Archive for 2010

Out of My Mind

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Written by Sharon M. Draper

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Melody is incredibly smart, but no one knows it. She’s locked inside her brilliant mind because she has cerebral palsy. She can’t talk or walk. She attends special education classes at school. Her mother and her neighbor always knew there was more going on in there than met the eye. Eventually, she finds a teacher who tries to help her and an aide who knows what she needs. They find an electronic device that allows Melody to show what has been going on in her head for the past eleven years. One of the first statements she programs into her machine is, “We all have disabilities. What’s yours?” She reserves this for particularly confrontational people. She enters an academic competition and shines, in spite of all the missteps and issues surrounding it.

Draper does an incredible job of getting inside Melody’s mind. People, even the people who know her well, often speak over Melody like she isn’t even there. Melody always points this out to the reader. Thus, the author shows how important it is to treat everyone with the same consideration and respect the reader would expect. Life is never easy for Melody, but she able to do what she can do.

This is an excellent resource to teach fourth grade readers about the spectrum of abilities and disabilities without being preachy. Melody loves words, so this is a great resource for increasing comprehension and literacy skills.

The author’s website, http://www.sharondraper.com offers an excellent study guide, complete with reading activities.

  • Out of My MindTITLE: Out of My Mind
  • AUTHOR: Sharon M. Draper
  • PUBLISHER: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • ISBN: 978-1-4169-7170-2
  • FORMAT: Hard cover, 295 pages
  • GENRE: Contemporary Fiction, Physical disability
Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Fiction, Physical challenges tagged with , , ,

Sugar and Ice

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Written by Kate Messner

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In this heartwarming tale, twelve-year-old Claire Boucher has a pretty good life in Vermont. Her parents gather maple sap from over 500 trees each year. She does well in school, she has a solid best friend in Natalie, and she loves skating. When a high-profile Russian skating coach spots her at the Maple Show, he offers her a scholarship for training in Lake Placid, an hour-and-a-half drive from Mojimuk Falls. How can she say no to such a magnificent opportunity? At the same time, how can she expect her parents to drive her to Lake Placid several times a week? She accepts the scholarship and is thrown into to a whirlwind of excitement, self-doubt, exhilaration, no time for Natalie, new friends, cutthroat competition, and intangible rewards. After a lot of heartache and missteps, her skating improves but she still misses the other things in her life. And the training atmosphere is not quite what she expected, either.

Fourth graders and older, especially girls, will love the idea that anyone can be discovered. Readers will learn a lot about competitive sports, and specifically skating terms. Claire’s math project about Fibonacci numbers is a strong theme that should interest even haters of math. Both of these themes provide ample room for reading activities. Ultimately, Claire learns a lot about herself and about what’s important in her life. She learns to stand up for herself and that it’s okay to say no.

Learn about the author and her other books at her website: www.katemessner.com.

  • Sugar and IceTitle: Sugar and Ice
  • Author: Kate Messner
  • Publisher: Walker & Company/Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, 288 pages
  • Genre: Contemporary middle grade fiction, figure skating, math, friendship
  • ISBN: 978-0-8027-2330-7
Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Fiction, Math, Sports tagged with ,

Touch Blue

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Written by Cynthia Lord

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Eleven-year-old Tess Brooks is looking forward to meeting her new foster brother, Aaron. Will she be able to handle all the baggage that he arrives with? Tess is a happy, well-adjusted girl who knows her own mind. She also knows the tiny Maine island on which she lives. The island is so small that the state is threatening to close the one-room school she and the other island children attend. Her mother is the teacher, which means her family would need to relocate if they lose her mother’s income. Partly as a response to the school situation, several families accept foster children to have more students. Tess’s family adds a thirteen-year-old boy whose mother struggles with drugs. The reader is invited aboard a lobster boat and also gets a big dose of life in a small town. Tess is a quirky mix of superstitious eleven-year-old and caring sister. Aaron has a chip on his shoulder, but he’s ultimately pragmatic, loving, and talented. Other wonderful characters include little sister Libby, irritating neighbor and nemesis Eben, and nosy neighbor Mrs. Coombs.

Lord deals with all the issues facing Tess with her usual compassion and tenderness, but these are large issues. Fourth grade readers will find a lot of information about how an uncertain future, a shaky past, and a sometimes-painful present can affect people. We can’t always control the situation, but we’re stronger than we think. Touch Blue has won numerous awards and appears on many reading lists, including Book Page Best Children’s Books of 2010. Learn about this and more titles from Lord’s website: www.cynthialord.com.

