Very good book! "Griffin is a Man with a plan" (front jacket). Very true. Griffin Bing always has a plan and plenty of back up plans. Some of his plans are better than others. One of his grand plans in this book is to break into an antique store. You'll have to read the book to find out why and if his plan worked. It's filled with humor and adventure.
Topics: dogs, robbery, swindle, baseball card, best friends, secrecy, school, acting, backgammon, deception, money problems, inventions
Genre: realistic fiction (appeal to boys and girls, but especially boys)
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Moving Day (bk 1 in Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls) by Meg Cabot
Allie is a feisty fourth grader who is having friend trouble which is exacerbated (made worse) by the fact that her family has decided to move to a different house in the middle of the school year. Because the house is on the other side of town, she'll have to go to a new school. Allie is a junior animal rights activist of sorts. She gets into lots of mischief. This would be a fun book for an upper elementary age girl, and maybe some sixth grade girls would enjoy it.
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: moving, new school, friend problems, siblings, animal lover, parents
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: moving, new school, friend problems, siblings, animal lover, parents
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Big Field by Mike Lupica
If you like baseball, including lots of play-by-play action, you'll love this book. Hutch and Cody are best friends who are part of an American Legion baseball team hoping to make it to the state tournament. There is tension between Hutch and Darryl, another member of the team who is a natural at baseball. There is also tension between Hutch and his dad, a former pro baseball player who seems to have lost his love of the game.
Genre: realistic fiction (sports)
Topics: baseball, championship game, team work, rivalry, father/son conflict
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5 (if I were a baseball fan, it'd probably be higher)
Amazon Reviews
Genre: realistic fiction (sports)
Topics: baseball, championship game, team work, rivalry, father/son conflict
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5 (if I were a baseball fan, it'd probably be higher)
Amazon Reviews
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by e. l. konigsburg
I read this book because it was on a list of books I was supposed to read. I found aspects of the book very interesting and other aspects disturbing. I enjoyed learning about the art information and the surrounding mystery. However, the old lady in the book was a little more risque than I prefer. The primary setting is two boys who are helping get an old woman's home furnishings ready for auction. An old painting is discovered in the process. I can't say I'd recommend this book for people to read...wasn't that good of a tale from my point of view.
Topics: mystery, famous artists, Hitler, degenerate art, museum curator, Nazis, stolen art, treatment of homosexuals during WWII
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 2.5 of 5
Amazon reviews
Topics: mystery, famous artists, Hitler, degenerate art, museum curator, Nazis, stolen art, treatment of homosexuals during WWII
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 2.5 of 5
Amazon reviews
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
Along with their mother, Georgina and Toby become homeless after their father abandons them. They are kicked out of their apartment when they can't pay the rent. This story describes some of the situations people who are homeless may find themselves in.
To try to help get money so they can rent somewhere to live, Georgina decides to steal a dog for the reward money and enlists the help of her younger brother. It's not a "happy, feel good" kind of book. It may, however, help kids empathize with others who have come upon tough times financially. It's hard for everyone in the family, some of which is depicted in this book.
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: homeless persons, brother/sister, school, dog
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
To try to help get money so they can rent somewhere to live, Georgina decides to steal a dog for the reward money and enlists the help of her younger brother. It's not a "happy, feel good" kind of book. It may, however, help kids empathize with others who have come upon tough times financially. It's hard for everyone in the family, some of which is depicted in this book.
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: homeless persons, brother/sister, school, dog
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
This book was a fun, quick read. Zoe really wants to play the piano, but instead, her father gets her a Perfectone organ. Turns out Zoe has aptitude for keyboard playing. Zoe's dad is a stay at home dad. It never said why in the book, but he doesn't seem to cope well with life outside of their house. Zoe also makes some new friends at school, but they aren't who you'd expect. This book should appeal to both girls and boys, despite the cover.
Genre: realistic fiction, humor
Topics: piano lessons, organ, music, family life, school life, friendship, baking, humor
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Genre: realistic fiction, humor
Topics: piano lessons, organ, music, family life, school life, friendship, baking, humor
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher
Harry Sue is the daughter of two convicts serving out their prison terms. She lives with her grandmother who runs a day care. As you read, you're going to want to yell (and do other things) at the grandmother, or offer advice to Harry Sue, but you are restricted to reading her story. Harry Sue has a good heart and often tries to make good out of very unpleasant circumstances. Thankfully she's surrounded by non-family members who truly care about her.
