Author E.L. Konigsburg made Newbery history in 1968 when her book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery, and her first book Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was runner up. In 1996 she won the Newbery again, this time for The View from Saturday. The View from Saturday tells the story of five unlikely friends–four sixth graders and their teacher Mrs. Olinski. The structure of the...
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...
If your middle schooler loves adventure books, they’ll love just about anything by Anthony Horowitz. Last week I listened to a lively discussion by a group of middle-schoolers sitting around my kitchen table. General consensus: Anthony Horowitz books are AWESOME! Two days later, I heard another group of teens debating which of Horowitz’s books was best. In Stormbreaker, Alex Rider isn’t your average fourteen year old. An orphan living with his uncle, Alex suspects foul play when...
My next door neighbor just got two puppies, so naturally my kids are now clamoring for one. It seems like every kid at some point asks “Mom, can I get a dog?” Nice parents (like my neighbor and my sister) say, “Sure honey.” Mean parents (like me) say “Who’s going to vacuum up the dog hair and clean up the yard? Who’s going to walk it and take it to the vet? Who’ll watch...
