Ratfink (Dutton, 2010) by Marcia Thornton Jones is very fun. And touching. It involves an embarrassing photo, blackmail, fights, misunderstandings, and one confused grandfather. 5th grader Logan had planned for this year to be different–no more getting in trouble–and a pet for his birthday. But when his grandpa moves in, everything changes for 10-year-old Logan.
How can you resist these opening lines? “Grandpa was naked. It wasn’t as if his doodly-flop was flipping around when I opened the front door. He did have a towel wrapped around his waist.”
I’m definitely recommending this one to my nine-year-old grandson!
Ms. Jones is a prolific author with 131 published books! You may have heard of her Adventures of the Bailey School Kids written with co-author Debbie Dadey. Read more about Marcia’s books on her site.
Category: MG Novels
middle grade novels (for 8-12 yo)
Belly Up
Belly Up (Simon and Schuster, 2010) by Stuart Gibbs is one of those fun ridiculous stories, yet has such a satisfying ending. I loved the details of the unusual setting and think kids will too.
12-year-old Teddy Fitzroy is the only kid for 30 miles and lives at FunJungle. Going to an entertainment place is one thing, but living there all the time? Marge the security guard has it in for him for his practical jokes, so when there’s trouble at Henry Hippo’s enclosure she blames him. But Henry is dead. And Teddy thinks it’s murder. Could it be the Head of Operations, Martin del Gato, who hates animals and kids? Or Pete Thwacker, the head of PR, who’s had to deal with Henry’s messes? You’ll have to read it to find out.
This is author Stuart Gibbs first book, but he already has two more in the publication process. The Last Musketeer will come out in fall 2011 and Spy School will be out in spring of 2012. Sounds fun to me.
More humor is available on Stuart’s site, in his bio. You can even find a link to buy your own Belly Up shirt.
The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity
The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (Simon and Schuster, 2009) by Mac Barnett illustrated by Adam Rex is one funny mystery. The story is modeled after the old time kid detective novels, so expect some corn.
12-year-old Steve Brixton is enamored of the old mystery books about the Bailey brothers and himself gets mistaken for a detective by the Librarians (under cover agents) when he checks out a book on quilts at the library. He’s on the run from the police, including Jerk Rick who’s dating Steve’s mom. The only way to prove himself innocent is to solve the case.
Author Mac Barnett bills himself as “writer and strongman-for-hire” on his website. Check out the piano keys for more details.
But wait! There’s more. 
The sequel Brixton Brothers 2: The Ghostwriter Secret came out last fall and is on my to-be-read list. The next in the series, It Happened on a Train, will come out this October.
Illustrator Adam Rex is the author/illustrator of The True Meaning of Smekday. What? You haven’t read it? Learn more here about that title and stuff about Adam on his site where Abraham Superlincoln tells you to “choose wisely.”
Moon Over Manifest
What a sweet winner!
This past week I got to meet Kansan Newbery winner Clare Vanderpool, who wrote the lovely book, Moon Over Manifest (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2010). She shared with us how shocked she was when she got the call from the Newbery committee. Seeing her tears, her husband thought something was wrong! She said there’s definitely a “before” and “after” when you win the Newbery. You can read more about what she thinks about the 2011 Newberry Award on her site. Click on the Upcoming Events tab to see where she’s speaking.
Moon Over Manifest is a layered book with two time periods and two separate stories going on. It’s a great story. The characters and place are so real.
It’s 1936 and 12-year-old Abilene has been sent to live with her father’s friend in Manifest, Kansas. No one there talks about her father, though she knows the town’s people must have known him. But she’s found something else to keep her occupied–a box with letters from 1918 and “treasures” under the floorboards in her bedroom. From info in those letters she and her friends decide to see if they can discover who the WWI spy is.
Not only did I have sympathy for Abilene separated from her father, but for Ned and Jinx and what they went through as revealed by the letters and the local diviner, Miss Sadie.
This is definitely a must read with a satisfying ending!
Turtle in Paradise
Turtle in Paradise (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2010) by Jennifer L. Holm just won a Golden Kite (an SCBWI award from her peers) in fiction for her historical middle grade novel and is one of the Newbery Honor books this year. Oh, how I love it when worthy books win awards!
Inspired by her grandmother’s stories, Jennifer writes a humorous book with adventure, buried treasure, strange relatives, crooks, and one smart girl.
It’s 1935, and when Turtle’s mom gets a job as a housekeeper for a lady who doesn’t like kids, 11-year-old Turtle is sent to live with her aunt. Not only does this New Jersey girl have to deal with a new place (Key West, Florida), but her 3 boy cousins as well. The 2 older ones are part of the Diaper Gang–they get paid for babysitting and their secret diaper rash cure. The littlest one keeps running around without his pants. And that’s just a small taste introduction to this story.
Listen to the first line and hear Turtle speak for herself: “Everyone things children are as sweet as Necco Wafers, but I’ve lived long enough to know the truth: kids are rotten.”
Jennifer L. Holm previously won a Newbery Honor for My Only May Amelia, which after ten years now has a sequel, The Trouble with May Amelia. Woo Hoo! Read more here.