One of THOSE BOOKS......

Because of Mr Terupt by Rob Buyea is one of THOSE BOOKS.  I have yet to meet a reader that didn't like it, both young and old.  I often find myself waiting for the let down, as books people rave about often don't "do it" for me.  I'm relieved to say, for once, I am in agreement.  I not only enjoyed the story, but also found it inspirational.

It is a story told in seven voices at the start of fifth grade.  Each voice is a student with very different reasons to hate school.  There is the class bully, the prankster, the shy one, a new kid, the brain, the follower, and the sullen kid.  They all are in the class of Mr Terupt, who manages to inspire them and keep them in check.  As the school year progresses we learn the root of these students problems.  It takes a terrible accident to truly inspire these students to change their paths.  

As a teacher, I can only hope to connect with my students as well as Mr Terupt does.  And, I believe students can identify with one, or more of the characters in the story, as well as see the "other side" of those that they don't.  Our state has a Minnesota Youth Book Award And the students of my school voted for  this book to win.   Jury's still out on state results....

A book in which not much seemed to happen

Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer had all the trappings of a book I would like: a hint of magic, clever children, a bit of mystery.  And yet....it fell short.  I learned more about how to be a top-notch servant than about any magic.

Frederick is a miserable orphan at the beginning of our story, who manages to escape a horrible punishment with the help of a mysterious creature by the name of Billy Bly.  He uses the advantage to become a sort of helper to the less-than-talented "cook."  He is, of course, clever, so he learns to sharpen knives properly and tie knots.  Frederick suddenly finds himself in the employment of a wizard, thanks to the fact that the livery suit mysteriously fits him.  And then....more about being an effective servant.  There IS a mysterious curse that surrounds the wizard family, and Frederick's knot-tying talents DO save the day, but, honestly, it's too little, too late.

If you like Downten Abby, minus the romance, and mostly about the work, this is the book for you.

Great little story

8 Class Pets+1 Squirrel/1Dog=CHAOS by Vivian Vande Velde is a rollicking chase through the biggest mystery to a kid....what do school pets do at night?  This quick little read begins innocently enough with the school-yard squirrel running for his life from a maurading owl.  In the coure of his mad dash he accidently runs over the dog next door, who must, of course, join the chase.  The squirrel escapes the owl by dasing into an open door of the school.  Told from the point of view of various animals....the squirrel, a rabbit, a hamster, fish and even a macaw, the mad dash of the squirrel, who is more naughty than panicked, ends in a huge mess!  Each chapter picks up as the squirrel romps through the classrooms with the poor dog chasing it. Luckily, all ends well thanks to the cleverness of these school pets.  Great fun!

Gross, exciting, engaging........

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs is funny, exciting and even informative.  I was immediately engaged (and grossed out), and it kept me guessing until the end.

12-year-old  Teddy has led a adeventurous life.  As the son of a famous gorilla researcher mother and wildlife photographer father, Teddy has lived in wild places all over the world.  How could he guess that one of his biggest adventures would happen at the first "real" job his parents had accepted?  He is getting to live every kid's dream...being a full-time resident at FunJungle, an amazing destination zoo that is like Disney, only with animals.  His mother has accepted a position as an animal expert and Teddy gets to spend the summer with the run of the park.  Only, after a while, the fun wears a little thin.  

Then Henry, is found dead.  Henry is the bad-tempered hippo who is the mascot of the park, and who likes shooting the crowds with hippo poo.  Many weren't really sad to see him go, however, no one suspects that it could be murder.   After Teddy sneaks into the autopsy, he begins to suspect just that. But who would want to kill a hippo, even a rotten-tempered one?  He ends up with an unlikely ally, Summer, the celebrity daughter of the billionaire park owner.

Their search for the solution leads them on many adventures...some gross, some life-threatening.  Teddy begins to realize that he has no idea who he can trust, but the death of Henry leads to much larger secrets.

Not really so simple

As Simple as It Seems by Sarah Weeks is not really simple at all.  It is compelling and touching in dealing with the life of Verbena and the problems she faces.  

Verbena is growing up in the mountains out east, the only child of parents who dote on her, especially her mom, who sometimes treats her like a baby.  Verbena is not only embarrassed of the way her mom treats her, but, unfortunately, also about how she looks.  Her mother is very obese and Verbena can't stand that classmates laugh at her.  Add to that her trouble reading and terrible vision.... Verbie's problems are very real.

She is hoping for a fabulous summer until she discovers a terrible family secret, that has her worried.  Are her sudden angry reactions a sign that she is like her Uncle Mike?  He was just plain mean, and she has cause to believe she may have closer ties to him than she thought.

Her summer starts rocky when her best friend heads off to camp for the summer.  Enter Pooch, a "low lander" spending time in the house next door.  They become friends, even though Pooch initially believes her to be a ghost.  They both have to face fears and come to grips with their own realities, as well as with the truth of family.

Well-written, engaging, serious, and funny all at the same time.  It truly isn't so simple....

More to it than meets the eye

Looking at the title and cover of Cinderella Smith by Stephanie Barden, I was expecting a silly little read for third and fourth grade girls about a girl that can't keep track of her shoes.  I was pleasantly surprised, however, that there was more to it.

The title character, actually named Josephine-Kathryn, is called Cinderella because she manages to lose one shoe.....regularly.  As she enters third grade she faces a best friend that is suddenly not treating her so kindly.  Then, there's a new girl.  The new girl mistakenly believes that Cinderella has insight on evil step-sisters and approaches her to help determine if her soon-to-be step-sisters might be evil.  While a bit naive, they manage to approach very real fears of a blended family.  This book also takes on the sneaky ways in which young girls can bully, when Cinderella is competing with her former best friend over a coveted role in the upcoming dance recital.  And, of course, Cinderella has lost her brand-new tap shoe.

I appreciate Cinderella's optimism, and that there are friends who respond in a supportive way to help their friends through the troubles of growing up.

The fault in this book

OK....I seem to be the only person in the world that isn't raving about the The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  It is a typical angst-riddled teen romance...oh, and there's the cancer thing.  Our lovely "Juliet" is terribly sick, struggling to breath, while our brave "Romeo" has beat bone cancer, only losing part of one leg.  What could be more romantic?  You have to know that, when our heroes meet in a group session for sufferers/survivors of cancer, someone isn't going to make it.  The book was saved from being completely schlocky by the snarky sense of humor throughout.  It also has very real moments of speculation about life, the universe, and everything.  I can also say that as a teen, I would have LOVED it.  The dark, mopey tone would have been exactly what sucked me in.  Not anymore, sorry.