There were parts of Harry Sue that I really liked, but there were parts I struggled with. I got bogged down with some of the lingo and writing style, but I kept at it. I'm really glad I did, because the story was really good. I did get confused at times, but eventually I think I got it figured out :-)
Genre: Realistic fiction
Topics: child abuse, Wizard of Oz, parents in prison, living with grandmother, prison speak/lingo/jargon, day care, doing the right thing, story telling, paralysis, family, friends, having a heart
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
There were parts of Harry Sue that I really liked, but there were parts I struggled with. I got bogged down with some of the lingo and writing style, but I kept at it. I'm really glad I did, because the story was really good. I did get confused at times, but eventually I think I got it figured out :-)
Genre: Realistic fiction
Topics: child abuse, Wizard of Oz, parents in prison, living with grandmother, prison speak/lingo/jargon, day care, doing the right thing, story telling, paralysis, family, friends, having a heart
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Football Genius by Tim Green
Tim Green is the author of Football Genius. He is a former NFL linebacker so he is able to bring realism to the story. He knows what goes on behind the scenes. Any middle schooler who loves football will likely love this book. It has a lot of action and suspense related to football, life, and school. Anyone who's had a horrible coach will also be able to identify with Troy, the main character. Troy has a special ability...he knows what the next play is going to be before it's run. If only he can get the Atlanta Falcons to listen!
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: football, kicker, quarterback, determining/predicting plays, bad coaches, single mom, NFL, truth, pressure, unfairness, Atlanta Falcons
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Genre: realistic fiction
Topics: football, kicker, quarterback, determining/predicting plays, bad coaches, single mom, NFL, truth, pressure, unfairness, Atlanta Falcons
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Getting Air by Dan Gutman
When I saw this book, I thought it was about skateboarding. It does include that, but it's really a survival story. Four kids are on their way to California to watch the X games when terrorists take over their plane. This story is about their adventure. I didn't think it was a really "tense" survival story. In fact, it was rather goofy at times. I thought it was a little on the "rough" side, but I think kids will like it.
Topics: skateboarding, X games, sponsorship, plane hijackers, knitters, old ladies, wilderness survival, group dynamics, Girl Scouts
Genre: realistic fiction
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Topics: skateboarding, X games, sponsorship, plane hijackers, knitters, old ladies, wilderness survival, group dynamics, Girl Scouts
Genre: realistic fiction
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews
The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan
The Ruins of Gorlan is the first book in The Ranger's Apprentice series. I had noticed it as I was shelving books at Kenwood and thought it looked like a good "boy" book. Well, it unequivocally is. Girls who like adventure will like it, too. It was very fast-paced. I couldn't put it down.
Will, Jenny, George, Horace, and Alyss are all wards of Castle Redmont under the supervision of Baron Arald. When they turn 15, they are eligible for Choosing Day. Each of the five have their choices made and hope to be accepted. Will wants to go to battleschool, but he is small in size. He becomes the apprentice to Ranger Halt instead, and is in for the ride of his life.
Topics for The Ruins of Gorlan: knights, rangers, intelligence officers, apprenticeship, boar hunt, bullying, integrity, hard work, training, learning a trade, swords, orphans, medieval-like setting, horses
The Burning Bridge is more violent than The Ruins of Gorlan because of the battle scenes. It's also more intense. It also ends with a cliff-hanger, so you'll want to have book 3 at the ready. The language is a little more rough in this book as well.
Topics for The Burning Bridge: war, enemy, sword fighting, thieves, secret identity, allies, deception, miners, slaves, hostages, negotiations, emissary
The Icebound Land finds Will and Evanlyn on board a ship sailing toward Skandia, an icy, snow-covered place. Evanlyn's true identity is still a secret. Will gets addicted to warmweed while working as a slave in the yards (The warmweed is given to him without his understanding of what it is.). Evanlyn works as a servant/slave inside the buildings, so she has a little warmth. Their story is built around an attempt to escape.
Meanwhile, Holt and Horace leave Araluen to seek out Will and Evanlyn. They encounter the nasty Lord Deparnieux who is unspeakably cruel and evil. I love reading about Holt. He's a very smart man who does a great job training Will (in earlier books) and Horace.
Once again, the book ends with you eager to get to the next book. Also, the amount of swearing increased in this book. For me, that's a bummer, but the story is really good, so I chose to ignore it.
