Top Ten Tuesday - Favorites of 2014

TTT is hosted by Broke and Bookish each week. This week's theme is top ten best books so far in 2014.

It seems to be a shaping up to be a strong year for middle grade as I realize that eight of my favorites so far this year happen to be middle grade. Of the two YA titles, one was published in November of 2013, so technically, it's not a 2014 title. Still, I'm including it because it's my blog (and I read it this year).

YA:

Champion by Marie Lu. Such a satisfying conclusion to a smart, smart trilogy.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor. Another smart trilogy with a satisfying ending. Honestly, I never wanted to leave the world Laini Taylor created.

MG:

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle. This sequel to Better Nate Than Ever! was funny and endearing. Both books are must purchase.

Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick.

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord. Another winner by Ms. Lord. Her books are always unique. This one's getting some discussion over on the Goodreads Newbery group.

Odin's Ravens (The Blackwell Pages #2) by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr. Give this series to your fans of Percy Jackson.

The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer. I just realized that I never did write a review of this luminous debut. Give to your patrons who thrive on sad books. So sad but such a great story about grief and healing and forgiveness.

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern. Another promising debut I failed to review.

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Making Money by Tommy Greenwald. This one's not due out till late August so my review won't post till late July. Suffice it to say that Charlie Joe continues to entertain. I think I heard that he's working on a guide to girls.

And for a little nonfiction:

Babe Conquers the World: the legendary life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Rich Wallace and Sandra Neill Wallace.

ETA: I totally forgot about We Were Liars by E.L. Lockhart, which I actually read in late 2013 but just recently released. Excellent read!

Leave a link to your top ten in the comments.

Non-Fiction Monday: Scholastic Discover More: Birds by Penelope Arlon

Scholastic Discover More: Birds by Penelope Arlon. 32 p. Scholastic Inc., June 24, 2014. 9780545667739. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)

This Discover More entry is bound to create a new generation of budding birders. Everything one needs to know about birds is right here. Well, no. That's impossible to do in 32 pages, but a ton of tidbits and photos are crammed in covering everything from what makes a bird a bird, has feathers and lays eggs, to feathers and flying to nesting and hatching eggs and more. And the pictures! Oh the pictures are gorgeous. The eye just can't figure out where to rest! This is especially true on the double-page spread featuring the variety of colors birds can be! The images are thumbnails but sharp and clear. And, take the close-up photo of the bee eater, for example; every citron-green feather pops.

The back cover states, "For brand-new readers," but a newly fluent reader will struggle with some of the information in the text boxes, where words such as pinpoint and sensitive and camouflage are used and the font is smallish. It is perfect for fluent readers in first through third grades.

The information gleaned from here might be of more interest to browsers and fact hound than report writing as many of the facts are rather basic and general. There's a nifty two-page glossary superimposed over the bright breast and wing feathers of a parrot. There's an index and photo credits but no suggestions for further reading. Still, it's attractive and inviting and a fine addition to the elementary or ELL library.

As of this review, the accompanying ebook was not online. I was looking forward to reading it as it was about becoming a birder!

Babar on Paradise Island by Laurent de Brunhoff

Babar on Paradise Island by Laurent de Brunhoff. unpgd. Abrams Books for Young Readers, May, 2014. 9781419710384. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)

I dare any adult not to start humming the theme song to Gilligan's Island. Babar and his family set out on their boat for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. When their tiny ship was tossed onto a reef, the family and friend were close enough to  an island so all safely made it to the shore of an island along with some supplies, including condensed milk. The island was lush with vegetation and seemed uninhabited. When Babar stumbles upon a dragon, he's understandably worried until the dragon says, " Visitors! That's great!" Thanks to the dragon, they are able to harvest coconuts and construct huts ensuring that they all would have a grand old time while awaiting rescue. The Old Lady even made key lime pie thanks to that rescued crate of condensed milk. Note to self: always pack condensed milk. 

The art is comfortingly familiar to fans of Babar and his family.   I found the dragon a bit bland but considering the primary audience, he's fine. Their time on the island rivals any resort vacation. Rescue is assured. The only question is whether the dragon will stay or join Babar in Celesteville. The palette is a lovely mix of pastel and brights. The simple, flowing sentences are set in a pleasing font. This is sure to please young fans of the classic elephant king.

Patti Cake and Her New Doll by Patricia Reilly Giff

Illustrated by Laura J. Bryant. unpgd. Orchard Books/ Scholastic Inc., January, 2014.9780545244657. (Finished copy courtesy of the publisher for review.)

Patti Cake's first night in her brand new and very pink, big girl room is not what she expected. The "greatly dark" was a bit frightening. The next day, her babysitter takes her to the store to buy a new doll. She chooses a "smudgy" one marked, "on sale," and names her On Sale. She feels a kinship with the doll since she is often smudgy. Patti Cake brings her doll home and her attempts to un-smudge her lead to disaster after disaster thanks in large part to her dog.

The promise of the jaunty cover dominated by purple pink is not quite fulfilled as the story is wordy and a bit awkward. Bella the babysitter seems more a parent than babysitter. I mean, why is she there all day and all night? Expressions such as "greatly dark" seem jarringly, not endearingly precocious. 

