MS Book talk - Set 1 - Library Media Support Services

JUNIOR DIVISION
4TH – 6TH GRADES
THE 11 BIRTHDAYS by Wendy Mass. Scholastic, c 2009, p. 267.
GENRES:
Realistic Fiction/Friendship
SUBJECTS: Birthdays - Juvenile Fiction
Time - Juvenile Fiction
Friendship - Juvenile Fiction
Interpersonal Relations - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Amanda and Leo have celebrated their birthdays together for 10
years. They might have continued to do so, if it weren’t for some
unkind words, spoken by Leo, and overheard by Amanda at the 10th
birthday party.
One year later, by the time of their eleventh birthday, they still
haven’t spoken to each other. They have separate parties, which
aren’t nearly as much fun as one big party. Amanda has such an
awful day, that when she wakes up the next day, she is glad her
birthday is over.
But everyone else in her family seems to think it is still her birthday.
And when she gets to school, everyone else does too! It’s as if her
birthday is being replayed. The longer it goes on, the more confused
she gets—could she be stuck in some kind of time warp? The next
morning it is the same thing, again. And the next day? Again, she
wakes up to her 11th birthday. By day four Amanda knows she has
to do something. Not surprisingly, so does Leo.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/11-Birthdays-WendyMass/dp/0545052408/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301420103&
sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/11Birthdays/Wendy-Mass/e/9780545052399/?itm=2
BOOK TALKS:
Have you ever wished that every day could be your birthday –
birthday cake and ice cream, presents, friends, lots of attention –
every day? Well guess what, it isn’t all that great to celebrate your
birthday day in and day out. Especially when it is the first time you
are celebrating your birthday without your BFF. You know what
BFF stands for, right? (Best Friends Forever). Leo and Amanda
were destined to be BFFs. They were born in the same hospital at
exactly the same time. There was even a mysterious old woman at
the hospital who told their mothers that Leo and Amanda must
celebrate their birthdays together every year.
So what happened? Why aren’t they celebrating their 11th birthdays
together? Well, at the 10th birthday party, someone said something
that wasn’t very nice and from there on out, it’s been no BFF, no
joint birthdays, no matter what.
Until Amanda wakes up the morning after her birthday, and the day after
that, and theday after that, to find that she is reliving her birthday over and
over again. On the fourth day she realizes that there is one other person
reliving this day – her former BFF. Only by working together are the two
of them going to get out of this mess
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=38902
Video book talk
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewbook.aspx?BookId=1107
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.wendymass.com/
READ ALIKES:
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Leap Day by Wendy Mass
The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry
12 Finally by Wendy Mass
AMULET: THE STONEKEEPER by Kazu Kibuishi. Graphix, c 2008, p.185. Series
GENRES:
Graphic Novels
SUBJECTS: Haunted Houses – Comic Books, Strips, Etc.
Supernatural – Comic Books, Strips, Etc.
Comic Books, Strips, Etc. – United States
Brothers and Sisters – Juvenile Fiction
Amulets – Juvenile Fiction
Fantasy – Juvenile Literature
Caricatures and Cartoons – Juvenile Literature
SUMMARY: "After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their
mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange
house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the
kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to
lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons,
robots, and talking animals. Eventually, they enlist the help of a small
mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most
terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone
she loves." REVIEWS: Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Stonekeeper-Amulet-Book1/dp/0439846811/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269387501&sr=
1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Amulet/KazuKibuishi/e/9780439846813/?itm=1 BOOK TALKS:
Up until now, the single worst day in Emily's life was the day that
she watched her father die. Their car had gone off the road in a
snowstorm, and Emily and her mother had barely escaped with their
lives. Now it's two years later, and Emily, her brother Navin, and their
mother are moving into the home of her great-grandfather Silas. After his
wife died Silas stopped leaving the house, and he was never seen
again. Now the house is empty, but the neighbors think that it's
haunted. While Emily, Navin, and their mother are cleaning the house,
Emily discovers her great-grandfather's library. It contains books,
paintings, blueprints, puzzles ... and a VERY unusual amulet. Emily
doesn't realize just how unusual this amulet is until she puts it on and it
starts talking to her. The voice from the amulet tells her that her family is
in danger. Which is true, because her mother is about to be kidnapped by
a strange creature, and taken into the amazing world that is hidden beneath
the old house. The amulet tells Emily how to find her greatgrandfather. It tells her that she now has magical powers that she must
learn to control. Soon, Emily is going to face tougher choices than she's
ever had before. Will it be more important to save her mother, her
brother, or herself? Does she want the power that the amulet is giving
her? And should she even trust the amulet? From
http://beabetterbooktalker.com/2011/09/20/booktalk-amulet-book-1-thestonekeeper-by-kazu-kibuishi.aspx
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=31237 http://bcove.me/1l6281qb Video Book talk
AUTHOR’S SITE:
http://www.boltcity.com/ READ ALIKES:
Redwall: The Graphic Novel by Brian Jacques, illus. by Bret Blevins
Pendragon: The Graphic Novel by D.J. MacHale
Bone by Jeff Smith (series)
SEQUEL:
The Stonekeeper’s Curse
CHASING REDBIRD by Sharon Creech. HarperCollins, c 1997, p. 261.
GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Aunts--Juvenile Fiction
Uncles-- Juvenile Fiction
Death-- Juvenile Fiction
Grief-- Juvenile Fiction
Families-- Juvenile Fiction
Guilt-- Juvenile Fiction
Joy and Sorrow-- Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: It started out as an ordinary summer. But the minute 13-year-old
Zinny discovered the old, overgrown trail that ran through the
woods behind her family's house, she realized that things were about
to change. Right from the start, Zinny knew that uncovering the trail
would be more than just a summer project. It was her chance to
finally make people notice her, and to have a place she could call
her very own. But more than that, Zinny knew that the trail
somehow held the key to all kinds of questions. And that the only
way to understand her family, her Aunt Jessie's death, and herself
was to find out where it went. Here is the story of a girl who sets out
in search of her place in the world and discovers it in her own
backyard.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Redbird-rpkg-SharonCreech/dp/0064406962
BOOK TALKS: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/creech_chasing.htm
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/sharon-creech
READ ALIKES:
Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Achingly Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (series)
THE DAY JOANIE FRANKENHAUSER BECAME A BOY by Francess Lin Lantz.
Penguin Young Readers Group, c 2005, p 151
GENRE:
Realistic Fiction/School Stories
SUBJECTS: Sex Role – Fiction
Schools – Fiction
Football Fiction
Family Life – Pennsylvania – Fiction
Dogs – Fiction
Pennsylvania – Fiction
SUMMARY: Joanie's mom wants her to act more “like a girl,” but who can play
basketball in a skirt and cute plastic sandals? When Joanie's family moves
to a new town, a typo on the school records makes her “John” instead of
“Joan,” and she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself. But how long can
she keep pretending? And even if she could keep her identity secret,
would she want to? Being a boy is no walk in the park! REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Day-Joanie-Frankenhauser-BecameBoy/dp/0525474374/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-56421843582520?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179788173&sr=8-1 Barnes and
Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=
y&EAN=9780525474371&itm=1 BOOKTALKS:
(write J O A N) on chalkboard or piece of paper.
Read Chapt. 1 from "I'm open, I'm open!" to "Just everything."
Joan, aka Joanie Frankenhauser likes to skateboard, play sports, and write stories about
her alter-ego, SuperKid who regularly battles and defeats the evil Dr. Dread. Her parents
think she should wear dresses, barrettes, and lip gloss, they won't let her play tackle
football and her old teacher thinks her SuperKid stories are too violent for a girl. When
the family moves to a new town and the school misspells one little letter in her name on
the class roster, Joan (erase A and write in H)… becomes John. She already wears Tshirts and skater shorts, she's good at football, climbing trees, and burping, and she loves
gross jokes, so instead of correcting the teacher, she goes along with it and decides to try
living as a boy for a while, since they get to do all the things she wants to do. But Joanie,
um, John, soon realizes that being a boy doesn't mean having it easy. Whether it's dealing
with a bully who picks on anyone he sees as weak, trying to figure out if being a guy
means you HAVE to act like a jerk, and trying to keep her parents from finding out her
new school thinks she's a boy while keeping her school from finding out she's really a
girl, Joanie has to figure out not how to be a boy or how to be a girl, but how to just be
Joanie.
http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-joanie.html
READ ALIKES
A Crooked Kind Of Perfect by Linda Urban
The Breadwinner by Debra Ellis
Alanna: the first adventure by Tamora Pierce
DOG LOST by Ingrid Lee. Scholastic, c 2008, p. 197. GENRE:
Animal Stories
SUBJECTS: Pit Bull Terriers - Juvenile Fiction
Dogs - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: After living happily in a warm home with an eleven-year-old boy, a pit
bull terrier is forced to survive on the streets, where its brave deeds
surprise many residents who dislike or fear pit bulls. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Lost-IngridLee/dp/0545085780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269388723&s
r=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dog-Lost/IngridLee/e/9780545085786/?itm=1#TABS BOOK TALKS: Cash is a good dog who breaks the stereotypes about pit bulls.
Everyone knows that pit bulls are dangerous, ready to fight at the drop of a
hat, attacking without a reason, killing or injuring both children and
adults. There ought to be a law against them!
Her name was Cash, and Mackenzie fell in love with her as soon as he saw
her. He'd always wanted a puppy. She was a good dog, never making a
fuss, never doing anything she wasn't supposed to. The house near the
train tracks was safe and warm. It had been a long time since Cash was
either of those things, and she'd never had anyone take care of her the way
Mackenzie did.
Mackenzie was happy too. He didn't really have any friends, but he had
Cash and that was enough. It didn't take Cash long to learn not to make
the big man angry, just like Mackenzie had learned. But she was only a
puppy, not even a year old, and puppies make mistakes. Mackenzie's
father shouted at her, then picked her up and threw her in the trunk of the
car, and drove away, paying no attention to Mackenzie's shouts and
tears. When he thought he was far enough away, he stopped the car and
dragged Cash out of the trunk, then shouted and kicked at her. Cash took
off as fast as she could, across the field filled with rubble, not stopping
until she found a shelter where she could wait for Mackenzie. She had no
idea where she was, but she was sure he would come and take her back
where it was safe and warm.
