Mo LoBeau doesn't know the story of her biological family. All she knows is her life in a tiny North Carolina town with the Colonel, who found her flo...moreMo LoBeau doesn't know the story of her biological family. All she knows is her life in a tiny North Carolina town with the Colonel, who found her floating down a river in a hurricane the same day he lost his memory, and Miss Lana, who has raised Mo like her own. The three of them run a cafe next to their house, with the frequent help of Mo's best friend Dale.
When a mysterious stranger shows up at the cafe asking questions - a lawman named Joe Starr - Mo and the Colonel suspect that trouble is on the way. But they have no idea just how much trouble is coming down the pipe. A cafe regular called Mr. Jesse turns up dead - murdered in his boat. The Colonel disappears. Dale's brother is in a high-speed car crash. And then there's the kidnapping.
Mo and Dale set themselves on the case, not quite sure who they can trust. Will they solve the murder - and the question of Mo's past - before the killer strikes again?
I fell for Mo, Dale, the Colonel, Miss Lana, and pretty much every important character in this book (of which there are many). I also found myself trying to figure out the mystery before the end of the book, but there are so many twists and surprises that I was on the edge of my seat until the very end. I couldn't put it down! The author brought Mo through an important journey in the book, and I loved the way she ended it.
I wouldn't mind reading another volume about Mo LoBeau and the community at Tupelo Landing.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Although this book received a Newbery Honor when it was published, you probably haven’t heard of it. The cover most likely won’t convince you to pick...moreAlthough this book received a Newbery Honor when it was published, you probably haven’t heard of it. The cover most likely won’t convince you to pick it up. Even the introduction might persuade you that it’s too slow to finish. But once you’ve gotten into the story, you may have a hard time putting it down until you’ve blown all the way through the last page.
Ben is a boy who doesn’t do well with people. This worries his family, especially his father, who simply cannot understand why his youngest son insists on following animals around, mimicking their noises and movements perfectly. When Ben finds himself lost on the prairie near his house, he must make a deep connection with a dangerous predator if he wants to survive. What happens to both of them and how it affects the other characters is almost unbelievable, even to Ben, and will leave a deep impression on you after you close the book.
This is a good choice for readers who like outdoor adventures (think Gary Paulsen) and stories about fathers and sons. It’s also for readers who can stomach detailed descriptions of some of the more gruesome things that happen in nature.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Ivan is a silverback gorilla living in the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. His best friends there are a wise and ancient elephant named Stella a...moreIvan is a silverback gorilla living in the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. His best friends there are a wise and ancient elephant named Stella and a wandering dog called Bob, who sleeps on Ivan’s belly.
What Ivan loves most besides his friends is making art. A human named Julie brings him paper and crayons, and his art sells well at the mall gift shop. But when business gets slow and the mall owner brings in a new animal – a baby elephant named Ruby – Ivan begins to realize that there is more out there for wild animals. Can he use his talent in art to find a better home for himself and his friends?
This is a quick read. It has very sad parts, but on the whole it’s a funny and uplifting story.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Thankfully, you can't grow up in Birmingham without learning quite a bit about the Civil Rights Movement. We're especially well-schooled on the string...moreThankfully, you can't grow up in Birmingham without learning quite a bit about the Civil Rights Movement. We're especially well-schooled on the string of tragedies and braveries that happened in our city and state.
But somehow, one important piece of information often doesn't come up: the majority of people who were arrested in nonviolent protests in the pivotal year of 1963 were children.
Levinson's book follows the events of 1963 by tracing the activity of four black students who became involved in the nonviolent movement for freedom and civil rights. Reading it in 2013, their courage seems almost unheard-of.
For an inspiring look at local history that changed the country, this is a great read.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Have you ever endured a long power outage? Remember how you kept flipping the light switch out of habit, forgetting that it didn’t work? It’s possible...moreHave you ever endured a long power outage? Remember how you kept flipping the light switch out of habit, forgetting that it didn’t work? It’s possible that author John Rocco has never experienced the sweat and misery of a Southern summer blackout (with kids); but even so, his boldly illustrated new book offers an upbeat perspective on how power outages can bring families and neighbors together by turning off all the distractions.
