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Runt. by Nora Raleigh Baskin. July 23, 2013. Simon & Schuster. 208 pages. ISBN: 9781442458079

Elizabeth, Stewart, Matthew, Maggie, and Freida are all students at the same middle school, and each one has had a different experience with bullying. In this novel, author Nora Raleigh Baskin shifts between each of these characters’ points of view to convey the complicated nature of bullying and victimization, and to compare it to the aggressions displayed in the animal kingdom.

As I was reading, I reacted to this book on two different levels. First, I noticed how much I liked the writing. I like the way Baskin identifies each speaker by a unique style of writing rather than simply labeling each chapter with a character’s name. I like that there is a chapter devoted to a teacher’s own childhood experience with bullying. I also like that much of the book is very subtle, so that the reader has to draw his or her own conclusions about the author’s message. From a literary standpoint, this is a beautifully written, rich novel, with lots of strong images related to the subject of bullying.

My other reaction to this book, though, was from the standpoint of someone who works with kids and regularly recommends books to them. When I look at the book from that perspective, I find it harder to appreciate. While subtlety is artistic and interesting, I think many young readers would find that the story lacks direction. Since the characters are not named at the start of each chapter, they are harder to keep track of, and I could see kids giving up on the book simply because they couldn’t remember who was who, or what each character’s overall story arc was about. I also thought the connections between tween bullying and aggression among dogs felt forced and contrived. Particularly cheesy is the last bit of the book, which shares a dog’s thoughts on how we all treat each other. There is definitely a lot of value in this book, especially for kids who have been victimized by bullies, but for most readers, I think the almost experimental writing style would be off-putting, or at the very least would somewhat obscure the message Baskin tries to get across.

Runt is well-written, but strange, and I think I would be more likely to suggest a more accessbile title, such as The Misfits by James Howe or The Bully Book by Eric Gale to kids looking for bullying books. Fetching by Kiera Stewart and Boys Are Dogs by Leslie Margolis are two more great titles that address the parallels between dogs and middle schoolers in a more straightforward and humorous way.

I received a review copy of Runt from Simon & Schuster.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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The Fourth Stall Part III. by Chris Rylander. February 5, 2013. Walden Pond Press. 320 pages. ISBN: 9780062120052

Mac and Vince have had a successful business since kindergarten, but after getting busted by the school principal last year, they are finished with organized crime. Retired. Out of the game. In fact, they have handed over their business to newcomer Jimmy Two-Tone, who takes care of all the business operations and gives the founders a mere cut of his profits. The only problem is, Staples is back and he needs help getting custody of his little sister, and there is a criminal mastermind at nearby Thief Valley Elementary School threatening to destroy Mac and Vince’s school. Mac knows they can’t get caught by the Suits again, or they’ll be expelled for sure, but he also knows if he doesn’t solve these last two problems, the destruction of his school will be his fault, and he won’t be the only one going down.

This conclusion to the Fourth Stall series is a strongly plot-driven story with lots of suspense and surprises. Though Mac and Vince remain the same lovable characters who root for the Cubs and crack up over the crazy things Vince’s senile grandmother says, it is what happens to them rather than the characters themselves that keep the pages turning this time around. Rylander builds suspense by raising more and more questions. Can Staples really be trusted? Who is this crime boss at the other elementary school? Is Jimmy Two-Tone treating Mac’s former clients fairly? At every moment, I was questioning the motives of one character or another and looking for the connections that would lead me to the truth. There isn’t a lot of flowery, descriptive prose in this book, but it’s well written in a different way. The story is so well plotted, I was caught by surprise every time a new twist unsurfaced.

I also loved the allusions to the movie Rookie of the Year and to Mr. Belding from Saved the Bell.
Mr. Belding is basically the prototype my imagination uses for any fictitious principal, so Mac’s suspicion that all principals get together to cast spells and sacrifice goats to him made me laugh out loud. I’m not sure the target audience is old enough to get these references, but I am roughly the same age as the author (it looks like he was born in 1983?) and these little bits of 90s nostalgia made me smile.

This third book is not quite as strong as the first two, but fans of the series will definitely want to know how it all turns out. Sticklers for realism will be pleased that not all bad behavior goes unpunished, and I think most readers will be satisfied with the ending, even if they will probably wish, as I do, that there were going to be more Fourth Stall stories.