She waited for three days without food or water. Mackenzie didn't
come. Finally, she realized that he wasn't coming, and that she needed to
learn how to survive on her own, and find food and water and shelter. But
that wasn't easy in a town that hated pit bulls, and was about to pass a law
banning them.
Mackenzie never gave up looking for Cash, always hoping that sometime,
somehow, she'd show up. But the months passed, and Cash grew from a
puppy to a dog-a big dog, with a strong jaw and sharp teeth, and a bark
that was deep and threatening. And even though Cash really was a good
dog, she looked dangerous, and people were afraid of her.
Sometimes lost dogs are found. Sometimes they aren't. What does the
future hold for Cash and Mackenzie?
This booktalk was written by university professor, librarian, and booktalking expert Joni
Richards Bodart.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=36162 http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640149541&
bcpid=1640149541&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFv844g~,BASb5BU03XiSxP2xnUo82nI3lwCMiDm&bclid=1557820328&bctid=1889904397
video booktalk
READ ALIKES:
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
Cat Found by Ingrid Lee
Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant
Straydog by Kathe Koja
A DOG’S LIFE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A STRAY by Ann M Martin.
Scholastic, Inc, c 2005, p 182
GENRE:
Animal Stories
SUBJECT:
Dogs – Juvenile Fiction
Orphaned Animals – Fiction SUMMARY: Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a tool shed behind
someone's summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them
the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their
mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced
to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal,
busy highways, other animals and the changing seasons. When Bone and
Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself and in the
process makes two friends who in very different ways define her fate. REVIEWS: Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Life-AutobiographyStray/dp/0439717000/ref=sr_1_1/102-56421843582520?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179790084&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780439717007&itm=1
BOOKTALKS:
Squirrel hasn't had a real home in a long time. Probably since that time she and her brother, Bo
wandering in the woods and from town to town ever since Mother disappeared. Squirrel figure
picked up and abandoned by this couple in a parking lot. Both thrown out of a car door and bo
coming in the middle of the road.
Not being anyone's pet, Squirrel figured she'd be on her own forever and that she would feel c
they be cruel or kind? Can a family pet experience loneliness too? Foraging food from garbag
people, is the only life Squirrel has known.
What is to become of Squirrel? Will she ever find Mother or Bone, or another friend, or will s
[email protected], librarian)
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1209_type=Book_t
ypeId=4253 http://youtu.be/x4Ub-Dqs-O8 Video Book Talk
AUTHOR’S PAGE: http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/
READ ALIKES:
Stay!: Keeper’s Story by Lois Lowry
Dog by Daniel Pennac
A Dog On His Own by Mary Jane Auch
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
DOUBLE IDENTITY by Margaret Peterson Haddix Simon and Schuster Children’s, c
2005, p 224 GENRE:
Science Fiction
SUBJECT:
Cloning – Fiction
Identity – Fiction
Secrets – Fiction
Aunts – Fiction
SUMMARY: As Bethany approaches her thirteenth birthday, her parents act more oddly
than usual. Her mother cries constantly, and her father barely lets Bethany
out of his sight. Then one morning he hustles the entire family into the car,
drives across several state lines -- and leaves Bethany with an aunt she
never knew existed. Bethany has no idea what's going on. She's worried
her mom and dad are running from some kind of trouble, but she can't find
out because they won't tell her where they are going. Bethany's only clue
is a few words she overheard her father tell her aunt: "She doesn't know
anything about Elizabeth." But Aunt Myrlie won't tell Bethany who
Elizabeth is, and she won't explain why people in her small town react to
Bethany as if they've seen a ghost. The mystery intensifies when Bethany
gets a package from her father containing four different birth certificates
from four different states, with four different last names -- and thousands
of dollars in cash. And when a strange man shows up asking questions,
Bethany realizes she's not the only one who's desperate to unravel the
secrets of her past.
REVIEWS: Amazon/Borders http://www.amazon.com/Double-Identity-MargaretPeterson-Haddix/dp/0689873794/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188341098&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780689873744&itm=2
BOOK TALKS: Bethany's parents have always been a bit too protective of her but this
is taking it too far. They have packed up her stuff and leave her with a
complete stranger. They tell her that she will be safe and they'll get in
touch in a few days. How weird is that? What is going on? She finds out
that the woman is actually an aunt that she never knew existed. And the
people in town seem to think that Bethany is someone named
Elizabeth. Who is Elizabeth? As the days go on, Bethany learns a secret
that makes her question everything she has ever known about herself and
her parents.
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/haddix_double.htm
READ ALIKES:
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman
Escape From Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix
ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine. HarperCollins, c1997, p. 232.
GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS:
Fantasy—Juvenile Fiction
Princesses—Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: The 1998 Newbery Honor Book, Ella Enchanted, is the funny and
charming story of a girl who receives a most unfortunate “gift” of
complete obedience. At her birth, Ella of Frell was given the gift of
obedience by a fairy. Ella soon realizes that this gift is little better
than a curse, though, for how can she truly be herself when at any
moment she must obey any order given to her, whether it is to hop
on one foot, or cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom. But spunky
Ella does not tamely accept her fate: “Instead of making me docile,
Lucinda’s curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way
naturally.” Battling hungry ogres, wicked stepsisters, and foolish
fairies along the way, fifteen-year-old Ella embarks on a quest to
break the curse—once and for all.
REVIEWS: Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/Ella-Enchanted-Gail-CarsonLevine/dp/productdescription/0060558865/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=boo
ks
BOOK TALKS: When baby Ella was just an hour old she was granted a gift of
obedience by a fairy name Lucinda. The gift she received proved to be
more of a curse for Ella. Ella was forced to obey any command directed to
her even if it was to cut off her own head. After Ella's mother died, Ella's
evil stepmother sends her to finishing school with her two stepsisters,
Hatti and Olive. Ella is face with a terrible decision when her love, prince
Charmont demands to know her feelings for him. In sharing her affection
Charmont would be placed in great danger. Does Ella defy her curse, or
obey her gift of obedience? (Justine Hoeftmann, [email protected], college student)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/levine_ella.htm
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.gailcarsonlevine.com/
READ ALIKES
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl
THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly. Henry Holt and
Co., c 2009, p. 340.
GENRE:
Historical Fiction
SUBJECTS: Nature Stories
Families – Texas - Juvenile Fiction
Grandfathers - Juvenile Fiction
Naturalists - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: A young girl struggles against the gender roles set out for her in
1899 Texas, as she attempts to further her interest in the natural
sciences, joins her cantankerous grandfather on his naturalist quests
and deals with her 7 brothers and a mother and father determined to
see her act like a young lady.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Calpurnia-Tate-JacquelineKelly/dp/031265930X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301445714
&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Evolution-ofCalpurnia-Tate/Jacqueline-Kelly/e/9780805088410/?itm=2
BOOK TALKS: Life is kind of frustrating for Calpurnia Tate. She’s the only girl
in the family, smack dab in the middle between three older brothers
and three younger. At 12-years old, she’s expected to start acting
like a young lady, but Callie isn’t interested in the stuff that her
mother thinks a young lady should like, such as playing the piano
and cooking and sewing. What she is interested in is grasshoppers.
And dogs. And birds. And worms. Callie is interested in science and
the world around her, even though no seems willing or able to
answer all of the questions she writes down in her Notebook.
Callie suspects if she could get her hands on the copy of Charles
Darwin’s recently published and controversial book The Origin of
Species, many of her questions would be answered. But no one
thinks a young lady in 1899 has any business reading such a
scandalous and controversial book - no one, that is, except maybe
Callie’s grandfather, a scientist and naturalist himself. While he’s
not a fan of children, in general, Callie’s scientific interest and her
love of experiments can’t help but make him curious about her - and
when they find a plant that might just be a newly discovered species,
Callie and her grandfather discover they have a lot more in common
than they realized.
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=732
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/kelly_evolution.htm
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.jacquelinekelly.com/
READ ALIKES:
Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer Holm
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brinks
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
FOUND by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, c
2008, p. 314. Series
GENRE:
Science Fiction
SUBJECTS: Adoption - Juvenile Fiction
Time Travel - Juvenile Fiction
Science Fiction - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they
were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies
with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery
involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the
fabric of time. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Found-Missing-Margaret-PetersonHaddix/dp/141695421X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=126947951
5&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Found/MargaretPeterson-Haddix/e/9781416954217/?itm=1 BOOK TALKS: http://bcove.me/xofkx57w Video Book Talk
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/haddix_found.htm AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.haddixbooks.com/home.html READ ALIKES:
The Time Hackers by Gary Paulsen
Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman (series)
Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer (series)
Pendragon: the Merchant of Death by D.J. Machale
SERIES ORDER:
1. Found
2. Sent
3. Sabotaged
4. Torn
Happenstance Found by P. W. Catanese. Aladdin, c 2009, p. 342.
GENRE:
Fantasy/Adventure
SUBJECTS: Adventure Stories
Identity (Psychology) - Juvenile Fiction
Magic - Juvenile Fiction
Imaginary Creatures - Juvenile Fiction
Fantasy - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: A boy awakens, blindfolded, with no memory of even his name, but soon
meets Lord Umber, an adventurer and inventor, who calls him
Happenstance and tells him that he has a very important destiny--and a
powerful enemy.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Happenstance-Found-Books-UmberCatanese/dp/1416953825/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=13032486
80&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/HappenstanceFound/P-W-Catanese/e/9781439153376/?itm=1
BOOK TALKS: http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1214
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.pwcatanese.com/
READ ALIKES:
Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve
The Various by Steve Augarde
The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
IGNATIUS MACFARLAND: FREQUENAUT! by Paul Feig. Little Brown, c 2008,
p. 353.
