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The Hub CIC Media Center, 2851 S Chapel Road, Carthage, MO (2026)

10/07/2021

Mark Twain Nominee Countdown

Every year the Missouri Association of School Librarians nominate 12 middle grade fiction books for the Mark Twain Award. Every Monday (ahem or Thursday if I get too busy) for the next 12 weeks I'll post a review of those books from my 12th to 1st favorite. This week we are at 10 - Memory Keeper

I love a good action movie. There is a time and place to suspend belief and just enjoy nonstop action without really thinking it could happen. But my favorite movies are when the action movie has a twist at the end. That's why movies like Inception are some of my favorites.

When I first started the Memory Keeper, I wondered if it would have a twist in it. The author was dropping clues for one. I knew where the story looked to be heading and I was hopeful the author would pull my expectations from under me and surprise me. But it didn't.

I've talked before about how I value a book's ability to be memorable when I evaluate books. Will I remember this book in a year? Two? Five? When I think of books with a mystery, will this one be one I remember details about? That's where I felt this book fell short.

The book is well-written and paced. It has action and mystery, mean girl drama and a dash of romance. And while the author does a good job with all of these, I don't feel like any of them stands out as particularly memorable.

Lulu has the incredible ability to remember all the details in her daily life. She knows what she ate for lunch 3 months ago. This can at times be a curse but as her Gram's memory begins to deteriorate, and put her and her younger brother in danger, it turns into a blessing.

While Gram is forgetting important details, like where they parked, she is remembering secrets long ago buried. When Lulu shares them with her friends they begin to believe that perhaps Gram is more than she appears. Is Lulu's grandmother a Russian spy? If not, why does she meet with a man who acts like one?

This is a fun and engaging tale. The unique aspect of Lulu's memory make it easy to believe that these three friend will be able to unravel this mystery. When I read this book, I very much enjoyed it. But, unlike its namesake, there is very little in this book that makes it lasting in my memory.

09/30/2021

Mark Twain Nominee Countdown

Every year the Missouri Association of School Librarians nominate 12 middle grade fiction books for the Mark Twain Award. Every Monday (ahem or Thursday if I'm out of the library) for the next 12 weeks I'll post a review of those books from my 12th to 1st favorite. This week we are at 11 - New Kid.

I should start by saying this book is a graphic novel. I love graphic novels. And this one is good. It's so good it won the Newbery Award for best middle grade fiction last year. But I didn't love this book. I think I would have liked it more if another graphic novel hadn't also been a nominee, one I liked much better. Having said that, I will readily admit that this book deserved the Newbery Award and all the other awards its won. It is well written and drawn that approaches a difficult subject and handles it with care and compassion.

Jordan loves art, especially cartooning. He wants his parents to send him to a art-focused junior high and high school. Instead, they send him to Riverdale Academy Day School, a prestigious school known for their academics.

Once there, he begins to realize that he is one of the few people of color at this school. And most of them have never seen his diverse neighborhood or understand what its like. Jordan begins to feel as though he has to make a choice between living like those who attend his high school and those in his neighborhood. He also begins to realize that some of the people at his school are overtly or unintentionally racist.

As I said, this book is great. It deserves the awards its won. But this isn't the countdown of the best books. It's the countdown of my favorites. As a connoisseur of children's literature, I will affirm the merit of this book. And I very much recommend that kids read it. But it wasn't my favorite. Part of that is due to the fact that I've read some other books recently that deal with similar themes of race, value, and fitting in that I enjoyed better. I do think this book works best as a graphic novel and I know that kids have really enjoyed it.

09/24/2021

What's New

When I order books, I try to use lists complied by publishers. Some examples of these are popular, best-sellers, highly recommended, or even publisher's choice. I usually take a 3 to 4 off of those types of lists.

One of the books I ordered from one of these lists was "Coo" by Kaela Noel. I'd never heard of this book nor the author. When I arrived, I read the back cover and wasn't particularly excited. But this is a great example of not judging a book by its cover because this book turned out to be fantastic.

"Coo" is the story of a young girl that spends the first 10 years of her life being raised by pigeons. When I read this on the review it seemed so far fetched and ridiculous that I couldn't imagine this book being anything but silly. Yet the author does a great job painting the picture of how this could be feasible and realistic.

The story takes a turn when Coo's best friend and protector, Burr, is attacked by a hawk. The flock tells Coo to climb down from the roof, something she has never done before, and take him to the woman who feeds the pigeons and sometimes heals them. This woman, Tully, takes Burr but begins to wonder about the ragged girl dressed in old newspaper and plastic who only makes sounds like pigeons.

