Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hahn

I saw this book at the Scholastic book fair. I'd read another book previously (Deep, Dark, and Dangerous) by Mary Downing Hahn, and enjoyed that, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Well, I started reading it and had a hard time putting it down. It was really good. I felt a variety of emotions as I read it: sadness, anger, loneliness, hope, and frustration to name a few. Note, I didn't say funny or light.

Jessica and Daphne are 7th graders who are paired together for the Write-a-Book contest. Daphne is a new kid at school, and her classmates are really mean to her. The "popular" kids have targeted Daphne and call her Daffy Duck.

Mr. O'Brien, the writing teacher, pairs Jessica and Daphne together because he knows Jessica is a good writer and Daphne is a good illustrator. As a team, they have a good chance at winning the contest. Initially, Jessica isn't very happy about it. However, after getting to know Daphne, she looks at it differently.

I thought it was a new book until I started to read it. I came across comments like dittoed copies, taking aspirin (note: you shouldn't take aspirin if you're a kid), and the forms of communicating (no e-mail...just letter writing). I took a look at the copyright date...1983, my junior year of high school! However, the story has held up very well over time. I have a feeling there are many girls who could identify with Jessica, and some who could relate to Daphne.

Target audience: girls

Genre: realistic fiction

Topics: middle school, fitting in, friends changing, divorce, poor living conditions, writing and illustrating books, family, being different, truancy, popularity, fear of taking a stand, fitting in

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5

Amazon reviews

Viking Quest series by Lois Walfrid Johnson

The Viking Quest series, which begins with Raiders from the Sea, has to be one of my all time favorite series. It is set in the late 900s. Bree and Devin, sister and brother, are kidnapped during a Viking raid. Mikkel is the leader of the Viking group. You learn through the books that Mikkel feels he has something to prove to his father, a powerful Viking leader. Bree likes adventure, and because Mikkel keeps her with him most of the time, she gets in on many adventures...some more pleasant than others.

I have recommended it to many people, and even purchased a few sets for friends. So far they've all loved it. Several parents have said they enjoyed reading it as a family read-aloud. It not only captivates young audiences, but adults as well.

Genre: historical fiction, Christian

Topics: Vikings, family, kidnapping, Ireland, strong male character, strong female character

Note: Christian theme

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5

Amazon reviews

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The Maze of Bones is Book 1 of 10 in the 39 Clues series. It includes many appealing features found in successful middle school books...orphaned young heroes and heroines, the bad guys/enemies, adventure, and mystery. The premise behind the series is that the head of the Cahill dies and leaves her heirs with a choice, take a one million dollar inheritance or take Clue 1 of 39. The first person who successfully solves all the clues will find the secret to the wealth and power of the Cahill family. Some choose the money, and some choose the clue. There is competition between the four branches of the Cahills to be the final winners.

I am excited about this series because of the historical tie-ins in each book. Book 1 proved to be a fun read. Another cool feature is the online component. First you read the book, then you go online to work toward solving the same puzzle. It's not your ordinary online game for kids. You have to do a lot of reading and problem solving to make your way through the game. I think it's a great combination for today's readers.

Genre: adventure with a twist of history

Topics: Benjamin Franklin; Philadelphia; secret messages; Paris, France; brother and sister, mystery, adventure

Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 4 of 5

Amazon reviews

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck

Yes, Here Lies the Librarian includes librarians as characters. However, the book seemed to be more about cars in Indiana circa 1914. I must say I didn't love the book, but I didn't hate it either. Once I shifted my mindset from librarians to cars, it wasn't so bad. In fact, I found it quite informative about the early days of cars, roads, and auto repair shops. I had no idea one auto maker actually built cars with wooden frames including wooden tire rims. I also enjoyed reading about the community as Peck depicted it. I could easily visualize it.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Topics: librarians, libraries, cars, tomboy, car makers, racing

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 3 of 5

Amazon reviews

The Enola Holmes Mystery series

Nancy Springer has written several books in the "An Enola Holmes Mystery" series. The first book is The Case of the Missing Marquess (a Marquess is a nobleman). What a fun way to learn what life was like in England back in the late 1800s! Enola Holmes is the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes and Mycroft Holmes. She doesn't know them very well (at all, really), because she was born much later. When their mother disappears, Sherlock and Mycroft step in to decide Enola's future. Mycroft wants to send her to a girls' school, but Enola will have none of that. She doesn't want to suffer the same fate of other girls and women of England in the 1800s. She wants to be able to do what she wants to do, wear clothes that are comfortable, and marry whom she wants.