GENRES:
Science Fiction
SUBJECTS: Space and Time--Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Bullied in school and called "Piggy MacFartland," twelve-year-old Iggy
longs to travel to another planet and live among extraterrestrials, until an
explosion transports him to a scary alternate reality. REVIEWS: Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Ignatius-MacFarland-FrequenautPaulFeig/dp/0316166642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12694812
63&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/IgnatiousMcFarland/Paul-Feig/e/9780316166638/?itm=7 BOOKTALK: After being teased one too many times at school, 12 year-old Ignatius
MacFarland decides to build a rocket. Maybe extraterrestrials are nicer
than his classmates! But instead of landing in outer space, Ignatius ends up
in another frequency ruled by bitter former English teacher, Chester
Arthur. Mr. Arthur has taken the advancements from our world and passed
them off as his own, so everyone in the frequency thinks he's a genius. It's
up to Iggy and Karen, another trapped earthling, to expose Mr. Arthur for
the fraud that he is—and to hopefully make it home alive.
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/frequenaut/index.html
READ ALIKES:
Galax-Arena by Gillian Rubenstein
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks (series)
JAKE RANSOM AND THE SKULL KING’S SHADOW by James Rollins.
HarperCollins, c 2009, p. 399.
GENRE:
Science Fiction/Adventure
SUBJECTS: Space and Time - Juvenile Fiction
Adventure Stories
Brothers and Sisters - Juvenile Fiction
Animals, Fossil - Juvenile Fiction
Archaeology - Juvenile Fiction
Mayas – Antiquities - Juvenile Fiction
Indians of Central America – Antiquities - Juvenile Fiction
Science Fiction - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Connecticut middle-schooler Jake and his older sister Kady are
transported by a Mayan artifact to a strange world inhabited by a mix of
people from long-lost civilizations who are threatened by prehistoric
creatures and an evil alchemist, the Skull King.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Jake-Ransom-Skull-KingsShadow/dp/0061473812/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130325120
5&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Jake-Ransom-andthe-Skull-Kings-Shadow/James-Rollins/e/9780061473791/?itm=3#TABS
BOOK TALKS:
Three years ago, Jake and Kady Ransom’s parents vanished
without a trace while on an archaeological dig in Central America. But
before they disappeared, the young siblings were sent journals and two
halves of a Mayan coin that they now where around their necks. When the
teens are invited to an exhibit honoring their parents’ discoveries at the
British Museum in London, they recognize an artifact from their parents’
journals. And when they place their coin halves in a convenient spot on
the artifact, the siblings are mystically transported to a strange land with
various cultures across Earth’s history. Jake and Kady not only need to
find a way to get back home, but find themselves involved in this new
world’s fight against the evil Skull King.
http://scifichick.com/2010/07/01/book-review-jake-ransom-and-the-skullking’s-shadow/
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=718
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22drw7ukyNc
Video Book Talk
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.jamesrollins.com/
READ ALIKES:
Bad Island by Doug TenNapel
Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull
Magyk by Angie Sage (Septimis Heap Series; Book 1)
LISTENING FOR LIONS by Gloria Whelan. Harper Collins Publishers, c 2005, p
208 GENRE:
Historical Fiction
SUBJECT:
Self-realization – Juvenile Fiction
Orphans – Juvenile Fiction
Physicians – Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Thirteen-year-old Rachel Sheridan is left an orphan after influenza takes
the lives of her missionary parents in British East Africa in 1919. National
Book Award-winning author Whelan crafts a wickedly delicious story of
treachery and triumph, in which one young woman must claim her true
identity in order to forge her own future and transform herself from victim
to heroine. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Listening-Lions-GloriaWhelan/dp/006058176X/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188341453&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780060581749&itm=2 BOOK TALKS: The setting is British East Africa, 1919. Rachel Sheridan is 13 years
old and lives with her parents in a missionary hospital. Her father was the doctor and
cared for all the Africans who came for his help. Her mother was the village teacher and
would assist in the hospital after school. Rachel herself helped out by taking temperatures
and pulses and scrubbing the operating room of all the blood. Rachel's friends were the
African children in her village and her father's trusted helper Kanoro. The white English
people she knew were the wealthy Pritchards, who looked down with disdain on the
Africans and would often beat their servants or work them almost to death. Their
daughter Valerie was the same age as Rachel and even had the same ginger-colored hair,
but they were hardly friends. Valerie was snobbish, rude, and wouldn't have anything to
do with that pauper Rachel. The First World War had just ended and everyone hoped that
all those deaths were at an end and then the influenza struck all over the world. In
America, half a million people died, in India it was many millions. Africa was not spared.
It began in the seaport of Mombasa, traveled 300 hundred miles inland to Nairobi and
then crept into all the villages, farms, and plantations. Her father's hospital was soon
overcrowded with flu victims. She could no longer go to the hospital to help out, the
disease was just too contagious. Soon her mother contracted the flu and died. The next
day the Pritchards brought their daughter into their hospital because it was too far to go
the white hospital in Nairobi. Valerie, like so many others, did not make it. Shortly after
Rachel's father also died. She, like her parents before her, was now an orphan. With no
relatives to care for her, her only hope was to contact the mission headquarters and let
them know her plight. To do so, she had to telephone from the Pritchard's house. The
Pritchard's immediately took her in and agreed to contact the mission house. But that was
not to be - they had other plans for Rachel and it included impersonating their dead
daughter. http://www.yourlibrary.ws/ya_webpage/ritba/ritba07/lions.htm
AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.gloriawhelan.com/
READ ALIKES:
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Star of Kazaan by Eva Ibbotson
Outbreak: plagues that changed history by Bryn Barnard
THE MAZE OF BONES By Rick Riordan. Scholastic, c 2008, p. 220. Series.
GENRE:
Adventure/Mystery
SUBJECTS: Family Secrets - Juvenile Fiction
Code and Cipher Stories
Detective and Mystery Stories SUMMARY: What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the
most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's
power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 clues? What if you were given a
choice - take a million dollars and walk away ... or get the first clue? If you're Amy and
Dan Cahill, you take the clue - and begin a very dangerous race. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/39-Clues-Book-LibrarySpecial/dp/0545090547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=126948208
8&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Maze-ofBones/Rick-Riordan/e/9780545060394/?itm=1 BOOK TALKS: Read the book. Play the game. Solve the clues. Win the prizes.
Five minutes before she died, Grace Cahill changed her will. With one shaky signature
she changed the destiny of the entire Cahill family, and perhaps that of the world as
well. That signature would set into motion events that could mean the end of civilization
as we know it.
“The children are old enough. They are our only chance,” Grace said to William, her
attorney and closest friend for half her life. “If they don’t succeed, 500 years of work
will have been for nothing.” And with that final statement, Grace Cahill closed her eyes
for the last time.
About 400 family members came to her funeral. About 40 of them were invited to the
reading of the will she had kept secret for so long and had signed so recently. William
played a videotape she’d made months before, in case she decided to sign her secret,
alternative will. In it she challenged her heirs to the most important task they would ever
face. Each of them was given a voucher for a million dollars. They could choose to keep
it, or they could turn it in and get a clue instead, the first of 39 clues that could lead one
individual or one team to the most important treasure in the world, and make them
powerful beyond belief. That clue would become their only inheritance—no money, no
keepsakes, no property of any kind.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=35884 http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/video.jsp?pID=1640183585&bcpid=1640183585&b
ckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFv844g~,BASb5BU03X_L2cn86MC9qSzQHunGEilJ&bclid=1768
641573&bctid=1772030124
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.rickriordan.com/ http://www.the39clues.com/
READ ALIKES:
The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (series)
Holes by Louis Sachar
SERIES ORDER:
1. The Maze of Bones
2. One False Note
3. The Sword Thief
4. Beyond The Grave
5. The Black Circle
6. In Too Deep
7. The Viper’s Nest
8. The Emperor’s Code
9. Storm Warning
10. Into the Gauntlet
11. Vespers Rising
PRINCESS ACADEMY by Shannon Hale Bloomsbury USA, c 2005, p 250 GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Princesses – Fiction
Self-confidence – Fiction
Telepathy – Fiction
Mountains – Fiction
Schools – Fiction
SUMMARY: While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the
other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri
discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.
REVIEWS: Amazon/Borders http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Academy-ShannonHale/dp/1599900734/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188343988&sr=8-1 Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9781933322773&itm=3 BOOK TALKS: Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have
quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's
priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a
year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among
the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the
mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a
princess. Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy
mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting
desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But
when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri
must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain
dwellers to save herself and her classmates. (Rebecca Caudill Young
Readers’ Book Award 2008)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/hale_princess.htm AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html READ ALIKES:
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
SAVVY by Ingrid Law. Dial Books for Young Readers, c 2008, p. 342. GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Magic - Juvenile Fiction
Brothers and Sisters - Juvenile Fiction
Voyages and Travels - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has
revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her
family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Savvy-IngridLaw/dp/0142414336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269484089&
sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble –
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Savvy/IngridLaw/e/9789862164075/?itm=4&USRI=savvy BOOK TALKS: Imagine turning 13 and having supernatural abilities. As each member
of the Beaumont family turns that magic age, their SAVVY, as they refer to their unusual
ability, emerges. 12 year old Mississippi Beaumont, known as Mibs, is approaching that
enchanted age. Just before her 13th birthday, her father is in an accident and lies in a
coma at the hospital. Will she get her Savvy in time to save him? Will Mibs be able to
move mountains, conjure up hurricanes or have time traveling sneezes like other
members in the family? Join Mibs and her traveling companions as they take an unusual
journey to discover her abilities and try to save her father. (New Hampshire Great Stone
Face nominee, 2009-2010)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/law_savvy.htm
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=525 AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.ingridlaw.com/ READ ALIKES:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (series)
Alanna; The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins
Hidden Talents by David Lubar
THE SCARECROW AND HIS SERVANT by Philip Pullman. Random House
Children’s Books, c 2005, p 240 GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Scarecrows – Juvenile Fiction
Friendship – Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Master storyteller Philip Pullman tells the tale of the Scarecrow, brought to
life by a lightning bolt, and Jack, a boy who become his faithful servant. As the valiant
Scarecrow plunges them into terrifying dangers, he never realizes he's being followed by
the one family who desperately wishes he'd never sprung to life. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Scarecrow-His-Servant-PhilipPullman/dp/0440421306/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188344794&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=978
0375815317&itm=2 BOOKTALKS: "One day old Mr. Pandolfo, who hadn't been feeling at all well, decided
that it was time to make a scarecrow. The birds had been very troublesome. Come to that,
his rheumatism had been troublesome, and the soldiers had been troublesome, and the
weather had been troublesome, and his cousins had been troublesome. It was all getting a
bit too much for him. [p. 1]"
“So he put together a fine-looking scarecrow, with a big solid turnip for a head and a
sturdy broomstick for a backbone, and dressed him in his old tweed suit, and stuffed him
tightly with straw. Then he tucked a short letter inside him, wrapped in oilskin for safety,
to show where he belonged.” [p. 2]"
And Mr. Pandolfo stuck that scarecrow in the middle of the wheat field and went home to
lie down because he wasn't feeling well at all.
