Sleepover Zoo

Written by Brenda Kearns

This book tells the tale of a sixth-grader named Toni who has just moved into the town of Renforth. Her parents are animal lovers; they work for the animal shelter. They don’t stop with their day job. At home the family takes care of injured wild birds until they are recovered and able to be set free. This makes for a somewhat extraordinary household! Toni has made a new friend named Megan at school, but the rest of the girls find it strange that bird seeds coming flying out of Toni’s lunch box. One of the girls named Leona presses Toni to come over for a sleepover; Toni hopes that her parents will say no. How can she possibly describe their house? There are mice in the freezer, a macaw named Mortimer that drinks coffee and eats pizza, a snake, and a cat named Avery that steals food from your dinner plate. I think you get the picture. Toni’s teenage brother Bruno friends tells her not to worry, but Toni is dreading the visit.

That visit does not start out auspiciously. Leona is knocked down by their dog, Duke, who promptly chews up her scrungy, knots her hair and messes up her dress. Leona can’t believe the chaos that these animals present. When they hear a scream in the bathroom, Bruno realizes that the goose in the bathtub feels threatened by the stranger. Toni’s parents try to make their guest comfortable by surprising the girls with pizza and ice cream, which they never serve. Will Leona run away and tell everyone at school that Leona lives in a “crazy house” or will she learn that every family is different and that being different is not necessarily a bad thing?

This book contains just the right amount of humor and absurdity to appeal to middle grade students so desperate to fit in. The characters are well developed, the chapters are short, the text is not overly difficult. For this reason, the book makes an excellent chapter book appropriate for a reluctant reader. If the book contained more pictures, it would have appeal for younger children. Older readers will enjoy the story as well because it rings genuine and true to life. The book teaches us that everyone does not have to conform to the mold; our community benefits from diversity.

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Diary Of A Penguin Napper: How much trouble can one little penguin cause?

Written by Sally Harris

Well, we are not exactly talking crime of the century, but for two eleven year olds named Marty Finn and Scot Trudman, the penguin caper was a big deal. This book is a middle grade fiction story that combines all those elements of crucial importance to children of that age. Marty has the usual problems adjusting to school, learning to cope and fit in with peers and adults, and finding a way to understand and deal with his first crush. His good friend, Scott owes him due to the fact that Marty has rescued Scot from embarrassment more then once, including the time Scott lost his trunks while diving into the swimming pool.

The story begins at the end. Marty is sitting in his living room reading his diary explaining the details of the kidnapping to two police offices he calls Fat and Skinny. That crime of snatching a penguin from the Australian zoo has been thwarted because his mother has discovered the penguin in the attic bathroom. Why would he possibly want to steal a penguin? He needed the money to go on an overnight school trip to the nature center so that he could work with his assigned partner, Jessica, who just happens to be the girl he has a crush on. Marty’s mother had informed him that she did not have the money for the trip; after several attempts to raise money by doing chores and securing a loan at the local bank, the boys realize they have run out of options. But an unexpected opportunity springs up when the wealthiest student in the school offers them $500 to bring a wild animal to his little sister’s birthday party. So Marty and Scott hatch their plot and succeed in bagging the penguin. The end results and punishments have both predictable and unforeseen consequences.

This story is written mainly for middle grade students. Fans of Diary of A Wimpy Kid will appreciate the clever entries in Marty’s diaries, the names used for characters, and the offbeat humor. The plot, humor and dialogue are age appropriate and genuine. In addition, the cover is an eye catching design which intrigues the reader. If you are looking for an amusing pleasant read, spend a couple of hours with this one.

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Pie And Other Brilliant Ideas

Written by Karen Pokras Toz

Another outstanding middle grade coming of age story. This book is well written and carefully crafted. Pokras develops her characters with strength and compassion that will not disappoint young girls, young adults or their parents.

Twelve year old Georgie has recently moved to a new neighborhood closer to her grandmother’s nursing home. She sorely misses her best friend Amber, but more than anything Georgie misses her dancing lessons. Their new community is much more expensive; despite her pleas Georgie is informed they cannot afford the extra expense. When Amber comes for a visit, they scheme together to find a way to raise money for Georgie to pay for her own lessons. After Amber allows Georgie to try on her pointe shoes; Georgie understands that nothing will deter her from achieving that goal.

There is also lots of humor in this book. The first two plans for earning money have some hilarious results. One day Georgie’s grandmother Jane gets a new roommate. Georgie and Amber are thrilled to learn that she has danced in Russia with a famous ballerina named Paulina Strofsky. Over several visits the woman named Eve relays the story of how she and Paulina trained to become prima ballerinas. In the process the reader learns quite a bit about the history of Russian and its people while under Communist domination.

