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 book is different from many children’s books because it weaves five separate stories into one larger story about friendship.  The stories seems a bit disconnected at first, but characters appear and reappear and the stories become intertwined.

Noah tells the story of when he was best man for a couple of grandparents at a retirement community in Florida.  Nadia tell the story of the summer she saved baby sea turtles.  Julian tells about Nadia’s dog Ginger starring in Annie.  Ethan tells how they all became friends in the first place.   Their teacher Mrs. Olinski tells how four students won the state academic bowl.

Ethan’s story is my favorite.  Every day, Ethan makes a point of sitting in the back of the school bus and draping all his stuff across it so he doesn’t have to share his seat.  He’s been doing it forever (the one privilege to being the first on the bus every day), so he’s not happy when a new student, Julian, disregards this unwritten code and sits next to him.  Even worse, Julian is an oddball.  An East Indian boy fresh from an English boarding school, Julian wears shorts and knee socks and carries a leather satchel to school.  He is unfailingly polite, and no surprise,  he’s also an immediate target of ridicule.  Ethan doesn’t like all this disruption to his peaceful routine and tries to simply ignore Julian.

Ethan receives a mysterious invitation to tea at Sillington House, a local bed and breakfast inn.  The invitation comes in bits and pieces, hidden in books and written on scraps of paper.  Ethan knows the invitation is from Julian because Julian’s father is the proprietor of Sillington House, but Ethan has no idea who else is invited which adds to the mystery and excitement.  

Soon Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian have formed a secret club called “The Souls” that meets every Saturday for tea.  They barely acknowledge each other at school and no one knows of their friendship including Mrs. Olinski their teacher.  Mrs. Olinski feels drawn to choosing the four to compete on her academic bowl team but she doesn’t know why.  Julian in particular seems like such an outsider.

In the end, the four win competition after competition taking them all the way to the state championship at Albany and victory over an eighth grade team.  But sweetest of all is the friendship that blossoms between them.  In the midst of a sometimes hostile world, four kids and their teacher find a safe place at Sillington House, a place to be themselves and nurture each other–with kindness, empathy, and a generosity of spirit rarely seen in the halls of middle school.

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 in his life, Jay is seen solely as an individual rather than as part of a pair.  It is fantastic.  He tells Ray they should keep up the ruse:  ”I mean, think of it, Ray–every other day you could stay home!  And do whatever you wanted to.  And when you do go to school, you’ll be completely on your own there.  You’ve got to try it out Ray.  No offense or anything, but not being a twin?  At school?  It’s really great.”

The boys hatch a scheme and take turns going to school.  No one knows–not their parents, not their teacher, not the school administrators.  The plan starts to crack, though, when the boys individuality starts seeping through.  One is good at math but the other is a great soccer player.  One is a natural ladies man while the other is more reticent.  The boys may look alike, but they are two very different people.  And much to their surprise, instead of being able to be more of an individual, they have to start pretending to be more like each other.

As I read, I was reminded of my father-in-law, also an identical twin.  He and his brother never tried Ray and Jay’s trick, but they did sometimes switch classes to trick their teachers.  Perhaps bait and switch just comes with identical twin territory.

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 his uncle is killed in a car accident.  Alex invesigates and discovers that his uncle  was really a secret agent who was murdered during a top-secret mission.  Soon Britain’s elite M-16 force (like our CIA or FBI) has enlisted Alex to help uncover the evil plot.

Luckily for Alex, his uncle has prepared him well.  Experience with karate, rappelling, scuba diving, and moto-cross racing all come in handy as Alex enters the villain’s lair and uncovers the dastardly plot.  James Bond meets Harry Potter in Alex Rider, the reluctant orphan hero who has greatness foisted upon him. 

Sure the protagonist is fourteen, but other than that (plus no sex and no swearing), Stormbreaker could have been written for adults.  With one intense adventure after another, Stormbreaker is a page turner both kids and adults can enjoy.  It makes a great summer read.

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 it while we go on vacation?  Dogs are messy.  Vets and kennels are expensive.  A dog will end up costing us a fortune.  No, no, no!”

The Best Pet of All written by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama (Dutton, 2004), gives all those kids who have always wanted a dog the victory they deserve.  For three days straight the hero of our story asks if he can get a dog.  The answer is always no.  Finally, the little boy asks if he can get a dragon.  “If you can find a dragon, you can keep it for a pet,” says his mother.

He searches and searches and finally convinces a dragon to come home with him.  Then the trouble starts.  Dragons don’t like to pick up their toys.  “They do not like to help with chores.  And they make a mess in the kitchen.  They roast hot dogs in the living room.  And they dance to loud music all night long.”

Naturally his mother does not like this pet dragon.  But it won’t leave.  The little says, “Too bad we do not have a dog . . . Dragons do not like dogs . . .  A dog would chase the dragon away.”  Smart thinking!

I guess my kids will be asking me for a dragon next.