What do you do when you’ve always wanted a dog, but your mother gives you a guinea pig instead? In 5th grader Rufus’ case he decides to keep Fido since she annoys his clean freak dad (the reason he can’t have a dog). But then something strange happens. Fido starts acting like a dog.
Guinea Dog (Egmont, 2010) by Patrick Jennings is humorous and a bit bigger than life. Quite the enjoyable read. I know my 9-year-old grandson would love it. (This book is available both in hardback and paperback.)
Be sure and visit Patrick’s website and read his funny bio. There you can also read about his many other books.
P.S. Today, September 15th, Patrick wrote to me and said: “It was just announced today that the book won the Washington State Book Award. :)”
A BIG CONGRATS!
Category: Award Winners
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy
A Dog Detective
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy (Albert Whitman, 2010) by Dori Hillestad Butler is so much fun! I love the voice of the dog. It’s a quick read–perfect for the child just starting to read on his own, but entertaining enough for an adult to read aloud. I must read more in the series. (And buy for middle grandson . . . shh, don’t tell him!)
King is at the P-O-U-N-D because his people are missing. He’s got to get back to his neighborhood to find them. When King gets adopted by a new family, they rename him Buddy. Then, his new boy, Connor, disappears! King/Buddy must solve the case!
After you are entertained with this story, go to Dori’s site to see the dog that owns her! You’ll also see what other books this award-winning author has written.
P.S. I’ve also had the privilege of meeting Dori–besides being a good writer, she’s a great person too!
The Books of Elsewhere
Delightfully Dangerous!
The Books of Elsewhere (The Shadows, Volume 1, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010) by JacquelineWest is one on those hard-to-put-down books. I felt sympathy right away for Olive in this wonderful story.
Here’s a brief summary, without of course revealing the end:
11-year-old Olive and her parents visit the creepy old McMartin house. Her mathematic parents are thrilled when they see the library and buy the house right then and there. Olive, who doesn’t take after her parents in math–she’s a creative person–senses that there’s something strange going on in this house. After they move in, she discovers a pair of old spectacles that allow her to go into the paintings in the house. Olive also meets a talking cat who warns her about dangers. And, yes, she’s going to be in danger!
I’m looking forward to more by this author! Volume Two: Spellbound will be released on July 12, 2011. You can watch a talk about the books on Jacqueline’s site.
Ashes
Something a bit different…
In some ways there are so many books written about Nazi Germany and the holocaust that one might think, how can there be another? But Kathryn Lasky has done it well with Ashes (Viking, 2010). The book gives a view into what was happening before much of the world was aware of the looming danger.
From the viewpoint of 13-year-old Gaby, we see the rise of Hitler Germany’s Chancellor in 1932. Gaby witnesses things she worries about – some she shares with her parents, some not. She reads material that is later banned. Her family is friends with Einstein, which gets them called “white Jews.” Later in the story some tough decisions are made in this award winning book.
I like reading the Q&A about the book on Kathryn’s site and what she herself says about the book.
Countdown
Countdown (Scholastic, 2010) by Deborah Wiles is a story about fearful stuff.
It’s 1962 and 11-year-old Franny has so much to worry about: her great uncle doing crazy stuff and thinking he’s in one of the great wars, her little brother Drew who is perfect, her older sister Jo Ellen who disappears, her best friend Margie who is her friend no longer due to handsome Gale moving back to the neighborhood and wanting to hang out with Franny, Communists, and the atomic bomb. Oh, yeah, throw in the Cuban missile crisis, too. Yikes–life’s definitely not easy at her house.
This historical novel is very well written. Just today I read this quote from Deborah: “Story is everything. It’s all around us, and it’s every breath we take, every thought we think, every word we utter, every experience we have. It’s both inner and outer. There is always an outer story-what’s happening here?-and an inner story: how do I feel about that? That exchange sets up a cause-and-effect that becomes story.” That’s definitely what she’s done in Countdown!
And added bonus in this story is the graphic novel feel with the inserts from ads, news reports, etc. from the time period.
Going to Deborah’s site, I discovered Countdown is book one of a sixties trilogy! I’ll definitely be reading the others.