A little girl living in an urban apartment building with her family can’t seem to find anyone to play a board game with her – until everyone’s busyness grinds to a halt with the loss of electricity. The sparse, simple-but-almost-lyrical narration and the comic-book style pictures describe the family’s adventures in shadow puppets, the “block party in the sky” that they discover when they step out onto their roof, and the goodwill neighborliness happening on the street.
Enjoy this book in the dark, with a flashlight, with all your screens and electronic sounds shut down. You may decide, like the main character, that sometimes it’s a good decision to turn everything off.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Amos McGee takes his time. His routine is simple, and his friendships are true. When he gets a cold and doesn’t show up for his job as a zookeeper, hi...moreAmos McGee takes his time. His routine is simple, and his friendships are true. When he gets a cold and doesn’t show up for his job as a zookeeper, his animals notice. They make a trip to his house to pay back the kindness he shows them every day. Erin Stead garnered a well-earned Caldecott for her work on Amos McGee; the shy, faded illustrations give this book the same personality as its main character: simple, sincere, sweet. Observant readers will find plenty of illustrated details that help them get to know Amos beyond the text.
By reflecting an element of Amos’s personality in each of the zoo animals, author Philip Stead manages more profound character development in 32 pages than most writers can achieve in as many chapters. By the time you close the book, you will have fallen in love with Amos McGee and his friends. And that’s okay – this is a book to savor; so go ahead, flip back to the beginning and take another amble with Amos.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Some folks in Norvelt think the town is dying. But it’s just one of the many things that seem to be going belly up in Jack’s life during the summer of...moreSome folks in Norvelt think the town is dying. But it’s just one of the many things that seem to be going belly up in Jack’s life during the summer of 1962.
At the beginning of the story, Jack watches his summer plans kick the bucket – he’s been grounded until school starts. So when his elderly neighbor wants his help typing obituaries, he jumps at the chance to get out of the house. Because of this “job” and the fact that his best friend’s dad owns the funeral parlor, Jack becomes aware that Norvelt’s original residents are dying off at an alarming rate. Also, a mysterious tattooed stranger is mowed down by a car while dancing down a Norvelt street, which draws a gang of angry motorcycle thugs to town. Even the life of a house comes to an end in a fire.
But somehow…this book is really funny. Jack glimpses death in such strange and often ridiculous ways that he slowly sheds his fear of it and begins to appreciate being alive. Also, the characters are quirky. Mr. Spizz, self-appointed citizen law enforcement, rides around on an adult tricycle, ticketing people for absurd things like their weeds being too high. Mrs. Volker has to cook her hands in hot wax to make them work. The kids’ baseball team only has five players, and they’re sponsored by the funeral parlor. And Jack’s nose spews blood at even the tiniest of surprises.
There is a mystery in this book, but it’s more of a backdrop for Jack’s personal journey. If you liked Okay for Now or A Long Way from Chicago, this is a great pick for you.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Steve Sheinkin says he is trying to write exciting history to make up for his previous crimes, writing history textbooks.
I say he's fully absolved.
In...moreSteve Sheinkin says he is trying to write exciting history to make up for his previous crimes, writing history textbooks.
I say he's fully absolved.
In Bomb, three threads braid together to create a page-turning drama. The stage is WWII. The Germans are trying to build an atomic bomb, the Americans are trying to build it faster, and the Soviets are trying to steal it. Each nation has its own reasons for wanting the bomb. Spies, secret agents, soldiers, scientists, and politicians move on and off the stage in a real-life thriller that's just as good as fiction.
History is nothing more than a true story, and Sheinkin is a master storyteller. He gives the well-researched facts in a way that's less like school and more like your best friend telling you the finer points of his latest illicit adventure. Even the technical physics and chemistry stuff becomes engaging in Sheinkin's hands. But the best of the author's tactics is that he has dug up enough actual dialogue to make the book read like a novel.
