Twenty-two of our fourth and fifth graders celebrated reading at this week’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Award voting party. In order to participate in this voluntary reading incentive, our requirement for the children was that they had to read at least six of the nominated books. While they didn’t vote with us, the sixth graders have been reading many of the titles as part of their English class. The more books the children read, the better they were able to discuss the strength of the plots of the books. Four children read all twenty-five titles on the list. There was a spirited discussion of the merits of many of the titles. It was energizing to hear the girls and boys recommend the books to each other, as well as comment on similar books or other books by the authors under discussion.

The clear winner was Capture the Flag by Kate Messner (Scholastic, 2012). In this contemporary mystery, three seventh graders, who never met previously, join forces when they learn that the flag that inspired The Star-Spangled Banner is missing from The Smithsonian. Anna, Jose’, and Henry team up to try to find this important piece of Americana. When they are snowed in at the D.C. airport, they begin a quest that opens their eyes to more than they expected.

The children also voted for “honor books”. These were other books that also received top votes or might have been a second favorite book. DCD’s honor books are The Familiars, Liar and Spy, and The Son of Neptune.

The Familiars by Adam Epstein (Harper Collins, 2010) is a magical fantasy about an ordinary cat that is mistakenly chosen as a young wizard’s pet. The alley cat joins forces with a blue jay and tree frog that have supernatural gifts. They form an alliance to rescue their owners.

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, 2012) is another story about a new friendship that is developed between two very different seventh graders. They track a mysterious man who lives in their Brooklyn apartment building.

Rick Riordan continues to be a favorite author with The Son of Neptune (Disney, 2011). After many read this volume in The Heroes of Olympus Series, they discussed the strengths and weaknesses of various Greek and Roman gods and their half-blood children.

We look forward to the results of the statewide voting which will be released in a few weeks.

When Lauren Tarshis published her first I Survived book in 2010, reluctant readers and avid readers alike clamored for more. That title was I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic: 1912, and with that novel, Tarshis developed a writing model that appeals to many children. In her books, the main character lives during the time of a specific event in history, such as the 1863 battle of Gettysburg, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The young protagonist lives through the event, and readers learn about the historical facts through his or her story. Tarshis has also used more recent events as the focus of her work when she wrote I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 and I Survived Hurricane Katrina 2004.

One of Tarshis’ books is a nominee for the latest Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916. Long before the movie, Jaws, captured the nation’s fascination, there was a different shark attack that made headlines. A great white shark was reported to be attacking swimmers along the Jersey shore. Our fourth, fifth, and sixth graders have been enjoying the fictional story of Chet Roscow and his encounter with this piece of history.

Some of the more sophisticated titles that are nominees for this years’ Massachusetts Book Award introduce our readers to different cultures or time periods. These are usually books that are more challenging to read with advanced vocabulary and plots.

Grace Lin, a Newbery Honor author, writes about experiences from her own life. In Dumpling Days (Little Brown, 2012), Pacy Lin is excited when her parents announce that the family will be spending a month in Taiwan. She is excited about taking an art class about Chinese painting. Even though Pacy looks like everyone in Taiwan, she is an American who doesn’t understand the culture or the language. In her interview on Amazon, Lin explains that she can relate to struggling with bridging two cultures.

Natalie Dias Lorenzi writes about families who struggle with maintaining their cultural traditions when they move to the United States. The author explores the idea by writing alternating chapters in two voices in Flying the Dragon (Charlesbridge, 2012). Skye would rather play soccer than learn about her Japanese culture, and her cousin, Hiroshi, who lives in Japan isn’t interested in moving to America. When Hiroshi’s family moves to the US to seek medical treatment for the children’s grandfather, one cousin feels too Japanese, and the other doesn’t feel Japanese enough.

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine (Puffin, 2012) examines a turbulent and troubling time in our nations’ history. In 1958, two best friends struggle to support each other while Arkansas struggles with school integration. Marlee is a shy middle schooler whose new friend, Liz, has helped her navigate adolescence. When Liz unexpectedly stops coming to school, the rumor grows that she had been “passing for white”. The two girls demonstrate what true friendship is as they face prejudice and the dangers that arise by them being together.