Seeing the determination that Georgie has to dance, Eve encourages her and even gives her the poster over her bed with the picture of the famous ballerina. By the end of this tale, the two girls have figured out a way for Georgie to pay for her dancing lessons, absorbed lessons about the importance of family and friendship, and received a surprise gift that they never could have imagined.

Highly recommended for tweens, teens and young adults. Readers who enjoy ballet, history, and strong female role models will especially enjoy this one.

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The Rocket Book

Written and illustrated by Peter Newell

This book was originally copyrighted by Harper and Brothers Publishing in 1912. Peter Newell was born in 1862. He illustrated for Mark Twain and the Alice in Wonderland books. Once relegated to the shelves of the Library of Congress, the book has been reissued in print and digitized versions. It is available online at amazon.com.

As many of my readers know, I am a history lover; I write about history. I live in a house that is more than one hundred years old, and I grew up in an apartment not unlike the “flat” in this story. The illustrations in this book are priceless! Newell uses black and white and muted colors that make the drawings pop. Facial expressions convey the humor and intent of the story. Each part of the story contains eight lines of catchy, clever verse. Even though today’s children may be unfamiliar with many of the items pictured: a Remington typewriter, a wooden hobby horse, a taxidermist with his walrus head, they will get the story from looking at the rhyme and the accompanying illustration.

What is the story? The janitor’s kid named Fritz, who is described as a “bad kid,” finds a rocket in the basement of a twenty-one story apartment building. He lights it up. The reader is taken on a humorous journey following the rocket through an apartment on each of those floors. The mayhem which ensues includes knocking off grandpa’s wig, ripping through a new hat through a hat box, destroying a breakfast table while exploding catchup on the family, and scaring off a burglar in one of the apartments. Where and when does it stop? Take a look at this book to learn a lot about early twentieth century people, clothing, and lifestyle. This book will appeal to adults interested in vintage objects and children age eight and up who enjoy humor, a good verse, and a dose of history.

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Jellybean the Dragon

Written by Elias Zapple

Illustrated by Jade Young and Ilaeira Misirlou

In this eBook short story we meet Emma, a ten year old orphan who lives in a castle plunked down in a forest of make believe fruit trees. Her parents died when they ate too many carrots in an eating contest, which left her sole ruler of the land of trees and pet crocodiles. Emma is no ordinary little girl, she has already completed training as an astronaut and has her own spaceship.

One day a red and green flying dragon crashes down and burns a mango tree in the process. The townspeople are angry that he has destroyed this tree so Emma rescues the dragon by squeezing him into her rocket and flying him home to his planet named Hoppity, next to Dino, far into space beyond the planet Neptune. The reader is introduced to facts about the planets as each of them is passed along on the journey to Hoppity. Her dragon friend gives her the gift of a magical plant that will grow all kinds of treasure.

Once they arrive on the ground, Emma also finds a cool reception. The dragon townspeople led by Nixon sentence her to fifty years in prison. Jelly puts her in his mouth and rescues her once more and flies her on his back to another planet named Earth. Here Emma befriends Miss Tickler, the talking cat. Jelly’s twin Cyril is as Jelly puts it, “his stupid brother.” Soon, strange vibrations occur. The dragons know there will be an earthquake soon. Emma and her friends escape in the nick of time.

She is transported to Zanu where she meets the dragon king named King Buttercup. Here Emma is finally welcomed. The king desires to make her a princess and showers her with gifts. Emma wants no part of this; she tells him that she wants to be, Emma the Guitarist. The king will agree only if Emma participates in a competition with their best guitarist, Fillmore. Fillmore is known there as, “Les Paul of Dragons.” Emma spends lots of time practicing her riffs only to discover from Jelly that this competition has a catch. The loser must have his arms chopped off and stay away from the planet Zanu forever. What a dilemma! If Emma loses where will she find a home and how will she survive?

You will have to read the story to see who wins the competition and what happens to Emma, Fillmore and the rest of her dragon friends. As you may have guessed, there are lots of incongruities in the story and the humor is the type that appeals to the middle grade reader. For example, the author talks about, “other works by This Dude,” and mentions in the preview of soon to be released books, “coming soon to a bathroom near you.” I like the glossary which includes more difficult vocabulary words like malfunctioned, imprisoned, scythe, and made up terms like orangeness. Children are also introduced to some information about the planets and space travel. This eBook is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Please note that at the request of the author, I have updated the cover and illustrator information that have changed since I originally read and reviewed this post several months ago.

