This book was so special to me! Growing up and raising my own family in Eastern Kentucky, it is incredibly refreshing and encouraging to read a work that paints us as many of us are; multifaceted, empowered, passionate, and something much more than "hillbillies looking for handouts." Silas House never fails to make me feel validated each and every time I read anything he writes. This book is no different.
This is an epistolary novel, showcasing letters written between two twelve year olds that become pen-pals: River, from the Appalachian foothills of Eastern Kentucky, and Meena, an Indian immigrant living in New York City. They almost immediately make a pact to be their "own true selves" with one another, even when it's uncomfortable. In doing so, they learn so much about one another's cultures, about the wider world around them, and about how we are all not-so-different after all.
Both Meena and River are living without their fathers due to economic hardship, both have grandmothers that they idolize, and both are adolescents, just trying to figure out what's going on inside and how that impacts the way they view the world.
This book touches on so much that resonated deeply with me: the state of the precious Appalachian mountains and the plight of those that live near MTR sites, condemning racism and homophobia, having a curious mind and an open heart when learning about new cultures, and learning about the importance of non-violent civil disobedience. This book highlights the fact that sometimes it is the small, brave acts that make the biggest impact.
I can't say enough good things. Once again, Silas House has lovingly painted an accurate portrait of living in Appalachia, and Neela Vaswani has interwoven a surprisingly parallel experience as an immigrant in New York City.
This book is great for ages 9 and up, and there are so many different issues at play here it could be easily integrated into the classroom to teach letter writing, respect for other cultures and religions, mountain top removal, active citizenship, the importance of libraries.... I could go on and on :-)
Personally, here in Eastern Kentucky, my own students will love this, because it is respectfully, meticulously them.
This book will be available from Candlewick Press in February 2012.
I feel intimated by trying to write down my thoughts about Bigger Than a Breadbox. After reading Penny Dreadful earlier this year, I became an official fan of Laurel Snyder. So, when I heard about Bigger Than a Breadbox, I knew it would be a must-read. And indeed, as the release date got closer and I read reviews posted by friends, this book quickly became one of my most anticipated MG fall releases. The kind folks at Random House were nice enough to send me an ARC, and my husband can tell you how crazy excited I was when it arrived!
All of that major digression now having been covered, I have to say that this book is matched only by Breadcrumbs and Wonderstruck in books that I have read this year.
We meet Rebecca just as her mom and dad's relationship is falling apart, and as that happens, we see her struggle with that very difficult in-between place of feeling grown-up, yet still very dependent on the people around her. She is very much 12; one minute she feels old enough to take off on her own, and another she feels very slighted and hurt because no one has come to tuck her in. Combine this internal confusion with all of the confusion going on around her, and that leaves you with - quite understandably - a very confused young girl.
Her determination to fix what is wrong in her life is exacerbated by discovering a magic breadbox in her grandmother's attic. While wishing for something that reminded her of Baltimore, she discovers that the breadbox will grant any wish, as long as what Rebecca wished for can fit inside. She thinks that this will solve all of her problems, but adding magic into the jumbled mix that her life has become makes things happen that Rebecca never would have dreamed.
I love the very subtle use of magic in this otherwise heartbreakingly realistic book. It's a seamless blend that doesn't feel forced, and is crucial to the story. The story takes place in both Baltimore and Atlanta, and you get a sense that you are getting a taste of the best and the most weird of each city. It made me want to visit both places. And it made me grateful that I get the opportunity to work with kids at this very odd stage of their lives, where they sometimes feel adult and invincible, but also sometimes, still just want to be tucked in at night. Bigger Than a Breadbox is, without a doubt, one of the best Middle Grade titles of the year.
Who Should Read It?
This book is ideal for any middle grader. The uncertainty that Rebecca deals with internally will be all too familiar to them, and will go a long way in helping them understand that it's not just them. It will also be wonderful for a child dealing with upheaval at home, especially the separation or divorce of their parents. This book seems to hit, spot on, the vast mix of emotions and depth of pain and desperation that can come from watching everything you've known unravel around you.
To show just how much of a chord it is striking, here is a fantastic book trailer for Bigger Than a Breadbox, created by a 12-year-old fan:
Bigger Than a Breadbox will be available for purchase on September 27, 2011.
The Death of Yorik Mortwell was brought back to me from ALA by a librarian friend of mine. I've been interested since I saw the cover, and knew that I would have to save it for a time that was a bit closer to Halloween, and that I did. I finished the book this weekend, again on a road trip, and it is a great middle grades read.
I gave the book a test run a couple of weeks ago when I let a young man in the 8th grade borrow it to read after he had finished his work in class. He was enthralled by the first chapter, and that gave me even more incentive to read it quickly.
The book is vaguely steampunk-esque, with repeated mentions of a flying carriage when the rest of the book has a distinctly Victorian sensibility. Yorik Mortwell is a 12 year old servant to the Family, who lives alone in a shack with his sister, Susan. Yorik and Susan were orphaned when their father died, but they were allowed to continue living and working on the estate.