If you’re not familiar with this series, check out my reviews of The Fourth Stall and The Fourth Stall Part II. The Fourth Stall Part III will be on shelves tomorrow, February 5, 2013.

I received an ARC of The Fourth Stall Part III from the publisher.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat. 

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Killer App. by Michael Dahl. 2012. Capstone. 63 pages. ISBN: 9781434232311

Killer App is very different from most early chapter books I have read, because although it is written at a first or second grade reading level, the intended audience is actually grades 4 to 8, and maybe even older. Stone Arch Books publishes a good number of series of Hi-Low novels like this one, which tell stories about high interest topics for older readers who read below grade level. Though I am not familiar with the Return to the Library of Doom series, of which this book is a part, Killer App really impressed me, and I enjoyed reading it.

The storyline centers on a Smartphone app that allows its user to download horror stories.The catch, though, is that this killer app also downloads whatever creepy creatures appear in the selected horror story. As Ivan and his best friend Mark drive along with their girlfriends, Mark’s girlfriend downloads The Raven, and almost instantly they find themselves running from a flock of angry birds. Their only hope of escape is to summon the Librarian from the Library of Doom, who will know how to counteract the birds’ attacks.

What I like most about the book is its design. The cover doesn’t really catch my eye, but the interior illustrations definitely grabbed my attention right away. Many pages have full-color illustrations which have a style similar to a lot of comic books, but even the pages that only have text on them have interesting notations and changes of font that enhance the appearance and meaning of particular words and phrases. When the phone sits gleaming on the asphalt, “gleams” is surrounded by simple images of stars, showing how the word shines. Words like “angry” and “scary” are written in large capital letters with little squiggles under and around them to help decode their meaning. When the boys laugh, the word “Ha!” appears several times around that sentence, visually representing the sound of laughter. These visual cues are so useful to new readers, and to readers who might be learning English for the first time as middle school or high school students.

The use of Smartphone technology adds to the high interest level of this book. Kids are practically addicted to their phones these days, so they will relate to characters who share that obsession, and by demonstrating that phones can be used to download books, the story subtly models print motivation. Kids who struggle with reading might have negative associations with it, but by tying their phones into the reading process, kids might start to see reading books as a more relevant activity. I also appreciate any book that shows librarians as something other than quiet ladies with buns who shush their patrons and punish them for losing their library books. The library in this book is basically a superhero, and he is literally the master of all books.

Though Killer App shares a Guided Reading Level with books from series like Henry and Mudge and Frog and Toad, it is not a story for the typical early reader. Rather, Killer App is an adventure story for tweens and teens, written on a level more easily tackled by kids who don’t yet read proficiently. I think this is a great addition to any library serving ESL students, and for school libraries serving kids at a variety of levels. I don’t know enough Hi Low titles offhand to recommend read-alikes, but pairing this book with English lessons on the works of Edgar Allan Poe would be a great start.

I received a finished copy of Killer App from the publisher.

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

NOTE: This book was nominated by the publisher for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Book category. I am a first-round panelist in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!

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Finicky. by Karla Oceanak. illustrated by Kendra Spanjer. September 1, 2012. Bailiwick Press. 160 pages. ISBN:  9781934649244 

Glitch. by Karla Oceanak. illustrated by Kendra Spanjer. November 1, 2012. Bailiwick Press. 160 pages. ISBN: 9781934649251

The Aldo Zelnick Comic Novels are my favorite read-alike for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and recently, two more volumes were published: Finicky and Glitch. Finicky focuses on a change in the cafeteria lunches offered at Aldo’s school. Gone are Pizza Mondays and Aldo’s beverage of choice, chocolate milk. In their place, the school has introduced bad-tasting healthy options as part of a new program called FEAST - Food Energy and Sensational Tastes. With his friends Danny, Jack, and Bee, Aldo begins a protest campaign, begging the school to reconsider. As the campaign progresses, Aldo learns that his BMI is a little bit high, and he and his dad work to bring more exercise into their daily routines.

