony? I'll say. In addition, our caveman heroes speak an English cal...moreYES. Very slapstick, borderline rude, fast-paced, and virtually content-free. Cartoony? I'll say. In addition, our caveman heroes speak an English called "Cavemonics," full of misspellings, poor verb conjugation, and blatant misuse of pronouns. So, yeah, this is going to irritate a lot of parents. Heck, I know kids who will be irritated by it, by the misspellings anyway.
And I say hokay, don't give caveman book to them peoples.
It's Halloween! Time for flesh-eating zombie stuffies to limp menacingly out from beneath your bed and into your dreams! Let Zhou tell you all about i...moreIt's Halloween! Time for flesh-eating zombie stuffies to limp menacingly out from beneath your bed and into your dreams! Let Zhou tell you all about it:
Any book that name-checks the nastiest old old-man dive bar in Park Slope automatically gains my respect. I was happily muddling through this latest g...moreAny book that name-checks the nastiest old old-man dive bar in Park Slope automatically gains my respect. I was happily muddling through this latest goof-fest from Former Ambassador Scieszka, when the Beset Protagonist and his friendly alien antagonists walked past a building with a sign on it that read "Jackie's 5th Amendment." Jackie's 5th Amendment? Dude. I knew the kids were in Brooklyn, and I even knew they were in Park Slope, but they were on 5th Avenue just down from the Chip Shop? I was just there! And Jackie's 5th Amendment was a bar even *I* was hesitant to go into. Here's what the neighbors and critics say about the place:
"In an otherwise beautiful, friendly and decent neighborhood, Jackie's attracts an awful clientele of alcoholics, alcoholics and alcoholics. Patrons harass the neighbors and wander around the streets like belligerent zombies. Jackie's is a place where the hopeless go to bide time before their deaths."
"How many winos does it take to line up at a bar's door at 7am? It depends: How many stools are inside?"
"If you're secretly harboring a longing for the nightlife of a two-bit hometown, complete with cheap furniture, out of date music, patrons too old to give a crap about irony or the next big thing, then you'll want to seek out Jackie's."
How's the book? The book is fine. It's cute. It's got excellent online ancillaries. Did it make me laugh out loud? Well, no. Sometimes I don't laugh out loud. But it did make me wonder if I ever sat next to Jon Scieszka at O'Connor's, the other old-man bar in Park Slope. I bet Jon Scieszka would do a great impersonation of a belligerent zombie - god knows I do!(less)
I can't even speak to the quality of the illustrations or the writing in this book, mostly because I'm just giggling. It's dumb, it's silly, it's MAD...moreI can't even speak to the quality of the illustrations or the writing in this book, mostly because I'm just giggling. It's dumb, it's silly, it's MAD magazine, it's engaging, it has been passed around the 4th grade like the lice epidemic we couldn't seem to get rid of two years ago. It even encourages creativity. EEEEVIL creativity. I do love this book.(less)
You can tell by the way Big Nate is packaged that somebody - probably lots of somebodies - are hoping that Nate will slot directly into the "If you li...moreYou can tell by the way Big Nate is packaged that somebody - probably lots of somebodies - are hoping that Nate will slot directly into the "If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid" list. I won't keep you in suspense. It will.
It's like an old-fashioned hippie potluck, but with a big sack of Halloween candy where you'd expect the tabbouleh salad to be. But JEEZ I have been h...moreIt's like an old-fashioned hippie potluck, but with a big sack of Halloween candy where you'd expect the tabbouleh salad to be. But JEEZ I have been having trouble writing this review! I start off all right, I'm all, "Oh, I love guys, don't you love guys? Yeah, guys. Guys are gonna love this book," but then I get into having to give examples of why they're gonna love this book and all of a sudden the thing sounds just APPALLING.
So I'm not going to give any examples. Nope. Ok, here: in Christopher Paul Curtis's story "Iron John," the title character tricks his young children into thinking that he is so cold that his nipples have frozen, and he pretends to rip them off. And then his oldest son eats them.
...The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is Tommy's casebook. He documents his own interactions with Origami Yoda and asks his friends to contribute theirs...more...The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is Tommy's casebook. He documents his own interactions with Origami Yoda and asks his friends to contribute theirs as well. This works really well on audio - a cast of five actors impersonate Tommy, Kellen, Quavondo, Sara, and resident skeptic Harvey with varying degrees of believable immaturity. Hearing the way each actor interprets each kid's Yoda imitation is particularly entertaining. The four boys I ferried to and from a field trip on Tuesday hung on every word, bemoaning Harvey's snide comments and trying to guess the impact of Yoda's cryptic utterings.
...The plot involves a time machine, a doomsday machine, slapstick, probability, and ice cream. I have to go melt into a puddle of joy right now. Get...more...The plot involves a time machine, a doomsday machine, slapstick, probability, and ice cream. I have to go melt into a puddle of joy right now. Get the book.
Sweet. Sweet, and full of mud. That's a nice combination, kind of like T.R. Pearson for kids. Also, any book involving kids and a creek (at least one...moreSweet. Sweet, and full of mud. That's a nice combination, kind of like T.R. Pearson for kids. Also, any book involving kids and a creek (at least one in which none of the kids drown - I am still not over Bridge to Terabithia) usually gets me breathing a little deeper. Know what I'm saying? No? Hm.
Popeye lives in a crappy old house that backs onto the woods in semi-rural Fayette, South Carolina. His parents are off somewhere and he is being raised by his overprotective grandma Velma. He is on the verge of possibly petrifying with boredom when an RV full of disheveled kids breaks down on his doorstep. The oldest of the kids, Elvis, has an insouciant manner and a thirst for adventure that Popeye soon successfully emulates, even though it means disobeying Velma's progressively specific decrees.
Popeye and Elvis never do anything really bad, nor do they put themselves in any danger, and by the end of the book it seems clear that Velma becomes willing to give Popeye a little more rope. I think it's interesting that Barbara O'Connor allows this straining at the boundaries to be a positive thing - in a middle grade book, not YA.
This is a short, funny piece of realistic fiction that will play to both boys and girls from 2nd grade on up. It's got a nice sense of space, and the environments, from Elvis's family's crowded RV to the quiet, humid woods, are beautifully written, with well-chosen details that bring them to life without bogging things down with too much description. (less)
Strap in, folks, because it'll whisk you off your feet. Every page contains a delight, from screaming Brownies who when placated look like sobered-up...moreStrap in, folks, because it'll whisk you off your feet. Every page contains a delight, from screaming Brownies who when placated look like sobered-up Irish football fans, to a bone-grinding machine that makes THE most godawful onomatopoeic noise it has ever been my misfortune to read.
It's possible that my opinion of this book has been influenced by the appearance in my bed this morning (at, possibly, 7am, I don't know, I didn't hav...moreIt's possible that my opinion of this book has been influenced by the appearance in my bed this morning (at, possibly, 7am, I don't know, I didn't have my glasses on yet), of a seven-year-old who wasn't interested in it when I suggested it to him yesterday at the library, but who had apparently woken up, read the whole book, and now needed to synopsize it for me, read the funniest passages out loud, and tell me that he needs the next book in the series RIGHT NOW.
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