One afternoon, while out in the woods with his sister, Yorik has a disagreement with Thomas, the spoiled son of Lord Ravenby. Thomas, his eyes filled with an empty hate, kills Yorik. And here the real story begins.
We are nearly immediately taken into a behind-the-scenes alternate reality, where glowing hounds, living topiaries, and powerful Princesses are the norm, and Yorik has become a ghost. In his new form, he is finding new abilities as well as new limitations. He is also finding whispers of a new evil that he never knew existed, but he recognizes it as the same dead emptiness that filled Thomas' eyes before he killed him.
As Yorik struggles to figure out how to defeat this new evil, he learns the world around him is much more complex and intricate than he ever realized, and he plays a much larger part than he ever dreamed in determining whether or not that world will continue as it is.
Who should read it?
Most middle grade students will be in the mood for a good ghost story this time of year, and this story could fit the bill. The beginning is engaging, but the middle slows down quite a bit followed by a rather abrupt and anti-climactic ending. I would give this book to students who were looking for a quick, slightly spooky read.
My family and I took a short road trip to visit our Indiana family today, and I brought Wonderstruck along to read in the car. Wonderstruck is the newest work by Brian Selznick, author of the Caldecott medal-winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was so engrossed in this book that it pained me to leave it in the car when we arrived. I was drawn in from the first page, which is a striking sketch of two wolves running in a forest. From that point on, the book tells two parallel stories, one through text and one through the lovely sketches. As the story progresses, you begin to see overlaps and seeming coincidences, until eventually the two stories become one.
In the text, we are following Ben, a young man who has recently lost his mother. We meet Ben as he shares a fitful night of sleep in a room with his cousin, Robby. Ben has moved in with his aunt and uncle after his mother died. As he tries to ignore Robby's radio so that he can go to sleep, he turns his good ear to the pillow to drown out the sound, and we learn that he is deaf in one ear. As the story progresses, Ben loses his hearing entirely. This adds an extra sense of urgency to the ensuing journey that we take with him. In dark hallways and dusty rooms, Ben begins to find out that all of the small intricacies that he thought made him odd actually explained parts of himself that he had not previously known existed and he finds answers to questions he never knew he had.
This book was just as incredible as I had suspected it would be, and all throughout, I just wanted to give Ben a hug. I can't possibly do this book justice. Brian Selznick creates a lovely, urgent, melancholy world within the confines of the things that I personally hold so dear - books, ephemera, history, and family.
Who should read it?
The better question is 'who shouldn't?' I plan on passing this on to a former professor of mine after I share it with my 7 year old son. The story is aching and universal.
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick will be available for sale on September 13th, 2011.
This post has been months in coming, but I devoured this book in much less time than that; The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is magical.
The book was written by Catherynne Valente and was released on May 10, 2011. I was sold as soon as I saw Neil Gaiman's endorsement on the front cover. "A glorious balancing act between modernism the Victorian fairy tale, done with heart and wisdom," he says. And he was not wrong.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is most decidedly for fans of fantasy who can lose themselves in the other worlds that lie within the pages of a good book. The book begins with a girl called September who is whisked away from her lonely household and taken on a magical journey to Fairyland. Fairyland is a place rich in sights, smells, sounds and adventure, all of which are described with a deliberate and fantastical detail that lends itself to exploration.The characters are like no others I have ever encountered; for example, one of the story's main protagonists is a Wyverary, which is a dragon who happens to also be part library. As in, his mother was a Wyvern (a dragon) and his father was a library. Surprises abound in this book, whether it be from the characters' choices, the interesting creatures and people that September encounters, or the rich sensory experience that is found in the deliberate and engaging writing style. This book would be beautiful to hear read aloud.
Who should read it?
I would happily recommend this book to any middle grader who enjoys extremely imaginative fantasy titles.
I'm so thrilled to be able to write this post. I requested an ARC of Breadcrumbs and Walden Pond Press - being the kind souls that they are - sent me one! This was one of my most anticipated middle grade reads for the fall, and in reading it, I have only been justified in being so excited about this book. This is one of the best middle grade books I've read in some time. I love it!
Breadcrumbs is the latest book from Anne Ursu, who most of you will already be familiar with if you are interested in middle grade reads. She's the author of the Cronus Chronicles series, and has - I think - truly outdone herself with this book.
Hazel and Jack are next door neighbors, long-time best friends and brand-new school mates. They go on grand imaginary adventures together, and understand one another quite like no one else. As changes in their home lives send both of them into states of uncertainty about themselves, Hazel clings to Jack, who is her constant and her anchor, while Jack pulls away. But what is it that is pulling him away? Could he really turn his back on his best friend? Or is this the result of the kind of magic they have both so ardently believed existed?
We follow Hazel on a journey as she navigates a cold, brutal world where endings aren't always happy and people aren't often what they seem. On this journey, she learns more about herself and her best friend than she could imagine.
If you don't typically read middle grade fiction, this is a perfect introduction. It's a wonderful mix of fairy tale, fantasy and the harsh realities of being in that strange place between growing up and the magical realm that we can create in our mind as a child.
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu will be available for purchase on September 27th, 2011 from Walden Pond Press.