Things begin to change with Burr gone. The flock tells Coo that she has to start finding food on her own and begin to leave the roof because their food source is running out. Tully is checking for her daily as well. When a blizzard rolls in, Tully figures out that Coo is on the roof of the abandoned building and comes to her rescue.

Tully now faces the dilemma of what to do with this girl. She knows that if she reaches out to child services, not only is there a chance she might be taken from Tully, who has quickly grown fond of Coo, but that they may want to study her since she was raised by pigeons.

This book surprised me. I really thought it was going to be silly but it wasn't. It was a heartwarming story of kinship placements in foster care. The crazy idea of a child raised by pigeons also felt so believable, which felt so crazy at the outset of the book.

If your child likes stories about animals, nontraditional families, or fighting the odds, this is one you might want to check out. This book might surprise you, like it did me.

09/20/2021

Mark Twain Nominee Reviews

Every year the Missouri Association of School Librarians nominate 12 middle grade fiction books for the Mark Twain Award. Every Monday for the next 12 weeks I'll post a review of those books from 12th to my 1st favorite. This week we are starting at 12 - Shouting at the Rain.

Lynda Mullaly Hunt is one of my favorite authors. I've enjoyed her books, especially One for the Murphys and Fish in a Tree. This book, however, was not one of my favorites. Like her other books, this one is very well-written. Her writing style and prose remains strong. But the premise of this book was much less engaging than some of her other works.

Delsie and her grandmother live in a small vacation town. Normally her summers are filled with helping her grandmother clean the summer cottages that tourist rent out, hanging with her local friends, and spending time with a family that regularly books a cabin for the summer.

This year, however, things are changing. Delsie is questioning what happened to her dad, why her mom can't get clean and away from drugs, and why her former best friend is suddenly too mature to play with Delsie.

This book hits a lot of familiar notes. Delsie struggles with a sense of belonging in a non-traditional family and with friend drama, especially with a mean girl who is new to the area. While these are definitely relatable issues for many kids, I feel like there are better books with stronger plots available with this theme. I do think students who relate to strong female leads will enjoy this book. If your child is interested, check it out in the library before March!

09/17/2021

You CAN Handle the Truth

Yar Matey! Today be a good day for scallywags and salty ladies. If ye can't find your pieces o' 8, then consider reading this seaworthy review.

One of the new books I bought this summer was part of a series called "History's Hotshots". The first book I read was called "Pirates! Bold and Brutal Rebels". It was amazing!

This book has everything I look for in a nonfiction books. First, it's very informative. I've read a few books on pirates but there was still some new information in this book. It also had some great text features. It had timelines, paintings and drawings from history, maps, and a glossary for bolded vocabulary words. Finally, it had a very fun stylistic design to it. There was a mix of illustrations, paintings, and photographs. It also had a fun, bold design with random splashes of color on pages and unique designs or accents littered throughout the book making it fun and eye-catching.

This book is part of a series that includes Vikings, cowboys, spies, ninjas, and Samurais. If your child is interested in any of those scallywags from history, I recommend checking out this series.

09/16/2021

What's New

I placed a large order of books this spring that trickled in over the first months of summer. I spent most of my summer reading as many of these books as I could. One of them I really liked was Eventown by Corey Ann Haydu.

Elodee's mom is starting a new job in Eventown, a very exclusive and mysterious town that only allows 1 family per year to move in. Elodee and her town sister have been struggling since their family dynamic changed earlier this year. Everyone in her family is excited to move to Eventown, especially her twin sister Naomi.

But soon after arriving, Elodee begins to suspect that things in Eventown are not as clear as they appear. Elodee begins to lose her memories of times before moving to Eventown. Her parents and sister beg her to embrace the odd town but Elodee isn't sure she wants to. When strange things begin to happen around her house, Elodee begins to wonder what it would take to make her life in Eventown normal.

This book was well written and engaging. It's set in a dystopian city which appears to be perfect. The author never explains the origin of this city, which I appreciated. It makes the town feel as mysterious to us as it is to the main character. The author also asks us to examine the cost of memories. Much like The Giver, this book wants us to weigh whether giving up and forgetting painful memories is worth sacrificing the beautiful ones that may be attached to them. One warning I'll give if you're interested in this book is that it does deal with su***de.

I'd highly recommend this book to advanced readers. It's also a great book to read with your kids as the discussion of painful events and memories will make kids think. At only around 250 pages, it's not a long book and the questions about the unusual town quickly engages readers who like mysteries.