But before that scarecrow had a chance to scare any birds, he was stolen by a particularly
lazy farmer. It turns out that there were a lot of lazy farmers about, because that
scarecrow kept getting stolen – moving farther and farther from the place where he was
made. One very stormy night, when “all his molecules and atoms and elementary
particles and whatnot were lined up in exactly the right way,” the scarecrow was struck
by lightning and came to life!
This scarecrow needs help, though. Fortunately, sleeping in a barn not far away is young
Jack. The next day, when Jack hears the scarecrow calling for help to get out, he obliges.
And, when the scarecrow offers Jack the job of personal servant, Jack takes it. Together
these two set off on a series of adventures, involving soldiering, a shipwreck, a trial by
jury, and a performance of The Tragical History of Harlequin and Queen Dido! Their
most important adventure involves the short letter that Mr. Pandolfo stuck inside his
chest. That letter may make the difference between life and death in the scarecrow's
beautiful home of Spring Valley. http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-scarecrow.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/librarians/booktalks_ScarecrowServant.htm AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.philip-pullman.com/ READ ALIKES: The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
SCAT by Carl Hiaasen. Alfred A. Knopf, c 2009, p. 371.
GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Teachers - Juvenile Fiction
Missing Persons - Juvenile Fiction
Wilderness Areas - Juvenile Fiction
Wildlife Conservation - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire
starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes
missing.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Scat-CarlHiaasen/dp/0375834877/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130325384
8&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Scat/CarlHiaasen/e/9780375834868/?itm=3
BOOK TALKS:
Nick and Marta are on a class field trip in Black Vine Swamp, avoiding
bugs, stumbling into spider webs and taking notes about the flora and
fauna. It is an average class outing. While the students are being quizzed
about the biology of the swamp, a fierce, piercing cry rises above the trees.
Moments later, they see something racing through the trees yards away
from them. “Something was running among the tree trunks--a large,
tannish blur. ‘Where’d it go?’ Marta whispered. ‘What was it?’ ‘Just wait,’
Nick said, but there was no other movement. Moments later, the students
heard splashes, and then a heavy rustling that faded into silence. Nobody
made a peep until Mr. Neal spoke. ‘Probably just a fox or a wild hog-nothing to worry about,’ he said, not sounding too sure of himself. Nick
switched off his camera. ‘That was too big for a fox. I bet it was a
panther.’” As if that isn’t enough, the kids start to smell smoke in the
woods...http://www.multcolib.org/talk/ORCA/2012/guides-scat.html
AUTHOR’ SITE:
http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.shtml
READ ALIKES:
Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen (series)
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Ballliett
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
SEER OF SHADOWS by Avi. HarperCollins, c 2008, p. 202. GENRE:
Historical Fiction/Horror
SUBJECTS: Photography – History - Juvenile Fiction
Ghosts - Juvenile Fiction
Swindlers and Swindling - Juvenile Fiction
Revenge - Juvenile Fiction
Horror Tales - Juvenile Literature SUMMARY: In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's
apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit
photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead
girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Seer-ShadowsAvi/dp/0060000171/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269486191&s
r=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Seer-ofShadows/Avi/e/9780060000158/?itm=2 BOOKTALKS:
The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality.
So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art.
But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange
things begin to happen.
Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead
daughter, Eleanora.
Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora really
was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his
photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful
wraith intent on punishing those who abused her.
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Seer-Shadows-Avi/?isbn=9780060000158
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.avi-writer.com/ READ ALIKES:
Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman
Wait Till Helen Comes: a ghost story by Mary Downing Hahn
Also check 133, 398.25 and Short Story Collections for more ghost stories
SHAKESPEARE’S SECRET by Elise Broach. Holt Henry Books for Young Readers, c
2005, p 256 SUBJECTS: Shakespeare, William, 1563-1616 – Authorship – Fiction
Neighbors – Fiction
Mystery and Detective Stories
Mystery and Detective Stories
Great Britain – History – Henry VIII, 1509-1547 – Fiction
Great Britain – History – Elizabeth, 1558-1603 – Fiction
Maryland – Fiction
SUMMARY: In this fast-paced novel, Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full
of historical insights and discoveries, as a young girl tries to uncover the
connections between a missing diamond, a mysterious neighbor, and a link
to Shakespeare. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Secret-EliseBroach/dp/0312371322/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188346742&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780805073874&itm=1 '
AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.elisebroach.com/ BOOK TALKS: When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned
about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to
suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author.
Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly
connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly
what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious
woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's
Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it
all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being
Hero, is determined to figure it out. (Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award
2008) http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/broach_shakespeare's.htm
READ ALIKES: The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Mel Glenn
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams (series)
Blue Avenger Cracks the Code by Norma Howe
Tales From Shakespeare by Tina Packer
SWINDLE by Gordon Korman. Scholastic, c 2008, p. 252. Series.
SUBJECTS: Crime – Juvenile Fiction
Baseball Cards – Juvenile Fiction
Swindlers and Swindling – Juvenile Fiction
Adventure and Adventurers – Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino cons him out of a
valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of
misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card
back, planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention,
the SmartPick fruit picker. REVIEWS: Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Swindle/GordonKorman/e/9780439903448/?itm=2 BOOK TALKS:http://bcove.me/2j5iv2ij Video Book Talk
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/korman_swindle.htm
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=31527_type=Book_typeI
d=1275166 AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.gordonkorman.com/ READ ALIKES:
Honus and Me by Dan Gutman
The Boys Start the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The 6th Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
SERIES ORDER:
1. Swindle
2. Zoobreak
3. Framed
4. Showoff
THREE CUPS OF TEA by Sarah L Thomson. Dial Books for Young Readers, c. 2009,
p. 209.
GENRE:
Non-Fiction
SUBJECTS: Girls' schools – Pakistan - Juvenile Literature
Girls' Schools – Afghanistan - Juvenile literature
Humanitarian Assistance, American – Pakistan - Juvenile Literature
Humanitarian Assistance, American – Afghanistan - Juvenile Literature
Humanitarian Assistance – Afghanistan - Juvenile Literature
Humanitarian Assistance – Pakistan - Juvenile Literature
SUMMARY: An adaptation of the bestselling book about the American Greg
Mortenson's building of over 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In
1993 Greg Mortenson tried to climb K2. On the way down he became lost
in the mountains of Pakistan and stumbles into a poor village. The villager
chief offers him three cups and tea and his villages nurse Mortenson back
to health. Moved by their kindness, he promises to return and build a
school for their children. Despite death threats, a kidnapping and more,
Mortenson has built over sixty schools, especially for girls, in Pakistan
and Afghanistan. This special ed. includes a new foreword by Jane
Goodall, new illustrations, a glossary and a special interview with
Mortenson's twelve-year-old daughter Amira.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Three-Cups-Tea-JourneyWorld/dp/0142414123/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303255407
&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Three-Cups-ofTea/David-Oliver-Relin/e/9780803733923/?itm=2
BOOK TALKS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_gIwWoWcH8
Video Book Talk
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.gregmortenson.com/
READ ALIKES:
Candy Bomber: the story of the Berlin Airlift by Michael O. Tunnell
Afghan Dreams: young voices of Afghanistan by Tony O’Brian
Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Also check call number for Afghanistan 958.1
WATCHING JIMMY by Nancy Hartry. Tundra Books, c2009, p 160.
GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Family Violence - Juvenile Fiction
Child Abuse – Juvenile Fiction
Brain-damaged Children - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY:
With shocking candor, young Carolyn relates the truth about what really happened to
her best friend, Jimmy, when his Uncle Ted chose the perfect time to teach him a
lesson he'd never forget. The truth is, Jimmy didn't fall from a swing like Uncle Ted
claims — Carolyn knows, because she saw everything. According to her, "Uncle
Ted just didn't count on me, Carolyn, [being] perched in a tree where the park and
the parking lot meet."
With the dreadful secret locked away, Carolyn walks an emotional tightrope. No
matter what else is happening in this post-war era, she must keep an eye on poor,
brain-damaged Jimmy: making sure he behaves, keeping him clean, and keeping him
safe — especially from Uncle Ted. But when Uncle Ted threatens his beleaguered
family with even more abuse and the loss of their home, Carolyn must find the
courage to match wits with him and to speak out, using the truth as her only weapon.
But perhaps her biggest challenge will lie in finding a way to get Jimmy the
expensive operation he needs to relieve the pressure on his brain, because:
"As I told you, our Jimmy is not a mental defective like people say. Our Jimmy is in
there. He's in there. This I know." Set in 1958, Watching Jimmy is a brilliant
portrait of a time past, a family of strong women, and a resourceful young girl who
exudes character, resilience, and, most of all, love.
http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780887768712
REVIEWS: Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/WatchingJimmy/NancyHartry/e/9780887768712/?itm=2&USRI=watching+jimmy#TABS
READ ALIKES:
Silent Boy by Lois Lowry
Red Kayak by Pricilla Cummings
Blackwater by Eve Bunting
WHALES ON STILTS by M. T. Anderson. Harcourt Children’s Books, c 2005, p 208.
