Middle Grade Monday: Odder by Katherine Applegate

Image: Macmillan

Odder by Katherine Applegate. Illustrated by Charles Santoso. 288 p. Feiwel & Friends/ Macmillan, September, 2022. 9781250147431. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! My weekend was a bit of a mixed bag. Saturday was very productive and active and HOT! The temperature rose to 81 degrees! I spent about 7 hours dealing with my leaves. The leaves drifted down continuously and I couldn't tell I even raked at the end. I still prefer to deal with them each weekend instead of waiting for them to finish falling. Sunday was a washout. Cold and rainy all day. Boo and I were very lazy. 

Middle Grade Monday features Odder by Katherine Applegate.
Ms. Applegate sure seems to have a gift for conveying the inner thoughts of animals without overly anthropomorphizing them. Odder is a young sea otter named Odder due to her penchant for exploring her sea habitat and venturing places her otter mother warned her against. She and her fearful friend, Kairi venture too far and are menaced by an adolescent shark intent on having Kairi for lunch. Odder saves her, but is seriously injured and washes up on the shore of Monterey Bay, where she is rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff. Readers get to know Odder as she recovers through flowing image-rich blank verse and some lovely illustrations by Charles Santoso. Readers will fall in love with this irrepressible otter as she reflects on life, especially as she comes to realize that she might not return to the wild.

Fans of the author and fans of animal stories will adore Odder. Look at that cover! Who can resist? Highly recommended!

Middle Grade Monday: Home Away from Home by Cynthia Lord

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Home Away from Home by Cynthia Lord. 224 p. Scholastic Inc. April, 2023. (Review of a purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! I am enjoying this break in the heat and HUMIDITY! It was a brisk 60 degrees here in northern NJ at 5:30 AM this morning as compared to 80 at the same time on Saturday! Crazy.

Middle Grade Monday features by Cynthia Lord. Eleven-year-old Mia is looking forward to spending her summer in Maine with her grandmother. She needs a break from her parents, who each have new partners and she can't wait to get out in nature and bird. She finds changes at grandma's house though. First, there's a stray cat named Miss Agatha, then, there's a boy, named Cayman. He's a little too chummy with Mia's grandmother and she's jealous. When the two set out to view the eagle's nest, they spy a large white bird of prey attacking the nest that they can't identify. Mia takes a picture of it and posts it to an online birding community, and soon their quiet village is inundated with birders eager to see the rare gyrfalcon. Some of the birders are less than ethical and actually endanger the bird and Mia realizes that her actions have put the bird in jeopardy. She also alienates Cayman and needs to set things right.

This thoughtful coming-of-age story features well-developed characters who struggle realistically with changes that life sometimes brings. The descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Maine coast are also vivid. Fans of the author will not be disappointed. Some readers might be inspired to grab some binoculars and head out to do some birding!

Middle Grade Monday: Rescue at Lake Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson

Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Rescue at Lake Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson. 208 p. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April, 2021. 9780358334859. (Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)

Happy July 4 Monday TMS Readers! What are you reading right now? I'm reading an arc of Kathi Appelt's next book, Once Upon a Camel. Fans of Ms. Appelt know they are in for a treat whenever a new book of hers releases. This one is gorgeously illustrated by Eric Rohmann. 

I am also reading the arc of a debut fantasy called Beasts of Prey by Ayana Grey. And finally, I'm reading a book with my ears called, The Way Back by Gavriel Savit. This was a National Book Award finalist last fall and I really enjoyed Mr. Savit's Anna and the Swallow Man. Both books were narrated by Allan Corduner, who also was totally entrancing as Death narrating The Book Thief. 

Middle Grade Monday features Rescue at Lake Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson. This animal adventure story features twelve-year-old Madi Lewis and her best friends, Aaron and Jack and Jack's dog, Lid. Madi is a citizen scientist and aspiring animal rehabilitator just like her recently deceased grandmother. Her parents issued a cease and desist order - no more animal rescue - or her planned trip to Vermont to meed her hero, Jane Goodall is off. Her plans to make good on that promise are jeopardized when the three friends discover the bodies of two adult beavers who had been killed near their lodge. It was breeding time and Madi believes there maybe kits needing rescue in the lodge! She and her friends have studied beavers and have a reasonable understanding about where to find the kits, only it involved swimming underwater to find the opening of the lodge! And there are leeches in the water! Yikes!

Then, once the kits are in hand, the question remains, what to do with them? More importantly, how to keep her parents from finding out about them. For Jack, he's intent on finding the poacher who shot the beavers. The three friends live on a lake with unfettered access to a clubhouse, canoes and an ATV. Readers will learn a lot about wildlife rehabilitation in general and beavers in particular in engaging story. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, a terrific friendship triad that works well, and an intriguing mystery to solve. There's a wonderful author's note at the end that also includes tips about wild animal rescue.

Rescue at Lake Wild is available to borrow at our amazing public library, Closter Public Library. There is a wait list on eBCCLS for the e-book version. I've included a link below to the publisher's website for the book. There is a two minute video of the author talking about the book. Happy reading!

Web Link:
https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/rescue-at-lake-wild/9780358334859

Rescue at Wild Lake is just the book if you love animals, friendship stories and local adventure. It's a wonderful addition to any library.

The Daily Booktalk: Fact Friday: Beauty and the Beak by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp

Beauty and the Beak: how science, technology, and a 3D-printed beak rescued a Bald Eagle by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp. unpgd. Persnickety Press/ Cornell Lab Publishing Group, August 27, 2017. 9781943978281. (Review from finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Happy Fact Friday Summer Readers! Today, I'm featuring Beauty and the Beak: how science, technology, and a 3D-printed beak rescued a Bald Eagle by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp. This beautiful volume is really two books in one. First, a gorgeous photoessay about the birth of a female eaglet. The authors depict the life of an eaglet from the struggle to crack her egg through fledging and first migration. Really, so much can endanger the life of an eagle, including other eagles that might swoop in to capture hard-earned prey. With their sharp vision, strong talons, and vicious beaks, eagles are apex predators. Humans and their actions are the threat to eagles from habitat destruction to power lines to automobile accidents to poaching. It was a gunshot that tore most of this eagle's beak off. The eagle was starving when a police office discovered her and brought her to a wildlife center. It had no room for her but co-author and raptor biologist Jane Veltkamp did. She brought Beauty to her raptor center in Idaho and set about trying to figure out how to make a prosthetic beak for Beauty.

The second half of this book provides an update on Beauty, Bald Eagle symbolism, a note from Veltkamp,an additional five pages of information about eagles, information about it's status as no longer endangered, caution that eagles are still at risk, advice about how the reader can help, and resources, some of which include QR codes. 

This really is a must-read! High-interest topic, engagingly told, accompanied by stunning full-color photos and a beautifully designed book from covers through endpages.