Story Thieves

Story Thieves by James Riley will be adored by all of  my fantasy/magic/science fiction loving students, but I'll admit it- this one was a challenge for me to finish.

The story is very inventive. One day, Owen catches his fellow classmate Bethany climbing out of a book. Yes, you read that correctly- CLIMBING OUT OF A BOOK! Bethany is a half fictional (her dad is a fictional character), so she has the power to jump in and out of any novel. After a little begging (and blackmailing), Owen convinces her to take him along, but he must promise to simply observe and not alter ANYTHING in the story. They jump into his favorite book, but coming face to face with his literary hero, Kiel Gnomenfoot, proves to be too much of a temptation for Owen. He soon starts a series of events that might change their lives forever.

I'm not sure why I struggled with this book. Admittedly fantasy is not my favorite genre, but I still typically get through most stories easily. This one was a very slow read, and I had to force myself to pick it up every night. It had an original premise and fun characters but started to get a little complicated half way through reading. It was hard to keep the book within a book characters and plot straight.

Nevertheless, it has mystery, adventure, and everything else young readers like, so I will certainly recommend it for ages 8 and up. I think it will fly off the library shelves and be a hit.

Beginner Chapter Books (And I Mean BEGINNER)

"But I don't want a picture book. I want a chapter book!" I hear these words all too often from the mouths of my youngest students. There is a strange phenomena that always seems to happen during the middle of first grade- picture books lose their draw. This is a sad fact but all too true. For many students (not all, thank goodness) picture books are viewed as too babyish and children want chapter books. I've had some students not even care what the book is about as long as it has CHAPTERS!!! I'm not sure if they want to be like the older kids, their older siblings, or just impress their teachers and classmates, but they become adamant that a picture book is no longer for them. I imagine that as they learn to read more fluently and hear more chapter books read aloud, their interest is piqued about this entire new section of the library that they used to pass by without notice.

The problem with this new interest is that they aren't discerning enough about what is appropriate material. Students will wander over to the 4th-5th grade shelves because, of course, the longest books must be the best ones. I have often had six-year-old students who beg to check out the biggest fattest books in the library. This is a tough age because even the best early chapter books (Geranimo Stilton, Jake Drake, or Marvin Redpost) are still a little too tough.

Because they are so excited to read this new type of book, I feel it's really important to direct them to stories that they can read successfully and that they will LOVE. Getting students hooked on a series also helps to keep the reading momentum going. A great tip to finding an appropriate series is to choose a book with a main character who is the same age as the reader. Additionally I try to help them choose books that have larger type, are less than 100 pages, and have few difficult words. The five finger rule is in full effect! (If there are four to five words on the page that the child doesn't know, than it's not a great choice.) Even if a struggling reader can't read chapter books alone, most of them are fun to read aloud with an adult.

The list that I've complied is for the chapter book beginner. These are books I would recommend to grades K- 2. There are fantastic chapter books for ages 8 and up, but I'm going even lower than that! Here are my suggestions for terrific early/first chapter books:

Roller Girl

I have  a lot of love for this Newbery Honor book! To be honest, I saw it on the bookstore shelves for months but had NO IDEA it was a graphic novel before I bought it. I don't know how I missed that since there has been so much buzz surrounding it. When I opened it I was a little nervous because I don't usually enjoy graphic novels, but this book might have made a convert out of me!
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson is the sweet story of twelve year old Astrid who decides to attend roller derby camp after watching a local match. Her best friend was going to join as well, but decides not to at the last minute. Besides having to go alone, Astrid must face the awkwardness of being the new girl with no experience. As a beginner she definitely takes her lumps and struggles through the camp while learning lessons about hard work and determination. While roller derby camp is the main setting, this story is much more about friendship. Twelve is a difficult age and childhood friends start to grow apart. Roller Girl is ultimately about the struggle to maintain those friendships or to decide it might be time to let them go. Astrid learns that being honest with herself and others is the only way to roll! (sorry- I couldn't resist the pun!)

This book was great fun! There was a part of me that wanted to run out and find a local roller derby league to join. I had no idea what kind of stamina it takes to be a roller girl. From the costumes to the names (Rainbow Bite, Winnie the Pow etc..) the pageantry of roller derby and the fierceness of the competitors was explained well and illustrated beautifully. Fans of Raina Telgemeier will love this!

Books for the Reluctant Reader When Wimpy Kid isn't Enough

I've been a reader my entire life, so it pains me to share that my son would rather cut off an appendage than read a book. He's a ten-year-old science loving, robot making, future engineer who finds no value in fiction. He'll read non fiction books about computers or electricity but just flat out doesn't enjoy a good story. So why do I keep looking for something he might like? Because fiction books will improve his problem solving and analytical skills. They will increase his vocabulary, comprehension, and ability to make predictions. I tell him until I'm blue in the face that fiction books will make him smarter!