Series.
GENRE:
Fantasy/Science Fiction
SUBJECTS: Best Friends – Fiction
Adventure and Adventurers – Fiction
Whales – Fiction
Scientists – Fiction
Science Fiction
Best Friends – Juvenile Fiction
Whales – Juvenile Fiction
Scientists – Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Racing against the clock, shy middle-school student Lily and her best
friends, Katie and Jasper, must foil the plot of her father's conniving boss
to conquer the world using an army of whales. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Whales-Stilts-Andersons-ThrillingTales/dp/0152053409/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188347396&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780152053406&itm=1 BOOK TALKS: Imagine that you are Lily Gefelty. She thinks her father has a pretty
boring job. But then she spends the day with him at the office. There are so many
strange things going on. Her dad just tries to explain them away but Lily isn't buying
it. Why is dad's boss wearing a disguise? And what is really going on? Lily and her
friends decide they need to find out. She becomes convinced that stilt walking whales are
about to take over the world! http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/anderson_whales.htm
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://mt-anderson.com/
READ ALIKES: Boom! by Mark Haddon
Enter the Zombie by David Lubar
My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville
SERIES ORDER:
1. Whales on Stilts
2. The Clue of the Linoleum
3. Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware
4. Agent Q, or the Smell of Danger
5. Zombie Mommy
WHEN THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS FELL by Jennifer Maruno. Napolean, c 2009, p.
129.
GENRE:
Historical Fiction
SUBJECTS: Racism Canada - Juvenile Fiction
Race Relations Canada - Juvenile Fiction
Japanese Canada - Evacuation and Relocation, 1942-1945 - Juvenile
Fiction
Schools - British Columbia - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Nine-year-old Michiko Minagawa bids her father good-bye before her
birthday celebration. She doesn't know the government has ordered all
Japanese-born men out of the province. Ten days later, her family joins
hundreds of Japanese-Canadians on a train to the interior of British
Columbia. Even though her aunt Sadie jokes about it, they have truly
reached the "Land of No". There are no paved roads, no streetlights and no
streetcars. The house in which they are to live is dirty and drafty. At
school Michiko learns the truth of her situation. She must face local
prejudice, the worst winter in forty years and her first Christmas without
her father.
REVIEWS: Chapters/Indigo - http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/When-the-CherryBlossoms-Fell-Jennifer-Maruno/9781894917834item.html?ikwid=when+the+cherry+blossoms+fell&ikwsec=Books
BOOKTALKS: http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1423
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://napoleon95.ipower.com/NAPPages/NAP.MarunoBio.html
READ ALIKES:
Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Dear Miss Breed: true stories of the Japanese American incarceration
during World War II and a librarian who made a difference by Joanne
Oppenheim
Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wollf
Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi
WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON by Grace Lin. Little Brown and
Co., c 2009, p. 278.
GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Fairy Tales
Dragons--Juvenile Fiction
Moon--Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish,
and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of
the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to
Jade River.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Where-Mountain-Meets-MoonGrace/dp/0316038636/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303344160
&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Where-theMountain-Meets-the-Moon/Grace-Lin/e/9780316114271/?itm=2
BOOK TALKS: "Tell me again, Ba" Minli begged. "Please."
"Okay" he said, and as he set down his chopsticks his smile twinkled in a way that
Minli loved.
This quote reflects the interest children will have in this Chinese storybook by
Grace Lin. Grace Lin has taken a number of traditional Chinese folktales and has
in her words "created histories for mythical characters, and pictured a Chinese girl
free of real life limitations as a spiritual heroine." Just as Minli is fascinated by
the stories of her father, so to will children be fascinated by her adventures.
Minli is a very poor young Chinese girl. She purchases a goldfish for her family's
"good fortune" with the little bit of money she has. Unfortunately, even the few
grains of rice needed to feed the fish are too much for her family to bear. She
therefore sets him free. As a reward, the goldfish tells her how to find the source
of her father's stories, the Never-Ending Mountain.
Along the way, Minli encounters a series of adventures, each of which is a story
within a story. Eventually she meets the Old Man of the Moon and changes her
family's fortunes forever.
(Terry W. Oesau, [email protected], teacher)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/lin_where.htm
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.gracelin.com/
READ ALIKES:
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Moorchld by Eloise McGraw
East by Edith Pattou
Also check 398.2 for more Folk and Fairy Tales
MIDDLE DIVISION
7TH – 8TH GRADES
AIRHEAD by Meg Cabot. Point, c 2008, p. 340. Series.
GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Models (Persons) - Juvenile Fiction
Transplantation of Organs, Tissues, Etc. - Juvenile fiction
Identity (Psychology) - Juvenile Fiction
Identity - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: Sixteen-year-old Emerson Watts, an advanced placement student with a
disdain for fashion, is the recipient of a "whole body transplant" and finds
herself transformed into one of the world's most famous teen
supermodels. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Airhead-MegCabot/dp/054504054X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269535566
&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble – http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Airhead/MegCabot/e/9780545040549/?itm=3 BOOK TALKS: My name is Emerson Watts. I'm a junior at Tribeca Alternative High
School. My best friend is Christopher, who I secretly have had a crush on for four years. I
love baggy clothes and video games. I'm kind of a geek, and I'm totally uninterested in
makeup, fashion or being a size zero. I love ice cream, and my favorite part of any meal
is dessert. I have straight brown hair, brown eyes, I'm a little chunky, and probably not
the most feminine girl in the world, which may be the reason Christopher is a best friend,
not a boyfriend.
At least, that's who I was before I went to the Stark's Megastore Grand Opening, just a
couple of blocks from our house, and one of the huge plasma screen TVs that they had
hanging from the ceiling fell on my head. I woke up in the hospital with a massive
headache, wires all over my body attached to machines around the bed, and my parents
and my little sister freaking out every time they looked at me, or anytime I said anything.
My voice didn't sound like me, it sounded all high pitched and girly. No one would tell
me what had happened, and if I asked too many questions, the doctors would just put me
back to sleep.
Then one day, I woke up because someone was shaking me really, really hard — and
calling me Nikki. It took me a minute to figure out who she was-Lulu Collins, the
daughter of the famous director Tim Collins, and the best friend of celebrity supermodel,
Nikki Howard. And no matter much I denied it, she was positive that I was Nikki. Then I
noticed that my hands and arms looked different-thinner, and my nails were long with a
perfect French manicure. And when I felt my face, my skin felt smooth, no bumps at all.
And then I realized that no one had ever shown me a mirror. It wasn't until I saw myself
in a mirror that I understood how completely and unbelieveably strange it really was.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=32412 http://bcove.me/v2n2yruo Video Book Talk
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.megcabot.com/ READ ALIKE:
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen (series)
Beauty Queens by Meg Cabot
The Clique by Lisi Harrison (series)
Yikes! : a smart girl's guide to surviving tricky, sticky, icky situations from
the editors of American Girl
AIRMAN by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion Books for Children, c 2008, p, 412. GENRE:
Science Fiction: Steampunk
SUBJECTS: Flying-machines - Juvenile Fiction
Prisoners - Juvenile Fiction
Adventure and Adventurers - Juvenile Fiction
Inventors - Juvenile Fiction
Islands - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: In the late nineteenth century, when Conor Broekhart discovers a
conspiracy to overthrow the king, he is branded a traitor, imprisoned and
forced to mine for diamonds under brutal conditions while he plans a
daring escape from Little Saltee prison by way of a flying machine that he
must design, build and, hardest of all, trust to carry him to safety. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Airman-EoinColfer/dp/1423107519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269556839
&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Airman/EoinColfer/e/9781423107507/?itm=2 BOOK TALKS: http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=496 AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.eoincolfer.com/ READ ALIKES:
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (series)
The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (series)
ALICE MACLEOD, REALIST AT LAST by Susan Juby. HarperTempest, c 2005, p
320. Series.
GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Self-perception – Juvenile Fiction
Screenwriters – British Columbia – Juvenile Fiction
Dating (Social Customs) – Juvenile Fiction
Counterculture – Juvenile Fiction
Family – British Columbia – Juvenile Fiction
Diaries – Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Alice Macleod has officially graduated from the ranks of the weirdly
marginal into the realm of the practically normal. Except for the fact that
she’s just been abandoned by her boyfriend, Goose, and her tree hugger
mom has been busted at an environmental protest and sent up to the Big
House for two months, everything’s going just great. Thankfully, these
misfortunes are giving Alice plenty of material for the screenplay she’s
writing (populated by Very Attractive People), which is going to make her
rich, famous and fabulous.
With the family finances squeezed even tighter than normal, Alice is
forced to score not one but three part-time jobs, none particularly well
suited to her eclectic but limited range of talents. The jobs do, however,
introduce her to an interesting range of older—and younger—potential
new boyfriends.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Alice-MacLeod-Realist-atLast/dp/006051552X/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188412190&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780060515492&itm=1 AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.susanjuby.com/ READ ALIKES:
Girl, 15, Charming But Insane by Sue Limb
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci Alice, I Think by Susan Juby
CHAINS: SEEDS OF AMERICA by Laurie Halse Anderson. Simon and Schuster
Books for Young Readers, c 2008, p. 316. Series.
GENRE:
Historical Fiction
SUBJECTS: Slavery - Juvenile Fiction
African Americans - Juvenile Fiction
Spies - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel
spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Chains-Laurie-HalseAnderson/dp/1416905863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12695582
96&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Chains/LaurieHalse-Anderson/e/9781416905851/?itm=2 BOOK TALKS: "Did you see Ruth"? "You will not address me in that insolent
manner". Her voice shook a little. Becky wrung her hand. "Come, Isabel. You need to
peel the potatoes. Would Madam like some tea or coffee?" I took another step up.
"Answer me, you miserable cow. Did you sell my sister?" Chains by Laurie Anderson is
a historical fiction that runs with a slave girl named Isabel that is trying to reach freedom.