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Sir Princess Petra: The Pen Pieyu Adventures

Written by Diane Mae Robinson

As the story opens, we meet Princess Petra who is about to celebrate her birthday on the ninth day of the ninth month on the ninth year. According to royal custom, she may request anything she wishes as a birthday gift. Petra addresses her parents and informs them that she is tired of the usual gifts of jewelry and clothes. This year she wants to become a royal knight. Her father, King Longstride cannot find anything disallowing her request in the royal rulebook. However, she must choose and successfully accomplish one of three acts of royal bravery: capture a crocodile and make his skin into a royal leather chair, quiet the howling dragon named Snarls who lives in the Forest of Doom, or eat a roomful of raw onions! The princess dislikes onions and is friendly with the kingdom’s crocodile, so she quickly decides on quieting the dragon.

Princess Petra departs the castle in a suit of armor made of pots and pans because all the royal armor is too big for her. Her weapon looks more like a cake knife than a sword. The poor princess soon meets adversity. During her adventures, she must figure out how to stop the dragon from howling and keeping the royal family awake, cope with a witch in the bog, and deal with an army of knights from a neighboring kingdom who want to challenge her. This princess has brains and common sense along with her beauty. She does not win her battles with force and bullying; Petra is a good judge of character and human nature! (even if some of those characters are not technically human)  She has a wonderful sense of humor and can turn adversity into advantage.

Petra provides an outstanding role model for young boys and girls for she has many lessons of courage, friendship and character to teach them. She and the other quirky characters in this book possess a delightful sense of humor. The black and white pencil drawings are soft and subtle complementing the quick moving text of this short chapter book which could be read in one sitting as a read aloud or in chapters for discussion in a classroom setting. Looking forward to reading more of The Pen Pieyu Adventures from this talented new author.

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Ta Ta for Now! (Stories about Melissa)

Written by Bethany Lopez

This is a fast paced well written story about a fourteen year old girl named Melissa, her family, and the beginning of her freshman year at Dearborn High School. The protagonist writes in a journal format spilling out her hopes, fears and emotions.

Even as an adult reader, I found myself laughing, crying and sympathizing with Melissa. The oldest child of four, Melissa describes her brothers and sisters: Megan, the seventh grader who has no pride in her appearance, Mikey, the nine year old pesky brother, and Monica, the still adorable five year old baby sister. Her parents take their responsibilities seriously and do their best to guide her.

In the beginning of the story, Melissa has just begun to make journal entries in the book Megan has bought for her birthday. Melissa is apprehensive about the first day of high school, especially because her mother is also a teacher at the school! Her life is a roller coaster. Melissa’s best friend Jess has turned into a goth and won’t even talk to her. Melissa is desperately trying to get Brian, a star athlete swimmer and football player, to pay attention to her. A new girl named Layla appears eager to befriend her. Melissa’s entries are filled with the ups and downs of a teenager’s life. There are boy troubles, family quarrels, parental disputes and problems at school.

Many of the lessons learned are not acquired without grief or hardship, but we are introduced to a young lady who is doing her best to find out who she is and how she can fit it without losing her own identity. Bethany Lopez does a good job of delineating the joys and fears as well as the trials and tribulations of a fourteen year old high school freshman. Story action moves along quickly and the sub plots involving supporting characters are seamlessly interwoven. The reader empathizes with Melissa while the supporting cast of characters alternate in lifting her up and pulling her down. Length of the story (about 150 pages) is perfect for a young teen reader. Takes you back to a time that many adult readers would like to forget.

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Nate Rocks the World (Volume 1)

Written by Karen Pokras Toz

Nate Rockledge is a ten year old boy who, like most boys his age, has a barrage of problems. He hates school, and because he has no athletic talent is always the last one chosen. Nate’s family seems dysfunctional to him. His mother can’t cook or sew, yet she expects him to eat the food she prepares and wear the lopsided Halloween costumes she insists on sewing for him. She also forces him to hang out with her friend’s daughter, Lisa, who is the class nerd. Nate has a thirteen year old sister named Abby who torments and teases him. His dad tries to be cool, but retells the same old stories so often that he makes a fool of himself. Nate does have a cool friend named Tommy who is often involved with his adventures, yet Nate’s only enjoyment is drawing cartoons and daydreaming that he is a superhero. In those moments he can say, “Nate Rocks.”

So Nate the protagonist alternates between a ho-hum existence and a penchant for imagining heroic exploits where he is suddenly drawn into situations in which people desperately need help. For example, rescuing a dog from a burning house, releasing a girl tied to railroad tracks, helping a child find her way home, and becoming an astronaut to save the earth from being destroyed by a meteorite. The reader is sucked into the action because the dialogue and story line are woven in such a way that you cannot help but cheer Nate on in his exploits even when they seem highly improbable. Then a day comes along when Nate gets the opportunity to be a real hero.