J.K. Rowling released a Halloween gift to her fans on her website, Pottermore. Fans of the Harry Potter series will enjoy reading about the background of one of the villains of the books, Dolores Umbridge. She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and during that time she terrorized many students. Umbridge also made small appearances in some of the other books as a dangerous member of the Ministry of Magic and the head of the “Muggle-born Registration Commission”.

The entire background story is on the Today Show website. Rowling’s website, Pottermore requires registration, and parents should check it out with their children.

(Image used by Google search with Creative Commons)

Every year the administrators of the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award (MACBA) are faced with the challenge of not only choosing books for various reading levels, but also books for widely varied reading interests. There are always readers who are interested in stories that involve animals. This year, there are three books that address that reading interest.

White Fur Flying (McElderry, 2013) is by Patricia MacLachlan, an author who is very familiar to our intermediate children. Most of them know the writer for her Newbery Medal winning book, Sarah, Plain and Tall. She was represented in the MACBA nominees previously with her touching title, Edward’s Eyes. In White Fur Flying, MacLachlan introduces a family who rescue dogs. Their daughter, Zoe, has learned a lot about the patience and care that rescued dogs need. Because of the rescue experience, her heart is opened to helping a new neighbor, Phillip, who doesn’t speak.

Marion Dane Bauer is another recognized author for On My Honor (Newbery Honor Book), and her nominated book for the MACBA is Little Dog, Lost (Atheneum, 2012). This novel is written in verse, and there are two main characters. Mark is a boy whose father left years before, and he lives with his mother. He needs someone special to love. Buddy is a “little, lost, brown dog”. Is he lost or does he sense that Mark needs him?

In case a reader is a cat fan, another MACBA nominee is Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter (Little Brown, 2010). Librarian Vicki Myron found a small kitten abandoned and left in a library book drop slot. It’s miraculous that the kitten survived the cold winter night there. She brought him inside to his first home, the library. He lives there still.

The nominees for this year’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards (MACBA) cover a range of topics and reading levels. It is always interesting to debate the appropriateness of a book for a specific child. Two of the books on this year’s list are perfect examples of the fact that basing a selection on an “anointed” reading level shouldn’t be the mitigating factor in choosing to read a book. One of the strengths of this voluntary reading incentive program (MACBA) is that the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders are exposed to books that they might not gravitate to on their own, perhaps because of the level. Yet, after reading some of the novels, they are eager to talk about them.

The narrator in Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, 2012) is a seventh grade boy named Georges, with a silent “s”. He is a target for one of the school bullies who looks for other students’ weaknesses. It isn’t much easier for him at home. His mother is working extra hours as an intensive-care nurse because his father lost his job. Their new apartment is in Brooklyn, and he forms a friendship with Safer, who has a warm, eccentric family and proclaims that he is a spy. The author tackles the courage and fortitude that it sometimes takes to navigate childhood and adolescence with insightful compassion. Readers learn that what they may believe is truth could be based on a lie. In the MACBA program, Liar & Spy is listed at the fourth grade reading level, but it clearly also deals with themes for older students.

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin (Abrams, 2011) doesn’t have just one protagonist. A different neighbor on Orange Street tells each chapter, and each character has a unique voice and perspective. The children on the street puzzle over a heart-shaped stone, a stranger with a sketchpad, and a bright orange traffic cone. They learn about each other, but more importantly, they gain insight about themselves. In the MACBA program, this book is listed at the advanced sixth grade level, yet the cover attracts younger readers. The two quotes on the very first page immediately appealed to me.
The street I lived on was like a book of stories, all different, but bound together.
-The Memoirs of Ethel Finneymaker

They all believed in magic, but everyone’s magic was different.
-Stories and Lists of Mormidable Words, by Ali Garcia

The author shares her ideas and the background of the book.