After her momma passed away Isabel and her sister Ruth were sold to their new master
Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. Mrs. Lockton is full of anger and treats the two girls with hate. In
the life of Isabel many things are happening such as the Revolutionary War, Ruth being
sold, meeting a boy named Curzon, and becoming a spy for a leader in the war. Will
Isabel get caught as a spy or will she reach freedom to be with her sister? Read Chains by
Laurie Anderson to find out. (Alex Ard, [email protected], college student)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/anderson_chains.htm AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.writerlady.com/ READ ALIKES:
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson (series)
Incantation by Alice Hoffman
The Land by Mildred Taylor
CODE ORANGE by Caroline B Cooney. Random House Children’s Books, c 2005, p
208 GENRE:
Adventure/Suspense
SUBJECTS: Smallpox – Juvenile Fiction
Diseases – Juvenile Fiction
Schools – Juvenile Fiction
High Schools – Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: Walking around New York City was what Mitty Blake did best. He loved
the city, and even after 9/11, he always felt safe. Mitty was a carefree guy;
he didn’t worry about terrorists or blackouts or grades or anything, which
is why he was late getting started on his Advanced Bio report. Mitty does
feel a little pressure to hand something in; if he doesn’t, he’ll be switched
out of Advanced Bio, which would be unfortunate since Olivia’s in
Advanced Bio. So he considers it good luck when he finds some old
medical books in his family’s weekend house that focus on something he
could write about. But when he discovers an old envelope with two scabs
in one of the books, the report is no longer about the grade, it‘s about life
and death. His own. This edge-of-your-seat thriller will leave you
breathless.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Orange-Readers-Circle-CarolineCooney/dp/0385732600/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188407889&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780385732598&itm=2 BOOK TALKS: Mitty is just about prides himself in doing as little school work as he
can. When his advanced biology teacher assigns a paper on an infectious disease, Mitty
plans to just blow it off til the last minute and then just copy something off the
Internet. But then he learns that if he doesn't do well on this paper, he was going to be
moved to the regular biology class. That in itself is not a bad thing but this is the only
class he has with Olivia. So, the night before the first notes are due, Mitty realizes that he
is stuck in the family's country home with no bookstores or libraries nearby. Well,
maybe there is something in the collection of books his mother just purchased from an
estate. After all, the man who had owned the books was a doctor. And sure enough,
Mitty finds several books on infectious diseases. And he might have found more than he
bargained for. In one of the books is an envelop containing scabs from the 1902 outbreak
of smallpox. After handling the scabs, Mitty starts to wonder if they could still be
contagious. They couldn't be. Could they?
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/cooney_code.htm
AUTHOR BIO: http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-cooney-caroline.asp READ ALIKES:
Outbreak; plagues that changed history by Bryn Barnard (NF)
Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle
Chasing The Falconers (On The Run #1) by Gordon Korman (series)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
CRISS CROSS by Lynne Rae Perkins. HarperCollins Children’s Books, c 2005, p 337 GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Identity (Philosophical Concept) – Fiction
Nineteen Sixties – Fiction
Identity – Fiction SUMMARY: She wished something would happen. Something good. To her. Looking at
the bright, fuzzy picture in the magazine, she thought, "Something like that." Checking
her wish for loopholes, she found one. Hoping it wasn’t too late, she thought the word
"soon." REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Criss-Cross-Newbery-MedalBook/dp/0060092726/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188430114&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780061161193&itm=3 BOOK TALKS: Finding love, growing up, and wishing for something good to happen
to you and SOON? Debbie, the main character in this book set in a small town in the
1960s, is doing just that—finding love, growing up, and wishing for something to
happen. Fourteen-year old Debbie, along with her friends Hector and Lenny, are
searching for love and meaning as they grow up. Searching for love and meaning doesn't
happen in life or in literature with a simple diagrammable plot.
So I have to also bring a warning to you about the book Criss Cross: It is not a book for
adventurous action seekers. If you love only books with characters like Alex Rider, you
might want to pass on this one.
So, will you check this book out from the library? If you appreciate artful writing and you
are a thinking and thoughtful young teen, I believe you'll enjoy reading about these
likable characters in their mundane and magnificent snippets of life. Using prose and
poetry and other interesting formats, Lynne Rae Perkins has written this sublime novel
for you. Sublime, huh? If you know or care enough to look up what the word sublime
means, you should definitely read this book. (Denise Krebs, [email protected], teacher)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/perkins_criss.htm
AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.alagaesia.com/ READ ALIKES:
All Across the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (series)
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
ERAGON by Christopher Paolini. Random House Children’s Books, c 2005, p 704.
Series.
GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Dragons – Fiction
Good and Evil – Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Eragon, a young farm boy, finds a marvelous blue stone in a mystical
mountain place. Before he can trade it for food to get his family through
the hard winter, it hatches a beautiful sapphire-blue dragon, a race thought
to be extinct. Eragon bonds with the dragon, and when his family is killed
by the marauding Ra'zac, he discovers that he is the last of the Dragon
Riders, fated to play a decisive part in the coming war between the human
but hidden Varden, dwarves, elves, the diabolical Shades and their
neanderthal Urgalls, all pitted against and allied with each other and the
evil King Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon Saphira set out to find their
role, growing in magic power and understanding of the complex political
situation as they endure perilous travels and sudden battles, dire wounds,
capture and escape.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Eragon-The-Inheritance-Cycleebook/dp/B000FBJCK8/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in
BOOK TALKS: Certainly you’ve heard of this book: written when the author was 15,
following in the footsteps of many of the current popular fantasy stories in print and on
the screen, it has been favorably contrasted with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, Anne
McCaffrey’s Pern series, and others. So, why read it? Well, because it is really fresh, a
true page-turner of a tale, and will charm you with the enchanted world it describes.
Eragon is a poor farmer boy, out hunting in the mystical mountains above his home town,
who finds a brilliant blue oval stone. Hoping he can trade it for food for his family, he
takes it home, only to find it is in reality a dragon egg. It hatches into a gorgeous sapphire
blue dragon, a dragon hatched when all dragons were thought to be extinct! He names her
Saphira, and bonds with her, to become the first free Dragon Rider in 100 years. Enter the
evil minions of King Galbatorix, bent on destroying all freedom in the empire, and
Eragon must learn fast how to survive in a politically complex world far beyond his
mountain valley home. This book is a marvelous read! Read it and enjoy the wonderful
relationship between boy and dragon, in this first book of a fascinating trilogy. (Jean B.
Bellavance for Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2004-2005)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/paolini_eragon.htm
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/resource/eragon/
AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.alagaesia.com/ READ ALIKES:
Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (series)
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia Wrede (series)
Dragonflight by Ann McCaffrey (series)
Sabriel by Garth Nix
The Fire Within by Chris D’Lacey
Check 398.2 and 741.5 for folk tales and drawing books on dragons.
FLUSH by Carl Hiaasen. Alfred A Knopf, c 2005, p 272 GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Environmental Protection – Juvenile Fiction
River Boats – Juvenile Fiction
Fathers – Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: You know it's going to be a rough summer when you spend Father's Day
visiting your dad in the local lockup. Noah's dad is sure that the owner of
the "Coral Queen "casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harborwhich has made taking a dip at the local beach like swimming in a toilet.
He can't prove it though, and so he decides that sinking the boat will make
an effective statement. Right. The boat is pumped out and back in business
within days and Noah's dad is stuck in the clink. Now Noah is determined
to succeed where his dad failed. He "will" prove that the Coral Queen is
dumping illegally . . . somehow. His allies may not add up to much-his
sister Abbey, an unreformed childhood biter; Lice Peeking, a greedy sot
with poor hygiene; Shelly, a bartender and a woman scorned; and a
mysterious pirate-but Noah's got a plan to flush this crook out into the
open. A plan that should sink the crooked little casino, once and for all. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Flush-CarlHiaasen/dp/0375841857/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188409851&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780375821820&itm=1 BOOK TALKS: http://bcove.me/xofkx57w Video Book Talk
Okay, so my dad’s not the most normal dad in the world. So maybe he’s a
hero of lost causes. And maybe he has a temper and doesn’t always think
things through. Like the consequences and how it will affect his family,
and like how evidence might be nice to have. But, he always takes
responsibility for what he has done. When he sank Dusty Muleman’s
casino boat because he found out that Dusty had been having the crew
flush the sewage directly into the bay where we all swim to save money,
dad calmly waited on shore in a deck chair for the police to arrest him. He
wanted the publicity. He wanted an investigation and for Dusty to get his
due. That’s when mom started using the d-word, divorce. And that’s when
my sister Abbey and I decided that we’d have to do something to prove
dad was right and Dusty was the scumbag he was. Operation Royal Flush.
Of course we were too young to realize just how much money talks in
politics and government. (Sam Marsh, Colorado Blue Spruce Young
Adult Book Award Nominees 2009)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/hiaasen_flush.htm AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.carlhiaasen.com/ READ ALIKES:
There’s An Owl In The Shower by Jean Craighead George
Girl Reported Blows Lid Off Town by Linda Ellerbee
Where Have All The Unicorns Gone? By Jane Yolen
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Also check the call number 333/363 for nonfiction titles on ways to help
the environment.
GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman. HarperCollins, c 2008, p. 312. GENRE:
Supernatural Fiction
SUBJECTS: Dead - Juvenile Fiction
Supernatural - Juvenile Fiction
Cemeteries - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts
and other denizens of the graveyard. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Book-NeilGaiman/dp/0060530928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=126956025
1&sr=1-1 BOOK TALKS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JnrtMIpceQ
Video Book Talk
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/gaiman_graveyard.htm
“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.”
So begins the story of Nobody Owens, known as Bod. On the night his
parents are brutally murdered, 2 year old Bod calmly climbs out of his crib
and toddles out of the house and into a nearby cemetery. There he is,
adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens (childless and dead for 250 years!) who
gladly care for the child and protect him from harm.
With loving ghostly parents, teachers, friends, and protectors, Bod grows
from age two to fifteen in the graveyard. He learns to read and do
numbers, and he also learns some ghostly skills. But not all the residents
of the graveyard are friendly. There are witches, ghouls and creatures and
let’s not forget Jack – the fiend who is out to finish the job he started.