Topics for The Icebound Land: sailing, capture, drug addiction, slavery, winter survival, escape, unexpected friends, evil rulers, lawless land, creating opportunity, plotting
In The Battle for Skandia, we read the conclusion to the story started in book 3. Early in the book, the four get reunited and become allies of their former enemies, the Skandians, in order to defeat an even more fierce enemy...the Temujai. The Temujai remind me of what the warrior Mongolians of old may have been like. In fact, when I looked up Genghis Khan, I read that his real name was Temujin. Sound familiar?
Be prepared for a lot of battle scenes in this book. Once again, I came to the conclusion of the book wanting to get my hands on the next one. This series does a really good job of making you care about the characters. All of them are written and fleshed out so well that you think you know them. I love that. (Had a little less swearing than the previous two books.)
Topics for The Battle of Skandia: archers, battle, warriors, strategy, treaty, uneven odds, rescue, traitor, rulers, hand-to-hand combat
Genre: fantasy (limited fantasy elements)
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews for The Ruins of Gorlan
Amazon Reviews for The Burning Bridge
Amazon Reviews for The Icebound Land
Amazon Reviews for The Battle for Skandia
Will, Jenny, George, Horace, and Alyss are all wards of Castle Redmont under the supervision of Baron Arald. When they turn 15, they are eligible for Choosing Day. Each of the five have their choices made and hope to be accepted. Will wants to go to battleschool, but he is small in size. He becomes the apprentice to Ranger Halt instead, and is in for the ride of his life.
Topics for The Ruins of Gorlan: knights, rangers, intelligence officers, apprenticeship, boar hunt, bullying, integrity, hard work, training, learning a trade, swords, orphans, medieval-like setting, horses
The Burning Bridge is more violent than The Ruins of Gorlan because of the battle scenes. It's also more intense. It also ends with a cliff-hanger, so you'll want to have book 3 at the ready. The language is a little more rough in this book as well.
Topics for The Burning Bridge: war, enemy, sword fighting, thieves, secret identity, allies, deception, miners, slaves, hostages, negotiations, emissary
The Icebound Land finds Will and Evanlyn on board a ship sailing toward Skandia, an icy, snow-covered place. Evanlyn's true identity is still a secret. Will gets addicted to warmweed while working as a slave in the yards (The warmweed is given to him without his understanding of what it is.). Evanlyn works as a servant/slave inside the buildings, so she has a little warmth. Their story is built around an attempt to escape.
Meanwhile, Holt and Horace leave Araluen to seek out Will and Evanlyn. They encounter the nasty Lord Deparnieux who is unspeakably cruel and evil. I love reading about Holt. He's a very smart man who does a great job training Will (in earlier books) and Horace.
Once again, the book ends with you eager to get to the next book. Also, the amount of swearing increased in this book. For me, that's a bummer, but the story is really good, so I chose to ignore it.
Topics for The Icebound Land: sailing, capture, drug addiction, slavery, winter survival, escape, unexpected friends, evil rulers, lawless land, creating opportunity, plotting
In The Battle for Skandia, we read the conclusion to the story started in book 3. Early in the book, the four get reunited and become allies of their former enemies, the Skandians, in order to defeat an even more fierce enemy...the Temujai. The Temujai remind me of what the warrior Mongolians of old may have been like. In fact, when I looked up Genghis Khan, I read that his real name was Temujin. Sound familiar?
Be prepared for a lot of battle scenes in this book. Once again, I came to the conclusion of the book wanting to get my hands on the next one. This series does a really good job of making you care about the characters. All of them are written and fleshed out so well that you think you know them. I love that. (Had a little less swearing than the previous two books.)
Topics for The Battle of Skandia: archers, battle, warriors, strategy, treaty, uneven odds, rescue, traitor, rulers, hand-to-hand combat
Genre: fantasy (limited fantasy elements)
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews for The Ruins of Gorlan
Amazon Reviews for The Burning Bridge
Amazon Reviews for The Icebound Land
Amazon Reviews for The Battle for Skandia
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Defiance by Valerie Hobbs
Valerie Hobbs does a wonderful job weaving this story about Toby, an eleven-year-old city boy with cancer, Pearl, a 94-year-old poet with macular degeneration (results in poor eyesight) living alone on a dilapidated farm, and Blossom, an aging milk cow. Toby is on vacation when he discovers Blossom, the cow. He's concerned about how skinny she is, so he heads to the nearby farm to confront the farmer who happens to be an old woman, Pearl.
