Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (audio)

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker. 2006.
Audience: Grades 2-4; 7-10
My Rating: 4.5*s of 5
Summary: While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old (third-grader) Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.
Comments: A great narrator and delightful story! Clementine is put-her-in-your pocket lovable. Her "spectacular ideas" and eventual mishaps create many laugh out loud moments. Can't wait to read more about her!

Awards:
Read-alikes: Ida B. by Hannigan, Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, Judy Moody books by McDonald

Year of the Dog by Grace Lin (audio)

Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. 2007.

Audience: Grades 3-5; 9-12

My Rating: 3*s of 5

Summary: It's the Chinese Year of the Dog, and as Pacy celebrates with her family, she finds out that this is the year she is supposed to "find herself." Universal themes of friendship, family, and finding one's life passions make this novel appealing to readers of all backgrounds.

Comments: Fantastic narrator! I enjoyed the character of Pacy/Grace as well as her friend Melody. While the mother's "did I ever tell you?" stories were interesting, I occasionally found myself groaning at the arrival of another one. Forgive me for sounding ignorant, but this book made it seem to me that money is one of the most important things in Taiwanese culture. It seems that Chinese-American young readers may especially enjoy seeing their culture and identity in this story.

Awards: Bluebonnet list, 2008

Read-alikes: The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin

Forever Princess by Meg Cabot (audio)

Forever Princess (Princess Diaries, book 10, Finale!) by Meg Cabot. 2009.
Audience: 12 and up
My Rating: 4.5*s of 5
Summary: Mia, who is finally a senior at Albert Einstein High, faces difficult choices about boys and her status as princess while her future, and Genovia's, hang in the balance.
Comments: I heart Meg Cabot. It is official. I have now read enough of her books to safely say that she never disappoints. As she does so well, Cabot gives us another character who, for much of the book, cannot seem to make the right choices (veeeery similar to the way her target audience might think/behave? Bless my adult, fully formed pre-frontal lobe!). The love triangle between Mia, J.P., and Michael is delicious as are the interspersed excerpts from Mia's senior project, a medieval romance book called Ransom My Heart (published under Meg Cabot as an adult romance! Clever Meg). My only prior Princess exposure was part of book 1, but I still completely enjoyed this royale finale.
Awards:
Read-alikes: duh

Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston

Katrina Katrell is a bored imaginative child who would love to explore. She gets a glimpse into her future when she spots a creature, Morty while waiting to ride the subway. While escaping her guardian Mrs. Kabone a dreadful woman who has summoned a brain doctor to "treat" Katrina,she meets up with the creature, Morty a zorgle. Morty and Katrina, determined heroine team up to find out why the zorgles have all left Zorgamazoo. Along the way they meet Winnie, another creature whose family has disappeared. Their journey inside a mechanical creature lands them on the moon and there they meet Dullbert Hohummer, the Third. He is the one behind the plan to make earth less interesting by kidnapping the creatures who inhabit earth. Without the creatures, humans would produce more Tedium Steam (boredom) which powers his planet.

Ages: 4th grade and up

Comments: The rhyming was a distraction at first. If kids will check out a story that rhymes, I think they will enjoy the tale.Will Katrina and friends succeed in saving all? This I shall not tell because this nonsensical book was pretty swell.

if I stay by gayle forman

A little excursion with her family on a school snow day turns tragic for seventeen year old Mia. Mia recounts the aftermath of the car accident involving her family and life memories for the next 24 hours as she lies in a coma. Her eloquent story sharing about family, friends, boyfriend, disappointments, and ambitions and hospital visits weigh in as she makes the ultimate decision, whether to stay or to go.

Ages: 14 and up

Comments: This is a heart wrenching book with arresting characters. As I read this book I found myself thinking about what my decision would be if I had to choose whether or not to remain in the world if I had suffered so much loss and had extensive physical injuries.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

In this charming mystery, Marvin a beetle and family live under the kitchen sink in the home of James and his family. Upon turning age 11, Mrs. Pompaday, James' mother invites children of prospective real estate clients to his birthday party. James' party is a disaster complete with miserable gifts. Marvin wants to give James something great for his birthday. Using the pen-and-ink set, a birthday present from James' father, Marvin uses his legs to draw a picture of the scene outside James' window. Everyone in James' family believes James has done the miniature drawing including his father who is delighted with James' talent and interest in art. His father takes him for many trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These trips are made with Marvin the beetle in tow. James must create more drawings, Marvin's family worries about him taking risky excursions. Both of them, James and Marvin end up in the middle of an art heist. The heist may lead them to a long lost drawing by the artist Durer, the artist in which James' family compares his drawings (well Marvin's drawings). Can the two friends pull off their own drawing conspiracy while aiding in the pursuit of an art thief and solve the mystery?

Audience: Ages 10 and up

Comments: I guess I just like stories with a bug as a main character. In this fast-paced mystery the beetle befriends a human and together they accomplish much in this likable book. Don't worry, James has to come with turns with taking credit for work he has not created. The illustrations compliment and add dimension to the story; they are reminiscent of the artwork created by Marvin. Give this one to readers seeking a good book this summer.

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter. 2009.

Audience: 2nd - 6th Grade; 5 and up

My Rating: 5*s of 5

Summary: In this striking picture book biography, an old-timer tells us what made Sandy Koufax so amazing. We learn that the beginning of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers was rocky, that he was shy with his teammates, and experienced discrimination as one of the only Jews in the game. Accompanied by sidebars filled with statistics, here’s a book sure to delight budding baseball fans.

Comments: Wow! The fantastic cover (come on, who can resist a hologram of Koufax actually throwing a fastball?) pulled me into this extraordinary biography about a left-handed pitcher I had never heard of and will now never forget. The book reads like a casual and personal narrative told by one of Koufax's teammates, which allows for a perfect marriage of what Koufax did and who he was. The "stat box" style call outs throughout offer amazing info that enhances the experience. Illustrations--wow--couldn't be better. All the elements of this book come together to make something that is way more than a biography--a home run of a book!

Awards: Soon to come, I'm sure!

Read-alikes: Frida; Roberto Clemente; Fair Ball!; Muhammad Ali ; Dizzy (all by Winter); We Are the Ship by Nelson.

The Graveyard Book (audio)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. 2008.
Audience: 5th or 6th Grade and up; 10 and up
My Rating: 3.5*s of 5
Summary: The orphan Bod, short for Nobody, is taken in by the inhabitants of a graveyard as a child of eighteen months and raised lovingly and carefully to the age of eighteen years by the community of ghosts and otherworldly creatures.

Comments: I first picked up this book right after it's release in Sept. of 2008 being a big Gaiman fan and eager to read his newest. About the time I got to the ghoul scene, I lost interest and put it down. Now, since Gaiman himself narrates, I made it through the entire audio book much more easily (though I still found the ghoul scene boring and somewhat pointless). This is not my favorite of his books (I much preferred Anansi Boys) and is often too reminiscent of Coraline. However, it carries Gaiman's usual charming voice; the "Dance the Macabre" chapter is enchantingly well written. The beginning is quite scary, especially in print with the dark illustrations. The setting and characters are certainly original for a younger, coming of age story and I appreciate the overall message of the value of life as well as the cost of living in fear.
Awards: Newbery Medal winner, 2009!
Read-alikes: Coraline