Filled with great illustrations, this is a funny, exciting and suspenseful
story. How will Bod survive? Or will he? Can his loving family and
friends really protect him from the evil Jack? Read the Newbery Award
winning book, The Graveyard Book and find out! (by Diane Ferbrache,
Hazen High School Librarian for The Washington Evergreen Young Adult
Book Award, 2011)
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.neilgaiman.com/ READ ALIKES:
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques
The Game Of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson
Something Upstairs by Avi
THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS by Arthur Slade. Wendy Lamb Books, c 2009,
p. 278.
GENRE:
Supernatural Fiction
SUBJECTS: Disfigured Persons - Fiction
Supernatural - Fiction
Spies - Fiction
Science Fiction
Disfigured Persons - Juvenile Fiction
Supernatural - Juvenile Fiction
Spy Stories
SUMMARY: In Victorian London, fourteen-year-old Modo, a shape-changing
hunchback, becomes a secret agent for the Permanent Association, which strives to
protect the world from the evil machinations of the Clockwork Guild.
REVIEWS: Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-HunchbackAssignments/ArthurSlade/e/9780385737845/?itm=2&USRI=hunchback+assignments#TABS
BOOK TALKS: The mysterious Mr. Socrates rescues Modo, a child in a traveling freak
show. Modo is a hunchback with an amazing ability to transform his
appearance, and Mr. Socrates raises him in isolation as an agent for the
Permanent Association, a spy agency behind Brittania’s efforts to rule the
empire. At 14, Modo is left on the streets of London to fend for himself.
When he encounters Octavia Milkweed, another Association agent, the
two uncover a plot by the Clockword Guild behind the murders of
important men. Furthermore, a mad scientist is turning orphan children
into automatons to further the goals of the Guild. Modo and Octavia
journey deep into the tunnels under London and discover a terrifying plot
against the British government. It’s up to them to save their country
.http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/librarians/booktalks_Hunchback_
Assignments.htm
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewbook.aspx?BookId=1429
http://bookscreening.com/2009/11/18/the-hunchback-assignments/
Video Book Talk
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.hunchbackassignments.com/
http://arthurslade.com/frontpage/
READ ALIKES:
The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick
Fever Crumb by Phillip Reeve
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
JUVIE THREE by Gordon Korman. Hyperion, c 2008, p. 249. GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Group Homes - Juvenile Fiction
Juvenile Delinquents - Juvenile Fiction
Cooperativeness - Juvenile Fiction
Friendship - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: Gecko, Arjay, and Terence, all in trouble with the law, must find a way to
keep their halfway house open in order to stay out of juvenile detention. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Juvie-Three-GordonKorman/dp/1423101626/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=126956140
8&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-JuvieThree/Gordon-Korman/e/9781423101628/?itm=1 BOOK TALKS: http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=797 AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.gordonkorman.com/ READ ALIKES:
Hidden Talents by David Lubar
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Gordon Korman has been an author since 1978 and most libraries have multiple titles he
has written. Presenting more of his titles along with Juvie Three along with some of his
personal information from his website would offer more reading choices to your
audience.
LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld. Simon Pulse, c 2009, p. 440. Series
SUBJECTS: Science Fiction - Juvenile Fiction
Imaginary Creatures - Juvenile Fiction
Princes - Juvenile Fiction
War Stories
Genetic Engineering - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the
run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe
using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who,
disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly
genetically-engineered beasts.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-ScottWesterfeld/dp/productdescription/1416971742/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=boo
ks&qid=1304554136&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Leviathan/ScottWesterfeld/e/9781416971740/?itm=2&USRI=leviathan#TABS
BOOK TALKS:
Europe at war! The battle between steam driven mechanical
technology and DNA-altered, fabricated animal technology has finally
come to a head. It's 1914 and the Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire is dead – assassinated. His son, and heir, Alek, is fleeing from
his own people in a clanker, called a Cyklop Stormwalker, with a few
loyal men. On the other side of the ocean, a girl named Deryn hides her
gender and signs on as a midshipman on the huge British battle beast, the
Leviathan. But when a battle with the Germans causes Leviathan to crash
near Alek's hideout, the two cross paths and find that they must work
together to survive.(booktalk by Jocelyn Rydel, Sno-Isle Regional Library
System) (Washington Evergreen YA Book Award)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/westerfeld_leviathan.htm
http://booktalk.scholastic.com/2010/08/30/leviathan-bringingsteampunk-to-kids-everywhere/
Video Book Talk
http://blogs.kcls.org/booktalk/2010/04/leviathan.html
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://scottwesterfeld.com/
READ ALIKES:
East by Edith Pattou
Larklight: a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of
space by Phillip Reeve
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
THE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan Hyperion Books for Children, c 2005, p
384. Series.
GENRE
Fantasy/Myths
SUBJECTS: Gods, Greek – Juvenile Fiction
Mythology, Greek – Juvenile Fiction
Identity (Philosophical Concept) – Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal
woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer
camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to
prevent a war between the gods. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Thief-Percy-JacksonOlympians/dp/0786838655/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188431694&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9780307245304&itm=3 BOOK TALKS: The absolutely worst thing has just happened to you…you’ve been
kicked out of your 5th school in 5 years, a school that is specially designed for “trouble
makers” like you one that you were really trying to stay in. Okay, so maybe being kicked
out of your 5th school in 5 years isn’t the worse thing that can happen to you. Especially
when monsters from those Greek Mythology books you love seem to be coming to life
and are determined to get you. You see, it isn’t really your fault that your pre-Algebra
teacher just happens to be a winged hag who decides that it’s finally time to take you out
of the picture during a field trip to New York’s Metropolitan Museum. And she wouldn’t
have even done anything to you if it hadn’t been for Nancy. Mom will freak out. Things
really could be a lot worse. You soon find yourself at Camp Half-Blood, where there are
a lot of other kids like you. Turns out you’re the son of one of the Greek Gods. Yes,
they’re still around and kicking, and living in New York City. The absolute worst part?
You’re accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt, and if you don’t get it back, well that
could be the end of the world as we know it. So with your new friends from Camp, who
are also demi-Gods, you’re off to the underworld, to visit Hades and get the lightning bolt
back. And you thought being kicked out of your 5th…no, wait a minute it’s actually 6th
boarding school in 6 years was the worst thing to happen. Find out what happens and
whether you’ll get that lightning bolt back and save the world in The Lightning Thief by
Rick Riordan. (New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Read Award committee
http://www.nancykeane.com/booktalks/riordan_lightning.htm
AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.rickriordan.com/ READ ALIKES:
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (series)
Half Magic by Edward Eager
Ingri and Edgar Parin D`Aulaire`s Book of Greek Myths by Ingri
D’Aulaire
Also the 292 call number for more Greek Myths.
SERIES ORDER:
1. The Lightning Thief
2. The Sea of Monsters
3. The Titan's Curse
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth
5. The Last Olympian
THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner. Delacorte Press, c 2008, p. 375. Series
GENRE:
Science Fiction/Dystopian Fiction
SUBJECTS: Amnesia - Juvenile Fiction
Cooperativeness - Juvenile Fiction
Labyrinths - Juvenile Fiction
Science Fiction - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his
first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors
open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the
Glade---a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like
Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All
they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that
surrounds them have opened. Every night they've closed tight. And every
30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected.
But the next day, a girl is sent up---the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade.
And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be
more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark
secrets buried within his mind.
REVIEWS:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Maze-Runner-TrilogyBook/dp/B004Z4LVZK/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130
8771923&sr=1-3
BOOK TALKS: Thomas wakes up in a box with no memory and no idea what's going
on. But the box is moving and he is raised up into a compound and a large group of boys
about his age are watching him. Turns out they are all in the same situation - no
memories, no knowledge of themselves beyond their names - and they are trapped in a
giant maze. If they stay in the compound, they're safe from the monsters that roam the
maze. The fastest of them spend their days running as far as possible in an attempt to
map the maze and find the way out. Thomas is just learning about this world when the
box drops off the biggest surprise of all - a girl. (Book Talk Author: Jenna Obee, The
Colorado Blue Spruce Award nominee 2012)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/dashner_maze.htm
http://blogs.kcls.org/booktalk/2010/04/the-maze-runner.html
http://youtu.be/j2-zYcD-dDs Video Book Talk
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.jamesdashner.com/
READ ALIKES:
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (series)
Moral Engines by Phillip Reeve (series)
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (series)
PEACE, LOVE AND BABY DUCKS by Lauren Myracle. Dutton Books, c 2009,
p.292.
GENRE:
Realistic Fiction
SUBJECTS: Sisters - Juvenile Fiction
Interpersonal Relations - Juvenile Fiction
Individuality - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: Fifteen-year-old Carly's summer volunteer experience makes her feel
more real than her life of privilege in Atlanta ever did, but her younger
sister starts high school pretending to be what she is not, and both find
their relationships suffering.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Love-Ducks-LaurenMyracle/dp/0525477438/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130
8775076&sr=1-1
BOOK TALKS:
http://youtu.be/bZhp2RCZZUc Video Book Talk
http://hhsbooktalk.blogspot.com/2009/10/peace-love-and-babyducks-by-lauren.html
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1426
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.laurenmyracle.com/
READ ALIKES:
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
That Summer by Sarah Dessen
How To Build A House by Dana Reinhardt
PRINCESS OF THE MIDNIGHT BALL by Jessica Day George. Bloomsbury
Children’s Books, C 2009, p. 280.