09/09/2021

A short story.

This is my first full week back at school. The end of July I was trying to cross a road and I was hit by a car. Before you go feeling all bad for me, I was jaywalking. I didn't see an crosswalk at the intersection. And yes, I looked both ways before crossing. But I apparently didn't see the car that hit me.

My left leg was broken in two places. My big toe was also shattered and several other toes were also broken. I've had multiple surgeries and I've been on bed rest since late July. On August 31st I was finally cleared to come back to work part time. This is my first week back full time.

Over the next few weeks, I'll add some more book reviews and some more tips and tricks for getting kids to read at home. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things over the rest of this month. Sorry I haven't been posting regularly. It's been a struggle just healing. Some days my leg is still in a lot of pain. Thanks for being patient.

04/27/2021

The demographic of our library has changed over the past year. There have been several books that I've read that were geared more for junior higher than middle schoolers. It's been an adjustment. I've been trying to find books that are sometimes termed "intermediate chapter books". These books are around 100 pages long and often lack some of the deeper themes that middle grade fiction begins to introduce. You'll recognize some series from this genre - Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody and Stink, Magic Treehouse, Bailey School Kids, My Weird School (Mrs. Daisy is Crazy, etc).

I was first introduced to these when I was searching for other books by one of my favorite picture book authors, Jon Scieszka. You've probably heard of some of his work. He's the author of Stinky Cheese Man, Squids will be Squids, and, most famously, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. I love all these books but some of my favorites are the books in the Time Warp Trio series.

The first book, Knights of the Kitchen Table, introduces us to Joe, Sam, and Fred. At Joe's birthday party, he is given a book of magic by his magician uncle. Thinking this book will help him learn how to be an on stage magician like his uncle, Joe and the boys open it up only to be transported to the time of King Arthur. In order to get home they'll have to help Arthur defend his kingdom from the evil knight terrorizing the country and then find the book that is lost somewhere in Camelot.

If this plot sounds similar to Magic Treehouse, you're not alone. It's a similar premise. But the thing I like best about this book is that it's geared to the sense of humor of a third or fourth grader. Scieszka embraces jokes about farts, burps, and boogers.

These books are fun and adventurous. While I think they are great for everyone, I particularly think boys will enjoy the humor and action presented in theses books. Coming in at around 100 pages, they are a great read for incoming 4th graders or anyone who is struggling to get into reading. Bonus - there was a PBS series that ran for a few seasons about 15 years ago so after the finish a few books, they could watch the cartoon.

04/26/2021

Last week was our BOGO Book Fair. It was a huge success! Thank you to all the parents who sent in money for your child to buy books. We were so busy that we ended up selling books all day instead of our scheduled afternoon times. This meant that I didn't have time to post here.

One of the biggest issues when we are setting up a reading time at home is finding books that our kids like. As we work to build an at home library, which books are worth investing in? To help us think about this, I'd like to discuss a few questions.

1. Which is more important? Having kids read any books, even if they aren't on their level? Or having kids read books that will challenge and improve their reading?

When we think about reading, most kids want books that we as adults would not choose for them. If you go to Amazon and check their best selling middle grade books (ages 9-12), you'll find Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and then a lot of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dog Man. The first 2 series are amazing. The second two are fun. Which should you choose? I think the answer is both! We want our kids to develop a love of reading. That starts with enjoying what they are reading. I have a 3rd grader and our rule is that he can choose whatever book he wants for 15 minutes and then we choose his book for the rest of his 15 minutes. I love comic books so he often chooses Calvin and Hobbes or Dog Man for his 15 minutes. Then I often choose a Jake Maddox novel, which are 85-100 page fiction books about sports, which he loves.

How do I find new books that my child will enjoy? For me, this is the tricky part. I know my son loves sports so I'll have him read real articles or fiction books about sports. My daughters have been trickier. It took us a while to figure out that one of my daughters loves books from a genre called Magical Realism. This is when everything in our world is the same and one magical element is introduced. What would happen if you found a genie or a cursed necklace or a magic pencil?

Finding new books for each child required some follow up questions on books they liked? What did you like about this book? Why did you like it? Then we would search on Amazon for the book they had just finished and see what other people purchased with it. To save us money, we'd check out the next book from the library and see if they enjoyed it.

Helping kids identify what they really like or dislike about a book can be difficult. But asking those follow up questions is important. So is letting them give up on a book they aren't enjoying. Good luck as you prepare to set up a consistent reading time as summer approaches.