Defiance is a rich story deep with meaning for people who have experienced cancer or other losses in life. Early in the book, Toby reads the sign posted on Pearl's house, "Whoever steals my freedom takes my life," which is one theme of the book. Toby feels like his parents are stealing his freedom. Pearl feels like her daughters are trying to steal her freedom. Pearl and Toby just want to be free to make the decisions they want to make. Pearl and Toby discover they are exactly what each other needs to help them make important decisions.
Audience: all (especially someone who is sometimes tired of fighting and needs hope to keep going)
Genre: realistic
Topics: cancer, death, dying, secrets, cows, being sick, chemotherapy, lying, telescope, stars, poetry, tired of fighting, tired of treatment, being in a dark place, hope, reincarnation (mentioned)
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Defiance is a rich story deep with meaning for people who have experienced cancer or other losses in life. Early in the book, Toby reads the sign posted on Pearl's house, "Whoever steals my freedom takes my life," which is one theme of the book. Toby feels like his parents are stealing his freedom. Pearl feels like her daughters are trying to steal her freedom. Pearl and Toby just want to be free to make the decisions they want to make. Pearl and Toby discover they are exactly what each other needs to help them make important decisions.
Audience: all (especially someone who is sometimes tired of fighting and needs hope to keep going)
Genre: realistic
Topics: cancer, death, dying, secrets, cows, being sick, chemotherapy, lying, telescope, stars, poetry, tired of fighting, tired of treatment, being in a dark place, hope, reincarnation (mentioned)
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Set in Eden Prairie, MN, this is a story about a twelve-year-old's amazing summer. It starts with him getting an old riding lawnmower from his grandma. What starts as a neighborhood lawn mowing business grows into much more. It's a short, fast, fun read.
Audience: great middle school boy book
Genre: realistic
Topics: summer, lawn mowing, making money, stock market, economics, boxer, employer, investments, bad guys, Eden Prairie, MN
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Audience: great middle school boy book
Genre: realistic
Topics: summer, lawn mowing, making money, stock market, economics, boxer, employer, investments, bad guys, Eden Prairie, MN
Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
The Garden of Eve by K. L. Going
Evie (Eve) is an eleven-year-old whose Mom died from cancer. Her dad buys a seemingly dead apple orchard in New York, so Evie and her dad make the move to New York. Evie's not too happy about moving. She really misses her mom, and her dad seems so distant. This book is really about grief and coping with loss in a family. It's done in a really creative way. The summary in the front of the book says, "Eve gave up her belief in stories and magic after her mother's death, but a mysterious seed given her as an eleventh-birthday gift by someone she has never met takes her and a boy who claims to be a ghost on a strange journey, to where their supposedly cursed town of Beaumont, New York, flourishes."
Topics: mom has died, New York, apple orchard, magic seed, moving to a new place, superstitions, curses, ghosts, father/daughter relationships, Garden of Eden, choices, missing your mom, death, grief, loss
Genre: realistic with fantasy elements (technically fantasy, but so little of it is actually fantasy)
Audience: anyone who's dealt with loss; any middle schooler (wouldn't consider it a "girl" book only)
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Topics: mom has died, New York, apple orchard, magic seed, moving to a new place, superstitions, curses, ghosts, father/daughter relationships, Garden of Eden, choices, missing your mom, death, grief, loss
Genre: realistic with fantasy elements (technically fantasy, but so little of it is actually fantasy)
Audience: anyone who's dealt with loss; any middle schooler (wouldn't consider it a "girl" book only)
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Regarding the Bees by Kate Klise
This book is really clever. The book is dependent on the fun illustrations done by M. Sarah Klise. It's not a standard book. It's made up of letters, entries to the Gazette, and other documents. It's a light read and enjoyable. In a way, it reminded me of the Amelia Bedelia books when I was a kid.
Audience: 6th, maybe 7th grade, though they'd have wide appeal just based on the cleverness
Topics: spelling bee, standardized tests (BEES), honey bees, 7th graders, substitute teacher, competition, play on words, double meanings, puns, relationships, dating, school dances, misunderstandings, miscommunication, letter writing, advice, cheating
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon Reviews
Audience: 6th, maybe 7th grade, though they'd have wide appeal just based on the cleverness
Topics: spelling bee, standardized tests (BEES), honey bees, 7th graders, substitute teacher, competition, play on words, double meanings, puns, relationships, dating, school dances, misunderstandings, miscommunication, letter writing, advice, cheating
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon Reviews
100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson
This is a planned trilogy. Books 1 and 2 are currently out. Book 3 is expected in January 2010.