GENRE:
Fantasy/Fairy Tale
SUBJECTS: Fairy Tales
Princesses - Juvenile Fiction
Dance - Juvenile Fiction
Soldiers - Juvenile Fiction
Magic - Juvenile Fiction
Blessing and Cursing - Juvenile Fiction
SUMMARY: A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes
dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the
king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Midnight-Ball-JessicaGeorge/dp/1599904551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130929141
2&sr=1-1
BOOK TALKS:
The kingdom is in an uproar. Every night the princesses go to their
chambers and every morning their slippers are worn out. No one knows
that Princess Rose and her twelve younger sisters are condemned to dance
for the wicked King Under Stone in his underground palace every night to
fulfill the bargain their mother made with the evil king… and only death
will free them. Rumors of witchcraft spread throughout the kingdom and
the girls know the end is near. Yet armed with an invisibility cloak,
enchanted knitting needles, and most importantly true, Galen, the palace
gardener sets out to free the girls, even if it costs him his life. Will he find
a way to save them, or will he be the next victim of King Under Stone's
evil plan? Time is running out… Prepared by: Kathy Carroll for South
Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees, 2010-2011
http://librarytalker.blogspot.com/2009/11/princess-of-midnight-ball.html
http://blogs.kcls.org/booktalk/2011/01/princess-of-the-midnight-ball.html
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1427
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/
READ ALIKES:
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale. Bloomsbury, c 2008, p.
144. GENRE:
Graphic Novels
SUBJECTS: Revenge - Comic Books, Strips, etc.
Outlaws - Comic Books, Strips, etc. SUMMARY: Rapunzel is raised in a grand villa surrounded by towering walls. Rapunzel
dreams of a different mother than Gothel, the woman she calls Mother.
She climbs over the wall and finds out the truth. Her real mother, Kate, is
a slave in Gothel's gold mine. In this Old West retelling, Rapunzel uses
her hair as a lasso and to take on outlaws--including Gothel. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Rapunzels-Revenge-ShannonHale/dp/B002IVV3DW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=126997516
0&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/RapunzelsRevenge/ShannonHale/e/9781599902883/?itm=1&USRI=rapunzel%27s+revenge BOOK TALKS: Rapunzel has a pretty great life. [Show p. 4-5.] She lives with
her mother in a grand villa with 78 rooms, beautiful gardens, and servants to wait
on her.
There are only two things that trouble her. One is a recurring dream she has
about another family who loves her; her mother tells her never to speak of the
dream again.
The other thing that bothers Rapunzel is the huge wall around the villa. [Show
bottom of page 8.] So one day, using a rope as a lasso, she pulls herself up to the
top of the wall, and this is what she sees. [Show p. 12]
How can it be that she lives in such a wonderful place, and others have to live in
a wasteland? And it is there, in the wasteland, that Rapunzel meets her real
mother, the woman from her dream. The woman she thought was her mother,
who raised her in the villa, is Gothel, a sorceress, who stole her from her real
family.
Before Rapunzel can learn any more, Gothel's guards force her back to the villa.
And when Rapunzel dares to confront Gothel, the penalty is imprisonment in a
magical tree. [Show p. 24.]
Now if this were the traditional Rapunzel story, we all know that the prince would
come and rescue her. But not in this story. Here Rapunzel has to rely on her own wits
(and her amazing hair) to outwit Gothel and destroy her empire.
http://www.multcolib.org/talk/ORCA/2011/guides-rapunzel.html
http://mplbooks.blogspot.com/2010/02/rapunzels-revenge.html AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html READ ALIKES:
Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale
Outlaw: the Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee
Bone by Jeff Smith (series)
Also check your How to Draw and Graphic Novel/Manga collection call
number 741.5
THE REFORMED VAMPIRE SUPPORT GROUP by Catherine Jinks. Houghton
Mifflin, c 2009, p. 362.
GENRE:
Mystery/Humor
SUBJECTS: Vampires - Juvenile Fiction
Self-help Groups - Juvenile Fiction
Detective and Mystery Stories - Juvenile Fiction
Humorous Stories
SUMMARY: Fifteen-year-old vampire Nina has been stuck for fifty-one years in a
boring support group for vampires, and nothing exciting has ever
happened to them--until one of them is murdered and the others must try
to solve the crime.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Reformed-Vampire-SupportGroup/dp/0152066098/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309297748
&sr=1-1
http://librarytalker.blogspot.com/2010/06/reformed-vampireBOOK TALKS:
support-group.html
http://youtu.be/nwGhhthf1uY Video Book Talk
http://testblogs.kcls.org/mt-test/mtsearch.cgi?blog_id=52&tag=The%20Reformed%20Vampire%20Support
%20Group&limit=20&IncludeBlogs=52
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1431
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.catherinejinks.com/
READ ALIKES:
Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley
Blood On My Hands by Todd Strasser
Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
SKELETON CREEK by Patrick Carman. Scholastic, c 2009, p. 185. Series.
GENRE:
Mystery/Horror
SUBJECTS: Diaries - Juvenile Fiction
Best Friends - Juvenile Fiction
Friendship - Juvenile Fiction
Detective and Mystery Stories - Juvenile Fiction
Horror Tales
SUMMARY: Although housebound following an eerie accident, teenaged Ryan
continues to investigate the strange occurences in his hometown of
Skeleton Creek, recording his findings in a journal and viewing email
video clips sent by fellow detective Sarah. The reader may view Sarah's
videos on a website by using links and passwords found in the text.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Skeleton-Creek-book-PatrickCarman/dp/0545075661/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130937746
4&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/skeleton-creekpatrickcarman/1101363114?ean=9780545075664&itm=2&usri=skeleton%2bcree
k
BOOK TALKS: Another story told in two points of view, but not just another story.
Ryan McCray, recovering from a nearly fatal accident, writes in his journal. Sarah
Fincher boldly uses video and e-mail. Skeleton Creek, a small town in Oregon, has a
mysterious past –something to do with the derelict, dilapidated dredge outside of town
that was used by the New York Gold and Silver Company. Is it haunted? Ryan tells about
Joe who died or was he murdered? Sarah in her video shows us his ghost. Something is
not right even today. What is being covered up by the mysterious Crossbones Society?
Ryan’s dad has secrets. Reading and watching this tale unfold gives one chills.
(Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award nominee, 2011)
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/carman_skeleton.htm
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=38199
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1428
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.patrickcarman.com/
READ ALIKES:
Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Midnight Magic by Avi
Pretty Monsters: stories by Kelly Link
Bonechiller by Graham McNamee
THIRTEENTH CHILD by Patricia Wrede. Scholastic, c 2009, p. 344. Series
GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Magic - Juvenile Fiction
Schools - Juvenile Fiction
Frontier and Pioneer Life - Juvenile Fiction
Twins - Juvenile Fiction
Brothers and Sisters - Juvenile Fiction
Families - Juvenile Fiction
Fantasy - Juvenile Literature
SUMMARY: Eighteen-year-old Eff must finally get over believing she is bad luck and
accept that her special training in Aphrikan magic, and being the twin of
the seventh son of a seventh son, give her extraordinary power to combat
magical creatures that threaten settlements on the western frontier.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Thirteenth-Child-Frontier-MagicPatricia/dp/0545033454/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=130937951
2&sr=1-1
BOOK TALKS:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=39703
http://www.mackinbooktalk.com/viewBook.aspx?bookId=1432
AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.pcwrede.com/
READ ALIKES:
Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card
Nation by Terry Prachett
The Ruins of Gorland: book one of Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
(series)
The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney (series)
UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, c 2005, p 448.
Series. GENRES:
Science Fiction/Dystopian
SUBJECTS: Beauty, Personal – Fiction
Teenage Girls - Fiction SUMMARY: In Tally's world, a 16th birthday brings an operation, transforming one
from a repellent Ugly to an attractive Pretty. Turning Pretty is all Tally has
ever wanted. Her friend Shay would rather risk life on the outside. When
Shay runs away, Tally must make a terrible choice. REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Uglies-Trilogy-Book1/dp/0689865384/ref=sr_1_1/105-73055305353221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188522186&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN
=9781416911043&itm=4 BOOK TALKS: What if you were given the opportunity to change your looks. Would
you do it? What if you had no choice? For Tally, it is just a few short months until her
16th birthday. Only a few short months of being an Ugly. She knows that on her
birthday, she will become a Pretty and move from Uglyville to the nice apartments for the
New Pretties. Where there is never ending fun. Where the parties never stop. She has
never really imagined that she had a choice. Until she meets Shay. Shay tells her about a
place where you don't have to become a Pretty. Where you can remain your own unique
self. But it is forbidden to go there. Tally doesn't really believe Shay and refuses to
leave with her. But when Tally arrives for her operation, she is told that she will not be
operated on until after she betrays her friend and leads the Specials to the Smoke. What
choice does she have? She certainly doesn't want to remain an Ugly forever. Would
you?
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/westerfield_uglies.htm AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.scottwesterfeld.com/ READ ALIKES:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie
Divergent by Veronical Roth
SERIES ORDER:
1. Uglies
2. Pretties
3. Specials
4. Extras
ZORGAMAZOO by Robert Paul Weston. Razorbill, c 2008, p. 281. GENRE:
Fantasy
SUBJECTS: Novels in Verse - Juvenile Fiction
Imaginary Creatures - Juvenile Fiction
Adventure and Adventurers - Juvenile Fiction
Science Fiction - Juvenile Fiction SUMMARY: Imaginative and adventurous Katrina eludes her maniacal guardian to help
Morty, a member of a vanishing breed of zorgles, with his quest to
uncover the fate of the fabled zorgles of Zorgmazoo as well as of other
creatures that seem to have disappeared from the earth.
REVIEWS: Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Zorgamazoo-Robert-PaulWeston/dp/B002HREKUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269979
623&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Zorgamazoo/Robert-PaulWeston/e/9781595141996/?itm=1&USRI=zorgamazoo BOOK TALKS: Katrina Katrell is about to go on a journey. Not one like you or I may
have taken. But one that you'll remember for a long time. She is leaving home and will
find herself going through secret underground tunnels, in a hidden city and she will
eventually get to the moon. But she is not alone. A zorgle named Morty is with her. The
two are trying to find the rest of the zorgles. They've been kidnapped and it is up to
Katrina and Morty to find them. What awaits them on their quest to find the missing
zorgles of Zorgamazoo?
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/weston_zorgamazoo.htm AUTHOR’S SITE: http://www.zorgamazoo.com/ Be sure to check our the characters!
READ ALIKES:
Skellig by David Almond
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart (series)
Sources: