How Tía Lola Came to (Visit) Stay

by Julia Alvarez

Miguel has moved from New York to rural Vermont because of his parent's divorce. He's worried about being different and trying to make new friends. He's confused when Tía Lola arrives to help, unsure if he should he be embarrassed or comforted by her lively personality and exotic style.  Will she be able to help get his parents back together with her special magic, help him make the baseball team, and what about their now purple house?  Alvarez creates a colorful character in Tía Lola and this is the first of many books featuring her character.  Teachers may find the available Educator's Guide helpful.

4 of 5 Stars.  Recommended.

 

Red Bird Sings

Adapted by Gina Capaldi & Q.L. Pearce

A picture book biography of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin who left her native lands in South Dakota at the young age of eight in order to attend boarding school in Indiana. Although she greatly missed her mother and the quiet traditional life she rejoiced in music class, becoming an accomplished music teacher, performer and composer. She also grew to despise inequality and spoke out for the rights of Native Americans, fighting for citizenship and fair treatment. The authors adapt Zitkala-Sa's own words to create this simple and beautifully illustrated biography. Teachers will find this a positive addition to their curriculum and will appreciate the Teacher Resource Book available from the book's website.

4 of 5 Stars - Recommended.

School of Fear

by Gitty Daneshvari

Four twelve-year old phobic children travel to a remote Massachusetts summer school run by a wacky ex-beauty queen headmistress in an attempt to overcome their fears of bugs, confined spaces, death and water. Forced to follow strange rules and learn pageant etiquette the four must band together and face their individual fears after tragedy strikes the school. Daneshvari creates mildly believable characters with a strange setting for a story line reminiscent of the craziness of Lemony Snicket.  Readers may enjoy visiting the School of Fear website.

3 of 5 stars - Recommended.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

by Tom Angleberger

"Is Origami Yoda Real?" Is he just a paper puppet on the finger of super nerd Dwight or does he possess the force? Can he see into the future? That is exactly why sixth-grader Tommy asked everyone to share their Origami Yoda stories. He complied them into this case study, allowed non-believer Harvey to comment and then lent the whole file to Kellen who only added a bunch of doodles. Angleberger draws the reader into the plot by combining believable characters and a plot liberally peppered with spot-on middle school worry and humor, all wrapped up in short easy chapters with "hand-written" fonts on crinkly paper. Although there are many videos available on folding variations of Origami Yoda, readers may be interested in watching Angleberger's version.

5 of 5 stars. Highly Recommended.

Adventures in Cartooning : How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics!

by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost

A story within-a-story book about a princess, a knight and a dragon who likes bubblegum being guided through the story by a magical elf. Readers will be so engaged with the story they will probably not realized they are learning about cartooning, until they reach the Bonus Feature and Advance Cartooning Tips at the end of the book. The humor is spot on, the graphics colorful and bold, and the story appealing to both boys and girls. I'll need more than one copy in my library.  The first few pages can be viewed on the publishers website.

5 of 5 stars - Highly Recommended.

14 Cows For America

by Carmen Agra Deedy

While in the United States on scholarship during the 9/11 attacks, Kimeli Naiyomah feels the impact of the devastation on the American people and wishes to do something to help. He returns to his home in Kenya and shares his story with his Maasai tribe. Together they offer fourteen cows as symbol of life and sacred healing. A simple story brought to life by Gonzalez's beautiful and richly colored drawings. The end note gives additional story details which help to answer questions that are sure to arise. Readers may want to learn more about the Maasai people or follow the journey of the fourteen cows on-line at the publishers website. Also available in Spanish.

4 of 5 Stars - Recommended.

The Wooden Mile : Something Wickedly Weird

by Chris Mould

Stanley receives the front door key to his newly deceased great-uncle’s mansion, Candlestick Hall in Crampton Rock. Stanley knew right off that there was something very different about the place, and rightly so as Stanley encounters a talking fish, a creepy candy store owner, a werewolf, and a trio of pirates. Mould offers readers a quick paced story and black-and-white illustrations with just enough creepiness. The first of six books, readers may enjoy visiting the books website for more information on the characters and appropriately creepy noises.

5 of 5 stars - Highly Recommended.

Originally posted 16Feb2009.