My hunt for fiction books that he would like began a few yeas ago. I bought him all the usual high interest titles such as Big Nate, Magic Tree House, Timmy Failure and of course Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He read them all begrudgingly but he didn't really like them. Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Spiderwick Chronicles (books most kids love) were too scary for him and made him even more resistant. So now my challenge was to find something he would read AND like AND that would not be scary.

I came across a book that had a title he couldn't resist- Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Charlie Joe doesn't like to read either, but of course by the end of the story, he reluctantly finds value in books. My son devoured this  which was great because there are five Charlie Joe books! My boy read them all, and some nights I even had to force him to put them down and go to bed.

It's certainly been a long road of trial and error but I've since managed to find a few that he really truly enjoyed. Hopefully this list will help another reluctant reader!

Under Their Skin

I couldn't wait to start the new Margaret Peterson Haddix series. I've always been a fan of her books, and her work is a big hit with my students. I can't wait to show them her newest story Under Their Skin.

I am struggling with writing a summary because there are so many secrets and twists, and I don't want to give anything away! Nick and Eryn's mom is getting remarried to her boyfriend Michael. Michael has two teenage children but Nick and Eryn are told they will NEVER get to meet them. What is going on with these mystery step-siblings? What is the big secret? Why must they stay hidden? Nick and Eryn set out to find the answers to this puzzle.

What I liked about the story is that several secrets are revealed rather quickly, so it doesn't drag out the sibling mystery too long; however, after that is resolved, an even bigger plot twist is introduced. I'm pretty good at predicting which way YA mysteries will go, but I didn't see this one coming. I'm excited to get this one on the library shelves. Ages 10 and up.

Fuzzy Mud

This week I finished Fuzzy Mud- the latest by Louis Sachar. I think Fuzzy Mud was a very interesting book that my students will really enjoy.

My favorite thing about this author is his diversity. From Holes, to Marvin Redpost, to Wayside School- Mr. Sachar certainly has many original ideas. One thing his books  have in common is that they are all entertaining and easy to read. Fuzzy Mud is no exception.

This book tells the tale of fifth grader Tamaya who finds a strange kind of "fuzzy mud" while cutting through the woods on her way home and the medical consequences of her touching this unknown substance. This story has a few different plot lines happening. First, Tamaya is running through the woods with a friend trying to escape the class bully, and second, the mud is the byproduct of a science experiment gone wrong. It also tackles the difficulties of telling the truth when the truth might bring a punishment or cause a dip in popularity.

The author blends all of the story lines together beautifully. It's suspenseful and flows nicely between a few time jumps. Also, this book teaches more than one valuable lesson to the tween/teenage set. Besides its young readers, it made me stop and think about the repercussions of advancing science. I think both genders will like it and I think it's a great choice for kids who want something with a little depth. This does not have a cookie cutter plot, and it was a really refreshing read!

The Jewel Series

I'll admit it- I'm a sucker for a book with a girl in a beautiful ball gown on the cover. Whoever started that trend in dystopian novels is a genius.  I loved The Selection series by Kiera Cass and Ruby Red by Kerstin Geir so when I saw the ball gown girl again on The Jewel by Amy Ewing, I bought it knowing nothing about it. Let me start with the warning that this is NOT a YA book for elementary students or really even middle school. The adult themes put it at the high school level for sure.

Violet is lot #197 in the auction of young ladies to be purchased by the highest bidder. These girls go on to become surrogates for the royal families that cannot have children of their own. Each surrogate has unique magical powers and at first, their lives in the Jewel (where the royals live), is much better than their life of desolation and poverty anywhere else in Lone City. As the surrogates soon learn, there is an undercurrent of violence, competition, and unimaginable cruelty behind the beautiful royal walls. Violet gets help from a very unlikely source to escape the Jewel and like most novels of its kind, she and her friends begin a revolution to fight against the oppression of the lower classes.

After The Hunger Games, I began to feel like every dystopian book had the same formula. I've been searching for one that offered something original and I certainly found it in this series. The idea of the surrogates and their magic powers  is completely unique as is the other cast of characters (the companions and ladies in waiting). It's very suspenseful and there are quite a few twists that I didn't see coming. It is also just racy enough to satisfy romance lovers.

While I liked the story quite a bit, I found the heroine to be unlikable. I think she is whiny and ungrateful. Every time someone offers her help, at great peril to themselves, she always does the exact opposite of what she is supposed to do. I think I would have probably just left her after the second time she directly went against me! I'm sure many people find her stubbornness endearing, but I do not. I just wanted her to be genuinely grateful to her saviors.

The Jewel introduces the reader to this society and The White Rose continues the story complete with an  awesome cliffhanger.  It was hard to stop reading and feed the other people who live in my house! The final book,The Black Key will be published this October.