We the Children (2010) Andrew Clements

"A 6000-pound wrecking ball is about to demolish Benjamin Pratt's school... and he has only 28 days to figure out how to stop it."

Ben is not your typical kid. He actually likes his school, so when the news hits that his school will soon be demolished in order to become the site of a multi-million dollar amusement park, Ben's not happy. But before he can become too sad, the school custodian corners him in the hall and entrusts to Ben a strange coin...

This first volume (of six) of Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School is not a "series" in the sense that each book is a self-contained story. There's not much closure at the end of this book, but it is a compelling mystery, probably best suited for middle-school readers. We the Children owes a lot to the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew books, but is more serious in nature and contains a bit of a dark element. It's not quite what I was expecting from the author of Frindle, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I do plan to continue reading the next books and would recommend this book to young mystery fans. 

Illustrated by Adam Stower

160 pages

3.5/5

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Spelling Trouble (2013) Frank Cammuso

I often take home kids' graphic novels from the library because (1) I like to know what to recommend to patrons and (2) I just like them. The Misadventures of Salem Hyde was a nice surprise, a book that I hope turns into a good ongoing series of graphic novels for kids. 

Salem is a young witch who doesn't quite have a firm handle in casting spells, mostly due to her not being able to spell correctly. You can see the double meaning of "spell" and soon realize that wordplay is central to enjoying the book. Salem's animal companion Percival J. Whamsford III (or Whammy) is hired to help Salem out, but Whammy has used five of his nine lives and gets a little nervous when Salem starts casting spells, especially while she's losing her cool. 

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde isn't terribly original, but it is charming and Cammuso knows how to tell and compelling, fun story without letting it draw on for too long. The art style is similar to that of Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes fame. While the stories don't have the depth of Watterson, they're still fun. Highly recommended, especially for reluctant readers.  

4/5

The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan (GN J-Fic 2012) Maxwell Eaton III

Ace and Bub, the flying beaver brothers, are always up for some adventures. Well, actually that's not true: Ace is ready for any adventure, especially those related to extreme sports, but Bub is, unfortunately, addicted to napping. All. The. Time. When a group of penguins seeks to freeze Beaver Island to make a polar resort, the brothers have to come up with a plan to stop the penguin shenanigans in time for the Beaver Island Surfing Competition. 

The Flying Beaver Brothers is extremely goofy, but lots of fun. Some of the panels may be a little confusing to young readers; many are from the point-of-view of the beavers while they're underwater looking up, but it's pretty easy to figure out. Good transition graphic novel to get younger kids interested in reading. Check out Eaton's website for more on this series. 

4/5

Two Graphic Novels for Kids

Rust: Visitor in the Field (2011) Royden Lepp

Hardcover, 192 pages

$24.95

ISBN 9781936393275

Recommended for ages 8 and up

Rust: Visitor in the Field contains some absolutely beautiful images of life on a prairie farm, but before we get to that, we see something not-so-beautiful that occurred 48 years earlier: war. 

The uniforms and weapons resemble those from World War I, but we soon see some mechanical devices that look out-of-place and strange. Very strange.... In an almost wordless 30-page introduction filled with suspense and intrigue, Lepp had me hooked. 

Things slow down a bit when we jump to Taylor’s farm in the present. Young Roman Taylor is trying both to manage the farm and to reconstruct a.... Well, I’ll leave that part for you to discover (as well you should). Assisting Roman is an odd, yet mechanically gifted boy named Jet. I’ll leave that for you to discover as well. 

The entire book is filled with yellow, goldenrod and rust-colored tones that fit perfectly with the old-time mood of the tale. Lepp’s depictions of motion and his action scenes are breathtakingly beautiful, but at times the lack of more varied colors creates confusion as to the detail of people and machinery. Still, this is a nit-pick in an otherwise excellent graphic novel. I am certainly eager to read the next installment, Rust: Secrets of the Cell. 

4/5

10 Little Insects (2009/2012) Davide Cali, Vincent Pianina

Hardcover, 80 pages

$19.99

ISBN 9780987109910

Recommended for ages 9 and up

This was an odd little graphic novel that looks like a children’s picture book... Our library has it in the J-Fiction section, which is probably appropriate for older kids. The premise, as you might guess, is a riff on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, only with insects. 

It's goofy, quirky fun but I don't know many kids who would understand the book's vocabulary and subtleties, much less the jokes. Probably teens (who were forced to read the book for school) will get more out of it. I think it’s maybe a tiny bit violent for younger kids, but it is pretty much just goofy fun. Another strike against the book is the size of the panels, which are quite small. They’re not as small as those you’d find in a Tintin collection, but they’re pretty close. Check out a library copy before you buy it for yourself or someone else. 

3/5

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad! (2012) Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad (2012) Nathan Hale

Hardcover, 128 pages

Recommended for ages 8 and up

ISBN 9781419703959

Someone should build a statue of Nathan Hale. (I mean the author Nathan Hale, not the American Revolutionary War hero; he already has a statue.) Hale could very possibly, single-handedly, cause kids to love history. 

Seriously. I’m not joking.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales is a series of books for young readers that makes history accessible and fun through the graphic novel format. The second book in the series (after Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy) finds Nathan Hale (the spy, not the author; don’t get confused) about to be hanged by the British. Apparently in the first volume (which I have not read), Hale was swallowed up by a giant history book which gave him special powers to see future historical events. To delay his execution, Hale tells his executioners that in the future, “King George’s unstoppable Navy will become totally obsolete.” His British captors, of course, don’t believe him, but demand to hear this outrageous story. So Hale (in the manner of Scheherazade) tells the tale of the Civil War ironclads the Merrimack and the Monitor. 

Using the actual characters and events (with a few liberties), Hale tells a story that is both a compelling page-turner and LOL-worthy. The book works in part because Hale’s artwork (especially his characters’ facial expressions) is clear and easy to understand, but Hale also knows when and how much humor to mix with the action scenes (which are plenty). The tale is somewhat irreverent at times, but never to the detriment of the historical narrative. 

In short, history is fun again.

After the story is finished, Hale includes biographies of the book’s characters, a timeline for the events depicted, and an impressive bibliography for kids who want to read more. 

For librarians, teachers or parents looking for books for kids who love adventure and hate to read, your prayers have been answered. Pick up a copy of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad (or One Dead Spy or the new Donner Dinner Party) immediately. And check out Hale’s other work. Very highly recommended. 

5/5

Shadow on the Mountain (J-Fic 2012) - Margi Preus

Shadow on the Mountain (J-Fic 2012) - Margi Preus

304 pages

Based on actual events, this story of resistance and spying during the Nazi occupation of Norway in WWII begins well with 14-year-old Espen not only trying to figure out what's happening to his peace-loving country, but also to some of his friends and family as they begin to change. 

Espen's school and soccer friends are beginning to grow apart, taking interest in other activities. This is normal for kids, but in an occupied country, changes can lead to dangerous situations. Espen finds himself in the midst of several changes, some of which he's not sure how to handle. Eventually he will have to make some major changes and decisions in his own life. 

The novel seems to lose something when the story moves ahead in large gaps of time. We understand that the characters and situations have changed during these intervals, but something about the transitions just didn't work. (Clearly I can't put my finger on what that something is...) I think that perhaps the problem is in trying to tell to many stories without giving us enough development of those stories.

Kids who have an interest in history will probably enjoy Shadow on the Mountain, but lovers of Rick Riordan and fast-paced adventure - probably not. Still, for those kids who love history and spy stories (and they are out there), it's worth a look.

3/5 

J-Fic Read in June 2013

Just a quick word about this blog: it was created in partial fulfillment for my Young Adult Literature class in 2011 and has been dormant since that time. I've been reading more Juvenile fiction (J-Fic) lately, so I thought I'd include some of what I've discovered there. If you're not familiar with J-Fic, I'm defining it as that area between easy readers and YA (or teen) fiction, which can include chapter books, series, full-length novels, and graphic novels of all genres. 

So to get things started, here are the J-Fic titles I read in June:

The Cabinet of Wonders (2008) - Marie Rutkoski

The first in the Kronos Chronicles, a young Czech girl named Petra Kronos eagerly awaits the arrival of her father from Prague, where he has given the prince the gift of an unusual clock of his own invention. But when Petra’s dad comes home, she notices the prince has taken something else belonging to her father: his eyes. 

Outraged, Petra sets out to find out why the prince would do such a thing to her father, a man who never hurt anyone. Accompanying Petra is a tin spider named Astrophil, her best friend and an invention of her father. 

The Cabinet of Wonders is a grand adventure/quest story with a bit of Steampunk mixed in for good measure. I had a great time with the story and would like to thank Jennifer S. for recommending it.

Recommended for ages 9 and up

258 pages

4/5

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (2012) - Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom inaugurates the Heroes in Training series for young readers. As an entry level chapter book, the writers do a good job of introducing Zeus as a boy, giving the reader a taste for what it must be like to learn how to use your powers. I wasn’t that impressed with the story itself and its goofy humor, but I had to keep remembering that I’m not the audience here. Not a bad way to introduce the Greek gods.

Early chapter book - recommended for ages 7 and up

112 pages, several illustrations

3.5/5

What Came from the Stars (2012) - Gary D. Schmidt

You'll see several negative reviews for this book floating around the web. Here's what you should know about it:

The story is told from two different viewpoints from two different worlds, one of them with some strange vocabulary. (No worries: you can look these weird words up in the glossary in the back of the book.)

The book is challenging, with important parallels in both worlds. Keeping these straight is essential to enjoying the story.

In the midst of a story taking place on two different worlds, Schmidt touches on some heavy issues such as bullying, the death of a parent, and much more. 

If all this sounds like too much work, then this book is not for you. It's meant to challenge kids and it does. Schmidt is a smart writer and is not going to lead you by the hand. He does, however, give you a really good story with interesting characters that we care about. Recommended for kids (and adults) who get bored with the same old same old. 

Recommended for ages 11 and up

304 pages

4.5/5

The Graveyard Plot (2012) - Jason Strange 

This is my first experience with the Jason Strange series, which has lots of advantages for young (and possibly reluctant) readers: 

A short book with short chapters

Plenty of illustrations 

Good pacing

The creep factor is pretty high for a book for young readers. There's no gore, but the build-up and the scares were much better than I had anticipated. If you know young readers who are not quite ready for The Last Apprentice series, the Jason Strange books might be just what you're looking for. The book also ends with "case files,” alerting readers that this is just one tale in an ongoing series. It even includes a few discussion questions and writing prompts for aspiring young writers. Be sure you know your reader, however. The book might be too intense for some kids.

Early chapter book - recommended for ages 7 and up

62 pages, several illustrations (some of them creepy)

4/5