In Glitch, Christmas is coming, and Aldo decides to maximize his chances of receiving all the gifts he wants by composing a very long Christmas list and sending a piece of it to each of his family members, including his aunts and uncles. To satisfy Griswold, the gnome his parents have always put out to keep an eye on Aldo and his brother and report back to Santa, Aldo also becomes heavily focused on giving gifts, figuring this will provide the good Christmas karma needed to ensure he will receive everything he asked for. There are a few glitches in his plans, though, and what he actually finds under the tree on Christmas morning is a huge surprise.

There’s lots to love about both of these books, so I’ll list just a few.

Highlights from Finicky:

• The school’s cafeteria lunch overhaul inspires an art project, wherein Aldo and his classmates create self-portraits out of food in the style of Arcimboldo. Aldo’s creation is dubbed Arcimbaldo and graces the cover of the book, something he refers to in the story itself. I love that these books consistently promote learning, but in a subtle way, by incorporating interesting things into the stories themselves.
• The illustrations are filled with references to F words. Each time we see Aldo or one of his friends in an illustration, the character has a shirt on showing something different that begins with F - ferris wheel, fly, fly swatter, fan, funnel, etc. I don’t think this has been done in every book, but if it has, I missed it in Dumbstruck and Glitch. It’s a great idea, though, and I especially like that the reader has to discover it for himself. The book gives no instructions about looking for F words in the pictures.
• Aldo has interesting and varied relationships with adults. Karla Oceanak does a nice job of portraying adults through the eyes of a child. My favorite this time around is Mr. Fodder, the “lunch lady who’s a guy.”

Highlights from Glitch:

• I loved getting a glimpse into the Zelnick family’s holiday traditions, and I really enjoyed the way Bee used Griswold to try and guilt Aldo into doing the right thing.
• There is a wonderful textual and visual reference to the Grinch on page 28. Aldo talks about having “A wonderful, awful idea.” and the image beneath this sentence shows Aldo with decidedly Grinchy facial features. This series does a consistently wonderful job of not beating jokes to death, and this subtle allusion works so well. 
• Aldo, who knows very little about the Jewish religion, joins his best friend for Hannukah, and he describes the experience in perfect child-like terms, but without being offensive. I could imagine a kid like Aldo thinking of yarmulkes as bowl hats and calling dreidels weird, but I appreciated his realistic reaction to learning about his best friend’s traditions. 
• Each chapter begins with a picture of Aldo’s chocolate Advent calendar, with funny commentary from his gerbil and snake. These pictures keep the reader informed about where Aldo is in time, and also serve to number the chapters. I thought this was very clever, and kids who have Advent calendars of their own will certainly relate to the growing anticipation as each little window is opened.

Greg Heffley might be more popular these days, but I think the Aldo Zelnick books are consistently better written and better illustrated than any Wimpy Kid book. I am always impressed by the strong writing, and these two books really highlight the wonderful job Kendra Spanjer does with the illustrations. Aldo is a loveable character with realistic child-like thoughts, and his stories have lots of heart and learning opportunities, and they’re lots of fun to read.

Finicky came out in September, and Glitch was just published on November 1st. The previous titles in the series are Artsy-Fartsy, Bogus, Cahoots, Dumbstruck, and Egghead. The series has a website at aldozelnick.com where readers can find the A-Z Audio Dictionary of all the words Aldo has collected as well as information about the characters and creators of these wonderful books.

I received finished review copies of Finicky and Glitch from Bailiwick Press.

For more about these books, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

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Flying the Dragon. by Natalie Dias Lorenzi. July 1, 2012. Charlesbridge. 233 pages. ISBN: 9781580894340

Skye and Hiroshi are cousins, but they never meet until their grandfather becomes ill, forcing Hiroshi and his parents to bring him from Japan to the United States for cancer treatment. As Hiroshi learns English and attempts to navigate the American school system, American-born Skye attends Japanese school and struggles to fend off the bullies who don’t understand her cousin’s cultural differences. Though they often find themselves as odds, one thing brings these cousins together - their mutual love for their grandfather and his passion for flying handcrafted kites.

Flying the Dragon is a beautifully written story about identity, family, loss, and hope. From the very first page, the words seem to flow effortlessly, painting a picture of Skye’s family, then Hiroshi’s, in alternating chapters. Even simple, mundane things are described in very specific and poetic language, from the “tightrope of cheese” stretching from a slice of pizza, to the “bamboo bones” of the dragon kite. The plot moves easily from one event to the next, peeling back layers of family history and emotion as the characters develop their connection to each other, and to their grandfather. The story unfolds so naturally, it feels almost like a conversation between the reader and the two sympathetic protagonists. Even historical details and family anecdotes are worked into the text in such a way that the reader never drowns in too much information. Lorenzi writes only what is needed to convey the story’s truth, and the result is close to perfection.

This book speaks to so many relevant issues - immigration, English as a Second Language, cultural identity, family secrets - but at heart, it is a story, not a lesson or a lecture. Kids will learn plenty from reading this book, but it will be because the story talks to them on their level, and not down to them from the point of view of an older, wiser adult. The characters are believable and well-crafted, their experiences relatable and interesting, and the story as a whole, is entertaining, edifying, and at times, really exciting. This would be a great title for a book club discussion, or for a family to read together. It compares well to books like The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, in which a young Chinese-American girl must share a room with her Chinese aunt, or Same Sun Here, where two kids from different cultures form a strong friendship based on their differences as well as their similarities.

Flying the Dragon is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. It will be available in bookstores and at charlesbridge.com on July 1st. For links to more reviews and status updates from the author, like the book on Facebook, or visit Natalie Dias Lorenzi’s website.

I received a finished review copy of Flying the Dragon from Charlesbridge Publishing. 
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Same Sun Here. by Silas House and Neela Vaswani. February 14, 2012. Candlewick. 288 pages. ISBN: 9780763656843

Like Dear Mr. Henshaw and P.S. Longer Letter Later, Same Sun Here is an epistolary novel set in 2008, which is told entirely in correspondence between two randomly assigned pen pals - Meena, an Indian immigrant living in New York City, and River, who lives in Kentucky, where his father is a coal miner. Though different in many ways, Meena and River find that living beneath the same sun gives them lots in common - including their love for their grandmothers, their love of writing, and their willingness to open their lives to one another. River turns to Meena for support when mountaintop removal threatens his hometown, and Meena, in turn, confides in River about her family’s illegal living arrangement and their efforts to become citizens. Ultimately, though they never meet face to face in the book, the two become best friends, demonstrating the ideal that our differences can bring us together rather than keep us apart.

For the most part, reading this book was really enjoyable. I have always loved stories told through documents and letters, and I like the deep level of character development that comes from this format. The characters know nothing about each other, so every letter gives a little more insight into their unique personalities, which helps the reader get to know them, too. I also learned a lot about immigrant culture in New York, rent control, mountaintop removal, Appalachian culture, and Indian language, food, and customs. It was interesting to see how the introduction of each new idea helped to shape and reshape Meena’s opinion of River, and his of her.

My criticism, though, is that this happens too easily. Meena and River are at times irritatingly good kids, whose minds are always open, and whose every mistake is immediately corrected. At times, they do fight in their letters, but they are both portrayed as so level-headed that it doesn’t take much time - at least not in the narrative- for their friendship to bounce back. I also had a hard time understanding why they thought of each other as best friends so quickly. I thought part of the point of the story was going to be that over time, two different kids can become best friends because they come to a mutual understanding of each other’s backgrounds and beliefs. Instead, that close friendship came on suddenly, and the deeper level of understanding came later on. That just seemed somehow backward to me.

The value of the story, though, is that it undermines the instant gratification of modern technology and argues for the relevance of writing meaningful messages to one another and waiting anxiously for the replies. In a world where friends text more than they talk face to face, it’s important for kids to see the importance of those deeper conversations that bring unlikely pairs closer together and help each of us understand, on the larger scale, how we’re all connected by our experiences as humans.

This book obviously has an agenda and a particular political point of view, which promotes activism, criticizes government, and laments society’s unfairness toward marginalized groups. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that except that sometimes - especially in the latter half of the book - the agenda overpowers the story. River performs an act of defiance that puts him suddenly in the spotlight in a way I found irritating, and from then on, his story takes center stage, while

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Polina Panova is a seamstress who lives in Venice, California. Georges and Cecile are ducks who live on the canal outside Polina's door. They consider themselves to be French, and Polina to be a beautiful princess. Georges and Cecile also romanticize Polina's "prince," a movie star named Sebastian Sterling. One day, though, their romantic notions come crashing down when Sebastian announces that he must go, and leaves Polina behind. Georges, despite Cecile's disapproval, can't imagine how Polina will move on without Sebastian and begins immediately trying to mend Polina's broken heart. What he - as well as the reader - learn, however, is that healing takes time, and though we can become happy again, we never fully forget those we love and lose.