So Enola sneaks away and heads for London to hide from her brothers. Almost right away, Enola gets involved in the mystery of a missing young Marquess. She's able to solve this mystery and then she's on to the next one...The Case of the Left-Handed Lady.

Her third adventure is The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets. Dr. Watson is missing, and Enola searches for him. Her escapades once again take you through the streets of London. She uses a different type of disguise in this book that required a visit to Pertelote's, a shop where she was able to purchase materials to aid in her disguises.

In The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, Cecily Alistair from the The Case of the Left-Handed Lady has disappeared again. Before she disappears, Enola sees Cecily in a public restroom, one of the first of its kind. Cecily tries to get a message to Enola. It is clear Cecily is in distress. Enola is able to discover that something is terribly amiss with Cecily's situation. Sherlock and Enola work together a little more in this book, leaving you to wonder where their relationship will eventually lead. I think Sherlock is starting to understand just how clever and resourceful Enola is.

It took a little to get into the first book because the writing voice and language is more like you'd expect to hear in England just before the turn of the 20th century. Once I got into the rhythm, the pages flew by.

Enola is a spitfire. It's interesting to see how much different life was then for girls than it is today. Sometimes it's easy to take for granted all the things we can do now. I found Springer's descriptions of the characters and setting very informative. I'm rather glad I live today rather than in the late 1800s!

Genre: historical fiction, mystery

Topics: life in England (late 1800s), disguises, stereotypes (bk 3), mistreatment of poor people, distrust of left-handed people (bk 2), beginnings of union talks (bk 2), ciphers, arranged marriages (bk 4), orphans (bk 4)

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5

Amazon reviews for The Case of the Missing Marquess
Amazon reviews for The Case of the Left-Handed Lady
Amazon reviews for The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets
Amazon reviews for The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay establish a friendship of sorts while trying to solve the case of a missing Vermeer painting.

One of the things I liked about this book were the extras in the illustrations. There was a frog in many of the illustrations...frogs and Frog are part of the story line as well. There were also pentominoes in many of the illustrations as well as in the story line.

One of the games I like to play is Blokus. I discovered that the shapes in Blokus are the same pentominoes in Chasing Vermeer. I actually pulled the ones shown and described in the book and tried to do what Calder does...put the pentominoes into rectangular shapes. I'm not very good at it, unfortunately.

Genre: mystery

Topics: math, artists, strange or unexplained events, pentominoes

Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5

Amazon reviews

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

When I was young, I read a fairy tale about twelve princesses who would wear their slippers out every night even though they were locked in their rooms. A reward was offered for the prince who could discover what was happening. I also remembered something about a winding staircase down to a river that would take the princesses to a magical land under ground. As a parent, I rediscovered this fairy tale as I was reading a book of fairy tales to my son.

When I was in Barnes & Noble last week, I discovered a brand new book by Jessica Day George, Princess of the Midnight Ball. When I read the description, it sounded a lot like the fairy tale I had read to my son and as a youngster.

I just finished reading it a couple of days ago. It was great. Ms. George had an interesting backstory for why the events were happening. She fleshed the story that was a few pages long into a full-length, captivating novel.

The only drawback I can think of is the cover. It is very appealing to young females, but I don't know if a boy would ever pick it up. I'm not positive, but I think boys would enjoy the story, too, as many of the characters are male. I actually read parts of it to my 3rd grade son, and he keeps asking me to read more to him. The story is very good.

Genre: fairy tale, adventure

Topics: revenge, magical objects, soldiers, princes and princesses, gardens, sisters, curses

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5

Amazon reviews