Our fourth and fifth graders are avidly reading various books that have been nominated for this year’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Award (MACBA). This voluntary reading program was started by Dr. Helen Constant in 1975, and it is administered through Salem State University. Twenty-five books are nominated for the award, and our voting for the DCD favorites will take place in late winter.
There are many obvious benefits to reading along with us for the next few months. Students are often introduced to authors who are unknown to them before this, and they return looking for other books by them. Some of the authors, like Patricia MacLachlan and Rick Riordan, are already favorites of many intermediate readers. An important benefit that may not be obvious is that our readers become critics. They learn how to evaluate literature through plot, characters, and interest, and they have fun doing so. Throughout the next few months, I’ll highlight some of the nominated titles. Links to the reading lists and our required journal pages can be found on our DCD Library page.
Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson are two authors who may be new to most readers, but they might soon be favorites. They have co-written The Familiars Series, and the first book in that series, The Familiars (Harper, 2010), is one of this year’s nominees for the MACBA. These two friends have created a magical world that entrances many readers. Their characters, their familiars, are magical animals who are chosen by young wizards in training. However, Aldwyn isn’t a magical familiar; he is an ordinary cat who has wandered into the unusual pet store. Aldwyn and the extraordinary pets must work together when their young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastria.
The Familiars website is both informative and entertaining. Readers can get to know the authors, learn more about the characters, and find out what kind of familiar they might be. When I took the quiz, I was designated as a “Protector of the Land”, perhaps a raven.

The authors’ video gives us a taste for their sense of humor.

The fourth book in Lisa McMann”s series, The Unwanteds, was published last week. Island of Legends (Aladdin, 2014) has not disappointed the fans of this popular fantasy series. Our readers are responding to The Unwanteds in a similar manner to children’s reactions to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. We believe in McMann’s world of Artimé and Quill, and we are invested in the characters. In the third book of the series, Island of Fire, we were left with a number of cliffhangers that involved many characters. (No spoilers here!)

On her website, Lisa McMann explains that her inspiration for The Unwanteds occurred when her children came home one day complaining that their school arts programs were being cut. As “artistic and creative” children, they felt like they were personally being punished. McMann quotes her son as saying, “Not just punished, Mom. Sent to their deaths.” Her idea for just such a society was born.

Last spring, our fifth graders produced book trailers in their library classes by using iMovie on iPads. Two students chose to feature The Unwanteds. Enjoy their introductions, and I hope that they entice you to read the book. Thank goodness we only have to wait until February of 2015 for Book Five!

The Bliss family own a bakery, but they also have an ancient “Cookery Booke” that is kept locked up and a secret. When their parents go out of town, Rose and her siblings are supposed to make sure that nothing happens to their book, which the children are not allowed to use. When a stranger shows up and declares that she is Aunt Lily, Rose is enchanted with her exotic life and the meals that she makes. The Bliss children decide that just making one or two recipes certainly can’t hurt, so they experiment with the recipes for “Love Muffins” and “The Cookies of Truth”. The magic gets out of control, and Aunt Lucy might have secrets, too.

Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood (HarperCollins, 2012) is a tasty reading treat. Readers may want to head to the kitchen to bake some of their own families favorite desserts after reading it. I’m certain that they will want to read about the further adventures of the Bliss family in Littlewood’s second novel, A Dash of Magic (HarperCollins, 2013), and then they can devour her third tale, Bite-Sized Magic (HarperCollins, 2014).

When the first reviews for The Unwanteds came out in professional journals for librarians, they were positive enough that I knew that I should buy the first book of the series for DCD. The review in Kirkus described The Unwanteds (Aladdin, 2011) as “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.” Before I read the first book in Lisa McMann’s series, I thought that seemed like a bit of an overstatement to sell the book. Eric Norton’s recommendation in School Library Journal was toned down but still very positive when he wrote, “This is a good starter fantasy or dystopia without the darkness in titles for older readers.” Neither of these reviews do justice to McMann’s series, and the buzz that it has created among our intermediate readers. The Unwanteds is one of the Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards’ Honor Books for 2014.

Lisa McMann challenges her readers with her society of Quill where thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories. The Wanteds are the elite, and they will go off to the University. The Necessaries will also be saved to work for the good of the society. The rest of the thirteen-year-olds will be The Unwanteds, and their fate is to be eliminated. When twin brothers receive different verdicts, Aaron becomes a Wanted and Alex is an Unwanted. Alex and the rest of the Unwanteds face their deaths, until they meet Mr. Today.

McMann further develops her tale in Book Two: Island of Silence, and Book Three: Island of Fire. Our readers are clamoring for these titles and eagerly awaiting Book Four: Island of Legends which will be published in September 2014. Adults should give themselves a treat and read the series too!