100 Cupboards is the title of the first book. Henry is sent to spend the summer at his aunt and uncle's farm in Kansas. While he's there, he discovers a set of 100 small cupboards built into the wall of his bedroom. These cupboards lead to different worlds in different times. Henry's cousin, Henrietta, is intrigued by the cupboards as well and seems to always be getting into mischief. Henry discovers a few mysteries about himself as he explores the cupboards. I really liked 100 Cupboards and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy.
Book 2 is named Dandelion Fire. This book was little more difficult to follow, but I persevered and read the whole thing in two days. I must confess, I cheated a little and took a few peeks at later parts of the book to help keep me going. What I read there motivated me to keep plugging away at portions of it. Most of the book takes place in the world on the other side of the cabinets. Plus, something really unusual happens to their house in Kansas, as well as to a few of their friends. It's darker than the first book, but it was good. I'm not really sure quite what it is about these books, but I feel compelled to continue reading. I can't wait to read book 3, The Chestnut King, but looks like I'll have to :-)
Genre: fantasy
Topics: family, magic, faeries, wizards, alternate worlds, bravery, family secrets, stealing, dishonesty, selfishness, dream walking
Mrs. Beckwith's ratings:
100 Cupboards: 4 of 5
Dandelion Fire: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews for 100 Cupboards
Amazon Reviews for Dandelion Fire
100 Cupboards is the title of the first book. Henry is sent to spend the summer at his aunt and uncle's farm in Kansas. While he's there, he discovers a set of 100 small cupboards built into the wall of his bedroom. These cupboards lead to different worlds in different times. Henry's cousin, Henrietta, is intrigued by the cupboards as well and seems to always be getting into mischief. Henry discovers a few mysteries about himself as he explores the cupboards. I really liked 100 Cupboards and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy.
Book 2 is named Dandelion Fire. This book was little more difficult to follow, but I persevered and read the whole thing in two days. I must confess, I cheated a little and took a few peeks at later parts of the book to help keep me going. What I read there motivated me to keep plugging away at portions of it. Most of the book takes place in the world on the other side of the cabinets. Plus, something really unusual happens to their house in Kansas, as well as to a few of their friends. It's darker than the first book, but it was good. I'm not really sure quite what it is about these books, but I feel compelled to continue reading. I can't wait to read book 3, The Chestnut King, but looks like I'll have to :-)
Genre: fantasy
Topics: family, magic, faeries, wizards, alternate worlds, bravery, family secrets, stealing, dishonesty, selfishness, dream walking
Mrs. Beckwith's ratings:
100 Cupboards: 4 of 5
Dandelion Fire: 3 of 5
Amazon Reviews for 100 Cupboards
Amazon Reviews for Dandelion Fire
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy series by William Boniface
Okay, I have to admit it. I really liked this book. Maybe it's because of all the Kim Possible episodes I've watched with my young son and movies like Bolt and The Impossibles. The Hero Revealed is book 1 in The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. The story starts by giving background information about the city of Superopolis and its inhabitants...all of them with special powers except for Ordinary Boy, the one who is telling the story. I found myself chuckling throughout the story. Drawings are included to enhance the story line
Ordinary Boy (OB) and his friends make up the Junior Leaguers. They are out to defeat Professor Brain-Drain.
The Return of Meteor Boy? is book 2. It takes place the week after book 1. We finally find out who Meteor Boy really is, and along the way, we meet a new set of villains. This book includes time travel. The Junior Leaguers and OB's dad's team are back again as well.
Audience: mid to upper elementary through 6th or 7th grade
Genre: fantasy
Topics: scarcity, villains, superheroes, intelligence, incompetence, mystery
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon Reviews for The Hero Revealed
Amazon reviews for The Return of Meteor Boy?
Ordinary Boy (OB) and his friends make up the Junior Leaguers. They are out to defeat Professor Brain-Drain.
The Return of Meteor Boy? is book 2. It takes place the week after book 1. We finally find out who Meteor Boy really is, and along the way, we meet a new set of villains. This book includes time travel. The Junior Leaguers and OB's dad's team are back again as well.
Audience: mid to upper elementary through 6th or 7th grade
Genre: fantasy
Topics: scarcity, villains, superheroes, intelligence, incompetence, mystery
Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4 of 5
Amazon Reviews for The Hero Revealed
Amazon reviews for The Return of Meteor Boy?
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