#tbt: Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Image: Scholastic

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick. 304 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., January, 2004. 9780545722865.

When I posted the Teen Tuesday review of Jordan Sonnenblick's latest book, Stepping Off, I stopped to wonder if I had read all of his books since his debut, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. Turns out, I have! As I perused the list of his books in NoveList, it hit me that Drums turned 20 in January! How did I miss noting that in a #tbt? I thought I had posted about it, but maybe I just thought about posting? I haven't exactly been on my game this past year.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie is told from eighth grader Steven Alper's POV, opening while he's on stage for his graduation and flashing back to the beginning of the year when he thought his last year of middle school would be all about jazz band, drums and unrequited love. Instead, he also has to deal with his little brother, Jeffrey's leukemia diagnosis and treatment. What makes this cancer weepie unique, is that it is hysterically funny. Most middle school boys avoid weepies like the plague. Drums is checked out and enjoyed by both boys and girls over the last twenty years.

The cover image depicted above is the latest iteration. This is the cover of the original (and the one I read):

But, I think this is my favorite cover, especially as it complements the companion novel, After Ever After so well!

#tbt: Judy Moody was in a Mood by Megan McDonald

Images: Candlewick Press

Judy Moody was in a Mood by Megan McDonald. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Judy Moody #1. Candlewick Press, 2000.

#tbt features a book and series that you won't find at TMS library but that might have a special place in your heart, as it does mine. It was twenty years ago this spring when readers were introduced to Judy Moody in Judy Moody was in a Mood. Judy Moody doesn't have high hopes for third grade or her teacher, Mr. Todd in book one. She remains a third grader in all fifteen books of the series and its spin-offs. Her little brother, Stink, even got a series of his own.

#tbt: The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake. 192 p. Jump at the Sun/ Hyperion, October, 1998. 9780786804443. (Own)

#tbt features a book that I have not read yet. I recently saw online that  Disney/ Hyperion is issuing a twentieth anniversary edition of The Skin I'm In. This was Sharon Flake's debut novel and won her a John Steptoe Award for New Talent. The Skin I'm In is the story of seventh grader, Maleeka, who is teased for the dark color of her skin, her brains and the way she dresses. When a new teacher arrives at school and Maleeka sees that she has a white birthmark on her face, she fears things will not go well for the newbie.