  • Touch BlueTitle: Touch Blue
  • Author: Cynthia Lord
  • Publisher: Scholastic, 2010
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, 186 pages
  • Genre: Middle grade, Coming of age, Maine, Foster children
  • ISBN: 978-0-545-03532-3
Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Humor tagged with ,

Angelina Jolie

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Written by Michael A. Schuman

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Most people know of Angelina Jolie from tabloid reports, but the tabloids often don’t even get the basic facts correct. So, anyone who wants to know her at all needs to read this wonderful biography, part of the “Celebrities with a Heart” series. Jolie is the daughter of two actors, Marcheline Bertrand and John Voight. Her parents split shortly after her birth, though she did spend time with each of them during her childhood. She was a troubled teenager, experimenting with drugs and self-cutting. Even when she ended that phase of her life, Jolie had a tendency toward self-destruction. For example, she would fall in love with a co-star then lose interest after the project ended. Her acting career has also had its ups and downs. But she is genuinely interested in helping refugees and others less fortunate than she is. Working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), she has made more than thirty trips to refugee camps throughout the world, shining a light on the refugee situation and helping out where she can. She’s also contributed a great deal of money to this cause and adopted three children from refugee camps.

Fourth graders will enjoy this biography, though some of the details are harsh enough that parents will want to discuss them with the readers. In particular, the conditions, including genocide and rape, in some of the locations Jolie visits may need further explanation. But the author in no way dwells on these subjects. To aid in comprehension and giving added value, the author includes a table of contents, excellent chronology, a filmography, a list of Jolie’s goodwill trips, chapter notes, a comprehensive list for further reading, and an index.

  • Angelina JolieTitle: Angelina Jolie
  • Author: Michael A. Schuman
  • Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-59845-203-7
  • Genre: Middle grade, Biography
Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Nonfiction

Grandfather’s Secret

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Written by Lois Szymanski

Illustrated by Kelli Nash

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Life along the Chesapeake is different than the life most other children experience. Fourth grade readers will learn a lot about Chesapeake life in a fun and exciting way in this family-style mystery.

As soon as Charley sees the houseboat his deceased grandfather left, he knows he has to restore it to its former glory. Charley’s father is a tough sell because he feels Grandfather let the family down by squandering money and the boat is just a piece of junk. But he comes around when he realizes Charley can be trusted. Charley and his friend Evan begin tearing up the floor inside the cabin. Suddenly, Charley hears and voice and feels his grandfather’s touch. Evan can also see the ghostly shape of Grandfather, who then tells the boys he needs them to retrieve some items that belong on the boat. The boys also encounter a ghostly lady who is guarding one of the items. And they learn of a third ghost. When the apparitions achieve their goals, they are able to pass on. Nash’s cover art is the perfect accompaniment to this enjoyable tale.

Throughout the narrative, the boys are shown using good safety techniques, adding to comprehension of the perils of life on the water. The boys use goggles and masks when working with chemicals. They always wear life vests on the water. When a storm hits unexpectedly, they wait it out like Charley’s father instructed him.

A number of excellent websites exist, which would aid in developing reading activities related to Szymanski’s story. http://www.kentislandheritagesociety.org/ and    http://www.smithisland.org/ are two such sites.

  • Grandfathers SecretTitle: Grandfather’s Secret
  • Written By: Lois Szymanski
  • Illustrated By: Kelli Nash
  • Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Paperback: 64 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-7643-3535-8
  • Genre: Life on the Chesapeake, Ghost Mystery
Posted in 2010, Fiction, Mystery

A Picture Book of Harry Houdini

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Written by David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler

Illustrated by Matt Collins

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Harry Houdini is a subject sure to enthrall young readers. The book opens to a dramatic moment. Houdini is lowered into a tank of water. “If I fail to appear my assistants will do everything possible to save my life.” The opening captures the essence of his career: he was the most celebrated escape artist of his time. » Read more

Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Nonfiction

The Woman Who Lived With Wolves and Other Stories from the Tipi

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Written and Illustrated by Paul Goble

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Paul Goble presents the philosophy and life-wisdom of a culture through simply stated stories that even a fourth grader would enjoy.And in the reading of the stories some of the thoughts rub off on the reader.

We love animals. A quote from Brave Buffalo, Lakota, shows the Native American belief that there can be communication between species, but “we must do the greater part in securing an understanding.” The birds and animals speak in their tongue, we have to work to understand, as the ancient people did. » Read more

Posted in 2010, Nature, Nonfiction, Social Studies

Hidden in the Midden

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Written by Martha S. Campbell

Illustrated by Chad Wallace

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When I was in high school, a friend gave me a sticker that said, “Neat people never make the exciting kinds of discoveries I do.”She knew me well. In the book, Hidden in the Midden, author Martha S. Campbell helps readers get to know the real live pack rats of the animal world, too. » Read more

Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Nature, Nonfiction, Science

Tides

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Written by Carolyn Ford

Illustrated by Marnie Webster

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Tides, by Carolyn Ford, is a simple, straightforward book about tides—what they are, what causes them, and what happens when all
that water rises and falls each day around the world. With seven pages of main text, the actual information provided is spare. However, Tides would be a good way to introduce readers in the fourth grade or younger to some of the basic concepts having to do with this powerful, important natural phenomenon. Using it as a read-aloud book would allow for discussion of questions about some of the concepts presented. » Read more

Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Nature, Nonfiction, Science