The book is recommended for middle grades or ages nine through twelve. I feel that the book appeals to boys and girls because Abby is also a strong female character. Lots of tweens will see similarities with how they view their relationships with family and school friends. There is a great deal of humor in the story. You might even find yourself laughing out loud. Young readers will find many family and school incidents which will be similar to the events happening in their own lives. The approximately 140 page book is a quick read with lots of action that will attract even a reluctant reader. Classroom teachers might want to use the story as a morning read aloud over a few sessions to garner reading interest and enhance listening skills.

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Rather Unpleasant Cautionary Tales for Ill-Mannered & Immoderate Children
Written by Ima Bratt

This title is quite a mouthful, but the short 60 page e book packs quite a punch. The author states in the preface that the characters in the stories to follow will have no happy ending.  In fact, they could not end more dreadfully. Bratt defines ill-mannered  as having bad or poor manners; impolite, discourteous or rude. By immoderate she means one who is unreasonable; exceeding normal limits or bounds, going too far. Now that we are all on the same page let’s begin to discuss the tales and what they teach us.

All of these stories are written in verse which the author has very carefully crafted to match the story line. Each one of the characters exhibits a major flaw. The verse which follows teaches a moral lesson explicitly stated at the end of the tale. For example, Marjorie Pearl is pretty to look at. Once you get to know her you discover that she spits, swears, lies and is always “contrary.” Her teddy bear has no head; the family dog and cat hide in fear from her. Her parents say they feel “like prisoners of war.” One day Marjorie works herself up into such a fit of rage that she explodes in a cloud of steam. The author jokingly explains that the moral is to behave or you might go up in smoke!   Reggie the Rude is the kind of person who lets you know right away whether he likes you or not. One day he makes the mistake of sticking his tongue out at the principal and giving him the raspberries. What a surprise he has in store for him when his father takes him on a fishing trip! I won’t give away the other stories but some of the other children have flaws like refusing to obey, being stuck up and unreasonable, and the inability to get along with others. The last character is unlike the others. Candy Von Tweet is always in a good mood. How is she connected to the other characters and what does lesson does she have to teach the reader? I will simply tell you that the author cautions us, “There can be too much of a good thing.”

Parents and teachers might want to read these tales before presenting them to their children. While all the stories are fun to read, sensitive children could be upset by some of the outcomes. There are valuable lessons here ; the book is cleverly put together and certainly not malicious. Adults will surely chuckle and perhaps find a bit of themselves in the characters. This is an e book so it could be broken up into parts if needed as a basis of discussion on one or two of the lessons. I must say that this book is very different, but at the same time clever and refreshing.

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Samantha Loses The Box Turtle

Written by Daisy Griffin
Illustrated by Matthew Gauvin

This book is a fictional story about a girl named Samantha who is traveling with her grandparents and two younger sisters when a box turtle suddenly crosses the road. She pleads with them to stop, and to her surprise grandpa not only rescues the turtle but hands it to her. Once they return home, the girls plead with their parents to keep it, but mom explains that a box turtle needs to live in the wild. She agrees that they can keep it until the next day. Samantha also gets her teacher’s permission to bring the turtle to school.

Many adventures ensue as the turtle they have named Gayzer manages to escape both at home and in the classroom. Samantha introduces us to several of her friends and their reactions to her turtle. Because they are studying the food chain in science, their teacher, Mrs. Klutz, has devised a very clever “answer the question and pass the turtle” game to teach the children. At the same time, the reader is learning a lot of facts about turtles, nature and ecosystems. An element of suspense is introduced when the turtle goes missing and the neighborhood cat somehow gets into the classroom. This causes the entire student body to go into an uproar as everyone in the room desperately searches for Gayzer Samantha is supposed to protect and return her turtle to the nature preserve after school. Now she feels guilty that she may have caused it harm.

This chapter book with beautiful black and white illustrations is just over one hundred pages. The charming way the story is told will entertain children in first grade and up if read in chapters. Older children will amass a great deal of information about reptiles and nature; such as, how to tell the sex of a turtle, what they eat, how they survive in their habitats, and how long they live. The adult characters guide the children, but do not preach or make decisions for them. There is just the right amount of humor like naming the teacher Mrs. Klutz, and the toddler sister placing stickers on the turtle so that she could identify it when searching for it in the nature preserve. I thought the questions based on the book at the end were well done and an excellent resource for teachers to test comprehension. In the conclusion, the author reveals that the story is based on the real life experience of a family with three daughters and grandparents who rescue a box turtle named Gayzer and release it to a nature preserve. She also provides additional fun facts about box turtles and includes her website www.samsanimals.info. I am looking forward to many more animal adventure stories with Samantha and her family.

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