This modern fairy tale's important message works on a couple of levels. The first and most obvious interpretation is a challenge to the happily ever after motif popularized by the Disney princess franchise. Polina is a princess not just because she's pretty and has a handsome boyfriend. Rather, it is her talent as a dressmaker and her kindness toward her duck friends that truly define her. When Sebastian leaves, she is suitably sad, but there is never a moment where she grovels, begs, or even feels truly sorry for herself. She is willing to let go, and to allow herself to heal and move on. In a world where princesses almost always wind up married to princes, this book's focus on the princess as a person, rather than as a part of a romanticized pairing is a welcome and refreshing change.

The second interpretation of this story actually focuses more on the ducks, who I saw as the child characters of the story. Georges and Cecile love Polina, and they are confused and hurt when Sebastian, whom they previously trusted, hurts their beloved friend. They can't understand why Sebastian and Polina can't work things out, and they want to find the quick fix that will bring everything back to normal. In my mind, these feelings parallel the way children sometimes feel when parents divorce, or a parent's partner is suddenly out of the picture. Without being overly didactic, this book teaches children how to channel those feelings and provides the comforting reassurance that even when we lose someone we love, life goes on, as does happiness.

French Ducks in Venice is a book unlike any others I have read this year. It combines elements of fairy tale fantasy with the realities of loss and empathy, and creates this unique world where talking ducks make sense, and strawberry jam is the key to a beautiful dress. Erin McGuire's illustrations beautifully depict the environment of the canal. There are some truly gorgeous scenes featuring wide expanses of sea and sky that are so atmospheric I felt as though I could reach out and truly touch them. The ducks, though accurately drawn as ducks for  the most part, also have these little sparks of personality in their eyes and beaks that bring them to life as characters and will keep kids interested even when Polina must deal with more adult issues. I also thought it was a really interesting choice on McGuire's part that she never shows Sebastian's face. This is one story that is not about the prince, and excluding his face from the illustrations really drives that point home, and focuses our attention where it belongs - on Polina's journey from disappointment to renewed happiness.

I think the audience for this

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I've never read any of Liz Kessler's other books (The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep, Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist, Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret, Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister, Philippa Fisher and the Dream-Maker's Daughter,  and Philippa Fisher and the Stone Fairy's Promise), but when I saw that this one involved time travel, I immediately wanted to read it. The book begins in the present day, where main character Jenni Green and her family arrive at their yearly vacation destination. Jenni's best friend, Autumn, and her family are there as well, and the two girls have a lot of  fun activities planned, including horseback riding. When Jenni wanders into an old elevator and gets out on Autumn's floor, however, she finds that everything is changed. She and Autumn are both one year older, and Autumn's brother has been seriously injured in an accident. At first, Jenni is bewildered by the ability to travel forward in time, and worries what it might mean, but as things progress, she learns that her trips to the future might just be giving her the information she needs to change the present and prevent disaster.

I love the concept of this book. I have always been fascinated with time travel, and I really enjoyed the way this book showed the interconnectedness between what happens today and what will happen tomorrow. Jenni's and Autumn's friendship is also one of the book's strongest points. Both girls' personalities are well-realized, and their friendship makes sense, even though they are opposites. Especially touching is Jenni's unerring determination to save Autumn from the heartbreaking future she knows she will face if present-day events are not carefully orchestrated to avoid her brother's accident. The story flows very naturally, and the changes in the girls from year to year, the further forward in time Jenni goes, so perfectly suit their characters and their personalities. Kessler makes writing look easy, but the amount of thought and planning that must have gone into writing this book are really impressive, and they really pay off.

All in all, this is a beautiful story of friendship and sacrifice. While I'm not sure this book is what fans will expect from Liz Kessler, I certainly can't imagine they would be disappointed by anything they find in this story. Any girl who has ever had a best friend, and any reader who loves When You Reach Me, A Wrinkle In Time, and other time travel books will find a new favorite in A Year Without Autumn.

This book will be released in the U.S. on October 11, 2011.

I received an ARC of A Year Without Autumn from Candlewick.

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