Who is the sage of the universe? Who can you go to for wisdom when all around you is confusion? Who can you trust? Yoda, of course. Tommy knows it, and his fellow sixth graders know it. Maybe Yoda appears as an origami puppet on the finger of uber-nerd Dwight, maybe Yoda talks in a weird voice that is the worst Yoda impression ever, maybe Dwight isn’t channeling the Force, whatever. The point is,...
In many a SCBWI conference, I have heard the name of Amber Brown, one of those unforgettable characters. Likewise her creator, author Paula Danziger, who from what I can tell, was quite a character herself. Paula Danziger has written over thirty books, several about divorce. Amber Brown is Feeling Blue (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998; this edition illustrated by Tony Ross) is one of these. Amber is what you’d call a character. She’s got what you’d...
Have you ever wished you were an only child? No annoying brother or sister. Parents all to yourself. Your own room and fantastic presents and giant birthday parties and fancy vacations and maybe even a pony (ok, maybe not the pony) . . . Abigail Iris has four kids in her family, schoolteacher parents that are always on a budget, and the same spring break camping trip to the same campsite with the family crammed in the same tent–year after...
What do you do if you’re the new girl at school and no one smiles at you or talks to you or sits by you at lunch? Well, if you’re Lissy, you make a friend. You make an origami crane to be your new friend at your new school. Author/illustrator Grace Lin uses wonderfully vibrant patterns and colors to tell the story Lissy’s Friends (Viking 2007). As the new girl, Lissy hasn’t made friends yet, so she...
As a girl, I read every Nancy Drew mystery written. A few years later, I graduated to Agatha Christie. Recently I ran across the book Nancy Drew and Clue Crew #1: Sleepover Sleuths (Simon and Schuster, 2006). I was surprised to see the author as Carolyn Keene since the original Carolyn Keene (a pseudonym for Mildred Wert Benson) died in 2002. A google search led me to this Fantastic Fiction link by a UK bookstore that shows...
I first heard about Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me (Random House 2009) from a book editor who said, “There is so much buzz about this book, I think it might win the Newbery.” Set in the 70′s in New York City, the story centers on sixth grade Miranda and her best friend Sal. Miranda (a girl) and Sal (a boy) live in the same apartment complex, both are from single-mom families, and they’ve been best friends...
Over the years we’ve read just about every Junie B. Jones book there is. Another fun series is Ivy + Bean. We just finished Doomed to Dance where Ivy and Bean decide they want to take ballet lessons. They have seen a video of a gorgeous ballet with a thrilling fight scene. Ivy and Bean are dying to take ballet lessons. Ballet lessons would absolutely be the perfect thing. Both of their mothers remind the girls of all the activities...
Since it’s summer, probably the last thing you’re thinking about is a snow day. But in some ways, summertime seems like one long snow day–no school, a change in the schedule, extra family time. Snow Day! by Lester Laminack and illustrated by Adam Gustavson (Peachtree, 2007) praises those magical days (to kids and teachers at least) when school is cancelled and everyone gets to stay home. It all starts when a boy hears the weather report: “Did you...
Lost and Found (Atheneum, 2008) is another fun school story by Andrew Clements (author of one of my all-time favorite books–Frindle). Lost and Found tells the story of two identical twins, Ray and Jay, who move to a new school. Since Ray is sick on the first day of school, Jay attends alone and quickly realizes that the school has accidentally combined their files. No one at school knows there are two boys. For the first time...