04/14/2021

I love it when author's craft a story. Often, authors tell a story. But it's rare to find an author who understands how to craft a story and put it together. Kelly Barnhart is an author who is excellent at writing a story.

I liked the story "The Girl who Drank the Moon" a few years ago and didn't realize she had another book. This one was titled "The Witch's Boy".

It's the story of a medicine woman in a tribe who had twin boys who were very adventurous. They decide to build a boat and sail down the river to the ocean. But the raft breaks and their dad is only able to save one of them. The father saves the twin that the village feels is the lesser of the 2 boys. But their mother uses magic to attach the soul of the dead boy to the one who was saved.

It's the story of a girl whose mother has died. Her dad was a thief before meeting his true love. But with her gone, he begins to steal from the villages near him.

This is the story of a world where magic exists. Magic that is meant to be used for good but some want to use it for evil. It's the story of a queen whose family is not as noble as her. It's the story of being yourself and the gifts you have.

Some books really telegraph the way the author wants things to fit together. But Barnhart does an amazing job of weaving all the pieces together organically.

This book is like high quality food. My kids like pizza. But to them, any pizza is good pizza. Not me. I want good pizza with fresh ingredients and good quality. I highly recommend this book to anyone who really enjoys reading. This book isn't one I would recommend to struggling readers or to students who don't enjoy reading yet. This book is best enjoyed by people who really like reading.

04/12/2021

Developing Reading Skills

Helping your student become a better reader can be so difficult. In previous posts we've looked at the value of reading with your students, how to ask questions about a book you've never read, and helping them use context clues. Today, I want to look at summarizing.

It can be so difficult to condense information down. I've had kids explain for 5 to 10 minutes about the worlds they've built in Minecraft or the details of a battle in Fortnite. Once they start to talk about something they are interested in, it can be hard to derail them.

But summarizing a book can be hit or miss. Sometimes, kids don't feel comfortable summarizing books so they'll just share a little bit. Other times they overshare, giving away the ending. Finding the right balance is difficult.

I like to ask question to help them summarize. Usually I start with some simple questions and move to silly questions. I want them to start by identifying basic details and then move to thinking critically about specific details from the book.

Let's think about this using Charlotte's Web, a book a lot of us read in school. I like to start by asking who the main character is. (Wilbur, in case it's been a while since you read it). Then I jump into what I think of as "Buzzfeed" quiz mode. You know those quizzes you can find online that ask things like "What Hogwarts house would you be in?" or "Which Disney sidekick are you?" I like to have kids think about something unusual, outside specific details from the book that is open to their interpretation. In this case I might as "Which YouTuber do you think Wilbur would like the best?" This silly questions gets them thinking about something they are experts in and applying that knowledge to the book. Once they answer, I ask the most important part. "Why?"

I want them to use specific details from the book to explain why they think that way. This allows them to think critically about the book. It also helps them jump start a summary of the important details.

The other aspect of a summary is sequence order. Once I have them thinking about the book, I usually go back and ask them to tell me 2 sentences about the beginning, 2 about the main problem (middle), and then tell me if they would recommend this book to others. This helps them condense the book while keeping the ending in case others want to read it.

04/08/2021

I've been trying to cut down on the number of reviews that I do but I'm still reading and want to let you know about some of the books I'm reading.

Recently, I read one of our most popular books. Raina Telgemeier is one of our most popular authors. Her books Guts, Smile, Ghosts, and the graphic novel versions of the Babysitter's club. I've read some of her work before but I'd never read Guts.

This book is autobiographical of Raina's experiences with anxiety growing up. She talks about her struggles and how she started going to counseling to help her control her anxiety. It's a great way to introduce a difficult concept that isn't often talked about and hopefully begin a discussion on other mental health issues. These can be so difficult for kids. Any opportunity we have to make discussing these issues easier for kids, the better we will be.

As with all graphic novels, the artwork is also important. Her style has a very realistic cartoon feel to it. None of the characters have exaggerated features or unusual coloring. It's similar to Big Nate or some of the plainer Calvin and Hobbes. As with most graphic novels, it's a quick read.

Most of the characters in this graphic novel are girls and it deals with some mean girls, friend issues, and "changing bodies". While I have seen boys check this out before, it is definitely more popular with girls. I'd recommend it for anyone who is transitioning from picture books to chapter books or for anyone who really likes graphic novels. especially girls. It's also a good one for anyone who struggles with anxiety.

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