The other writing strategy Sheinkin uses to make us cry "More history, please!" is to order events for maximum suspense. He doesn't give an incorrect chronology, but he may start a chapter with a particularly juicy scene, then back up a bit in time and work his way forward to return to that scene with the full background in place. In fact, this is the structure of the whole book as well.
Newbery? I know non-fiction doesn't often snag it, but this one deserves gold.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
The primary plot involves an Ojibwe family of three, the Coutts. The mother is brutally attacked by a non-Native, and the father and son (and, when sh...moreThe primary plot involves an Ojibwe family of three, the Coutts. The mother is brutally attacked by a non-Native, and the father and son (and, when she recovers, the mother) pursue justice - or is it vengeance? - in their solitary, personal ways.
But Erdrich covers much more ground than that. She unravels the lives of a handful of minor characters, allowing their decisions to be responsible for much of the weight of the Coutts' story and pulling more thematic strands into the rope of the plot. She limits our perspective to that of 13-year old Joe Coutts, whose libido and emotional needs drive his choices just as much as his burgeoning spirituality and the cool, removed reasoning he has inherited from his dad and his tribe.
I wanted the villain to be a bit more of a full character; he was pure evil, but he was the only character who was pure anything, which made him seem like he'd been ripped out of a comic book and reanimated in the novel. But otherwise, this is a fine bildungsroman and an intimate sketch of life among the North Dakota Ojibwe in the 1980s. I especially liked the taut, heartbreaking friendship between Joe and his best friend Cappy, as well as the humor when those two and their buddies Zack and Angus are hanging out.(less)
This one is dark, dark, dark. It has all the elements of a truly macabre tale: fire, fog, ice, blood, and, of course, orphans.
Gaspare Grisini does mar...moreThis one is dark, dark, dark. It has all the elements of a truly macabre tale: fire, fog, ice, blood, and, of course, orphans.
Gaspare Grisini does marionette shows with his two charges, Parsefall and Lizzie Rose. He has taken them in, but he is certainly not fatherly. The day after performing in the Wintermute home for Clara Wintermute’s birthday party, the children discover that Clara has gone missing and suspect Grisini. But what has he done with her?
Their problems are compounded when Grisini hurts himself in a fall and disappears. The children intercept a letter addressed to him and decide to find its author, a rich and lonely old woman named Cassandra, in hopes that they might inherit her fortune when she dies. It is in Cassandra’s home that the children begin to uncover the mystery of Clara’s, Grisini, and the deadly stone known as the fire opal.
Full of black magic, mind possession, and creepy marionettes, Splendors and Glooms is plenty dark to satisfy readers who ate up A Tale Dark and Grimm, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Graveyard Book.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
As a wordless book, this winner of the Prix Sorcieres (the French award for illustrations) is a really sweet story to share with kids.
The only thing i...moreAs a wordless book, this winner of the Prix Sorcieres (the French award for illustrations) is a really sweet story to share with kids.
The only thing is, it has words. The text is sweet, too; it's extrapolated from a bit of an e.e. cummings poem. But it's a bit too abstract for little ones.
My suggestion: use the book's pictures for your kid and enjoy the text for you.
Reviewed for the Emmet O'Neal Library Children's Department(less)
Unexpectedly, I finished this book in a day because the language held me captive. I was intimidated by the structure and style and lack of linear plot...moreUnexpectedly, I finished this book in a day because the language held me captive. I was intimidated by the structure and style and lack of linear plot - it did win an award for innovative fiction, after all - but the atmosphere and the language dilemmas and the absolutely delicious turns of phrase won me over.
Here's one of my favorites: "He loves everything about her. It's perfect. It's as if he had drawn a line around her to separate perfect from imperfect. There's hardly room for a word." And in the context of the book, which has plenty of questions to ask about words and language, it's even more scrumptious.(less)
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