Winter Reading 2016 Give Me Wings

Imagine being born a slave, being told to spy on your own mother, living with the knowledge that you could be sold away at any time. We can't, because we are fortunate enough to have been born in a time and place of freedom. But Ella Sheppard was born in 1851, in the state of Tennessee, and she was asked by her mistress to report anything suspicious her mother said or did. Now, imagine going from that start in life to leading a choir that sang for Queen Victoria herself. A true rags to riches story, right?

Give Me Wings is not just Ella's story, although she features in it prominently. Using her as a central figure, the story traces the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. In the aftermath of the war, schools for blacks (as they were often referred to at that time), either former slaves or others, were established across the South by the American Missionary Association. Fisk Free Colored School in Nashville was one of the schools. But financial woes plagued the school and in an effort to raise funds, it was decided to form a singing group to give concerts. The result was the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The details of their rocky beginning and the road that eventually took them to London and a European tour are covered in a narrative supported with primary sources such as photos, maps, song lyrics, and paintings. The story also draws in other prominent figures of the period, including: Mark Twain, Lyman Beecher, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass.

Altogether a well-told and informative look at a piece of American and Tennessee history that deserves our attention. This would be an excellent addition to any school library or history classroom collection.

I received a review copy from the publisher.

Winter Reading Sweet Home Alaska

Terpsichore, or "Trip," lives with her family in Wisconsin in 1934. Her father had been a bookkeeper at the lumber mill before the mill closed, and the family had to survive on what her mother earned giving piano lessons and what they could grow in their garden. Trip has been doing all the cooking while her mother was busy with the lessons and taking care of baby Matthew and the twins, Cally and Polly. The cooking is actually a challenge, since she has only had pumpkin to work with lately. When the family moves to Alaska as part of a New Deal program, Trip carefully packs seeds from their garden to take with her. The family is in for culture shock as they arrive in a tent city that doesn't even have enough tents to go around, and we won't discuss the outhouse situation (although it is a two-seater). Plagued with equipment shortages and outbreaks of measles and other diseases, the new colonists are feeling very frustrated. But despite the hardships, Trip and her new friends Gloria and Mendel manage to organize a lending library, and begin learning how to survive the Alaskan wilderness.

Many readers have probably never heard of this program, although it is a part of American history. The story weaves in many other touches from the time period - the Fireside Chats, Little Orphan Annie, Will Rogers, Wiley Post, Shirley Temple, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Trip is especially fond of Laura's stories and even receives a copy of Little House on the Prairie for Christmas. She consults Farmer Boy for tips on growing a prize-winning pumpkin when she decides to enter a contest at the fair. Even readers who are not usually attracted to historical fiction will find Trip's experiences fascinating to read, and the personalities of her family and friends will draw you in, too. 

This would make an excellent novel study to accompany a unit on the 1930s, or simply a great read for anyone who enjoys adventure, humor, and strong female characters. I especially enjoyed the part about establishing a library (personal bias, I know). Recommended for middle grades and up.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Winter Reading VIP: I'm with the Band

For anyone who has ever had a crush on a star - music star, movie star, sports star - this story will recapture some of the swooning and hysteria of being a fangirl. Mackenzie and her two best friends, Scarlet and Iris, are crazy about the band Perfect Storm. They flip out when they get tickets and backstage passes to the concert. But what Mac doesn't know is that her mom has been chosen as the band's new tour manager and she is taking Mackenzie along on tour with the band. Squee! Traveling for weeks on the road and even sharing a tutor with the boys helps Mac to realize that they are talented, but they are also just teenage boys. They make messes, have food fights, and play pranks just like everyone else their age.

This book has a lot going for it. The whole boy band and fangirl scene is very topical. Showing an inside glimpse of a band on tour is also entertaining; having to do homework even though you are a pop star, being on the road at all hours, having to plan your life around performances and appearances - it's not all as much fun as people think. And the relationships in the book have very realistic touches, whether it is a family like Mac and her mom, the "brotherhood" of the band members, or the friendships Mac develops with other characters. Calonita's writing is amusing and the illustrations capture memorable moments. The comic panels of Mac's imaginary alter ego, Mac Attack, are very amusing - especially the fact that she fights villains with a nail file.

For middle grade and tween readers who would like to see what the life of a pop star is like, or for those who simply enjoy books about friends and relationships, I'm with the Band is an enjoyable read that will have you laughing out loud or shaking your head at some of the antics.

I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.

Winter Reading 2015 Far Out Fairy Tales

Do you enjoy fairy tales? Are you a reader who also thinks that updated versions and fractured fairy tales are cool? Then jump right into this collection, and you will have 5 of the most nontraditional retellings you may ever come across. Ninjarella doesn't lose a glass slipper; she leaves her special glass katana behind. Red Riding Hood doesn't have a poor sick granny; her grandma is President of the United States. The three billy goats Gruff wind up inside a video game trying to win the boss fight. Snow White crash lands on an asteroid run by seven mining robots while she is trying to escape the evil regent. And Hansel and Gretel are zombies living in an abandoned graveyard with their zombie parents.

One of the great features of this book is the comparison/contrast of each story to its original version. There is also a description of when the original story was first published, including the author (or collector), the date, and the main components of the story. This would make it handy to use in language arts classes that are studying fairy tales and how the themes are presented over time. The illustrations capture the popular graphic novel style and make use of the conventions such as showing action in sequential panels and using sound effects. (I especially liked the POOF when the godninja gave Ninjarella her clothes, then the DOUBLE POOF when the katana appears.)

For graphic novel and comic lovers, all the elements of the genre are there. For those who are looking for new variations of fairy tales to enjoy or add to their collections, these will certainly fit the bill. Either way, you are in for a pleasant time.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Fall reading 2015 Camp Midnight

As a former camp counselor I can honestly say that the most excitement my cabin ever had was chasing a mouse in the middle of the night because someone had carried candy back to the cabin from the canteen. What Skye Sullivan experiences at Camp Midnight is a far different kind of summer camp. 

It all starts off normally enough. Skye's mother is off to Rwanda to work with Doctors without Borders, and Skye is off to stay with her father for a few weeks. There are the typical protests because Skye doesn't like her step-monster, Gayle, but her mom insists that she can't come along because they are not running a Teenagers without Boundaries program in Africa. And then her father drops the bomb - he and Gayle have decided to send Skye to summer camp. The morning of camp departure, Gayle takes too long fixing her hair and they are running late to meet the bus, so it's an understandable mix-up that Skye winds up on the wrong bus. But no one realizes just how wrong...Dunh dunh dunh

So Skye is stuck at Camp Midnight for the summer, and it just gets weirder from there. Even though the campers themselves seem a bit odd, the usual camp antics still ensue. There are arguments over bunk assignments, cheating on the obstacle course, a crush on a cute boy, and Skye might even make a friend. But will camp be the transformative experience that Counselor Cobb hopes it will be? Is it possible for someone who is so angry, and so good at keeping everyone at arm's length, to actually relax and let her true self show?

Fans of Goosebumps, American Chillers, and other slightly creepy tales might enjoy this refreshing twist on traditional camp stories. Readers of graphic novels will appreciate the use of shadows and colors to enhance the spooky atmosphere of the camp, or to convey Skye's emotions.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Fall Reading 2015 Nick and Tesla's Secret Agent Gadget Battle

No matter which of Nick and Tesla's adventures you read, it is always a good time. Their friends Silas and DeMarco always find some sort of crazy stunt to attempt, and this time it is riding a bike down a slide and then jumping it over a mud pit that they have dug in the backyard. Uncle Newt is busy trying to perfect his latest invention, which is a vacuum cleaner powered by rotten fruit. Newt's neighbor Julie is busy trying to replace the garden gnomes that the kids and Uncle Newt's inventions keep destroying. And they still miss their parents, who are off on an agricultural trip studying soybeans. Or are they?


The kids receive a cryptic phone message from their mother warning them that they are not safe and not to trust... Okay, the message was cut off and they don't know who it is that they shouldn't trust. And when they try to play the message back for Uncle Newt, it has mysteriously vanished from the voice mail. So it seems that the kids will have to look out for themselves and figure out who the bad guys are. They don't have a lack of suspects. Could it be their uncle's new girlfriend? What about the intern that has just arrived to study with their uncle through the M.A.D. Scientists union? Or the two cleaning ladies who just happened to show up and offer the first day's service for free? Maybe it's Skip the exterminator, who also just happens to be in the neighborhood making sales calls?

To find the spy, retrieve the pendants from their parents that have been stolen, and discover what everyone is up to, Nick and Tesla will have to create more of their awesome gadgets. Within the book you will find the instructions for how to make Nick's Fingerprint-Finder Powder and Evildoer Identification System, Tesla's Ring-a-Ding-Ding Spy Exposure System, Nick and Tesla's Spybusting InvisiCam, Nick and Tesla's Code Wheels, and Nick and Tesla's Booby-Trap Balloon Drop. Young scientists and inventors will have a blast constructing the gadgets, as well as cheering on Nick and Tesla as they outwit the bad guy(s), whomever that might be.

The action is fast paced, there is plenty of humor, and true friendship to make the stories entertaining and enjoyable. The added bonus of instructions for all the gadgets used in the story makes this a perfect book to include in any library or classroom where kids enjoy MakerSpace activities.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Fall Reading 2015 Hilda and the Troll

Hilda is a curious blue-haired girl who decides to go out into the countryside and sketch pictures of rocks. Just looking through the first few panels of the story, one would think there are much more exciting things to draw that are closer to home. She might have chosen to draw her furry little companion, Twig, a fox with small antlers and a bushy tail. She could have done an artistic study of the sea spirit that seems to have wandered up the fjord. But she spends the day hiking around and drawing different rock formations. Then she comes across one that she is sure is actually a troll turned to stone in the sunlight. Could she be right? And if she is, how will the troll feel about the bell she and Twig have tied around its nose? Anyone who has ever had a prank played on them while they slept can imagine the troll's reaction when it wakes up.

Luke Pearson's illustrations capture the wide-eyed inquisitive nature of Hilda. Her artistic tendencies come through in her chic clothing (skirt, tights, boots, beret), as well as in her choice of leisure-time fun. The world Hilda lives in contains normal things like a home and a mother, but also odd creatures like giants, a wooden men, and trolls. She seems to take all her adventures in stride rather well. As she says, "What a noteworthy day." The color palette used for the book contrasts warm golden tones for the daylight and indoor scenes with blues and grays to capture the dreariness of rainy nights. The difference in the two settings emphasizes the cosyness one can bask in at such times. 

Readers will enjoy the results of Hilda's adventuresome ways, her collection of odd companions, and her deadpan delivery of lines such as, "We knew the risks. Now we must answer to cruel inevitability." How could anyone not be fond of such an intrepid adventurer? 

I read a review copy supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

The book was originally published in 2010 under the title Hildafolk.