The artwork is consistently humorous though and the book will find its readership among young girls who like pink books, or who find kinship with Patti Cake's fear of the dark. 

Waiting on Wednesday - Ares Bringer of War by George O'Connor

WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share the titles that we are eagerly anticipating.

Ares: Bringer of War by George O'Connor. Olympians series # 7. First Second Books, January 27, 2015. 9781626720138. 

I just adore this series and so do my students. In fact, earlier this school year, I thought the series had been stolen and sadly marked them lost in the catalog. Then, one day, I was reading the shelves and found them squirreled away, spines inward, in the 398 section. I reshelved them only to find them all missing again. I found them. Thank goodness the perpetrator put them spine in. Made it much easier! After it happened a third time, I moved them to my desk for a while before returning them to their proper shelf. 

I was very excited when Mr. Schu revealed the cover and featured George O'Connor on his amazing blog, Watch. Connect. Read. last week. Hop on over there for the answers to five questions by the author and a cool video. 

Top Ten Tuesday - Beach Reads

The theme for this week's TTT, hosted by Broke and Bookish is beach reads. I am lucky in that I don't have a summer job and can devote this time off to catching up on reading, gardening and walking my lab. There are approximately 75 days in the summer vacation and since I've been reading a book-a-day for the last two years, I will try to read 100 books over the summer. I have three times that easily on a bunch of bookcases so I haven't really planned the reading. I usually don't. I free-range read. I did happen to create a pile of audiobooks that I'm bringing home for summer listening and it just so happens to be ten books (two rereads).

Top Ten Audiobooks for My Summer Reading

(alphabetically by author)

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. Unabridged audiobook on 10 compact discs, 12 hours. Read by Christine Lakin. Hachette Audio. 9781478924692.

Will in Scarlet: the boy behind the Robin Hood legend by Matthew Cody. Unabridged audiobook on 6 compact discs, 7.5 hours. Read by Maxwell Caufield. Listening Library. 9780804123310.

Loved Cody's earlier Powerless: Super; and The Dead Gentleman. I happen to enjoy novel length fairy tale/ legend/ myth rewordings as well. Looking forward to this.

Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper. Unabridged audiobook on 7 compact discs. Read by Jim Dale. Simon & Schuster Audio. 9781442364806.

Sir Charlie Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman. Unabridged audiobook on 3 compact discs, 3 hours, 42 minutes. Read by Fred Sullivan. AudioGo. 9781935430926.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner. Unabridged audiobook on 3 compact discs, 3 hours, 40 minutes. Read by Robert Madge.  Brilliance Audio. 9781469274775. 

This will be an audio reread. So glad it won a Printz Honor.

The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders book #1) by Peter Lerangis. Unabridged audiobook on 7 compact discs, 8 hours. Read by Jonathan McClain. HarperAudio. 9780062286369.

I can't read everything that I order for my library (unfortunately) but several fans of this series tell me that I MUST read it. 

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer. Unabridged audiobook on 9 compact discs, 11 hours. Read by Rebecca Soler. Macmillan Audio. 9781427229649.

The Time Hackers by Gary Paulsen. Unabridged audiobook on 2 compact discs, 2 hours, 8 minutes. Read by Nick Podehl. Brilliance Audio. 9781455808175.

I thought this was entertaining and laugh out loud funny the first time around. I am always recommending it, especially to reluctant readers. Nick Podehl is one of my fave narrators.

Fox Forever (Jenna Fox Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson. Unabridged audiobook on 8 compact discs. Read by Matthew Brown. Macmillan Audio. 9781427215178.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Unabridged audiobook on 11 compact discs. 12.5 hours. Read by Emma Galvin and Aaron Stanford. HarperAudio. 9780062286482.

I will admit that while I loved Divergent, Insurgent fell flat for me. My students who are fans of the series either love the ending or hate it so I need to find out for myself.

ETA: I forgot to post a link to this hysterical vimeo by Libba Bray entitled, "How to Narrate an Audiobook." She is just a hoot! Such fun. Beauty Queens is one of my all time favorite audiobooks thanks to her brilliant narration. Laugh out loud funny, satirical, sly and a must read.

Drop a link to your TTT in the comments section.

Poop Fountain! The Qwikpick Papers #1 by Tom Angleberger

Poop Fountain! The Qwikpick Papers #1 by Tom Angleberger. 134 p. Amulet Books/ Abrams, May 20, 2014. 9781419704253. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review)

Leave it to Tom Angleberger to riff on sewage treatment in all its potty humor glory and allude to a literary classic at the same time. The story is set in the year 2000 according to a note from Tom Angleberger. Lyle Hertzog is the narrator/ compiler as this story is told in typed and handwritten pages, doodles and photographs. Kyle's a bit of a loner and a bit sensitive about the fact that he lives in a trailer park. He makes the best of the fact that he received a typewriter for Christmas instead of the computer he was hoping for. About a year earlier, he found two unlikely friends in Marilla Anderson and Dave Raskin. The three found the Qwikpick Adventure Society, so named since the three often spend time chilling in the break room at the Qwikpick, where Kyle's parents both work.

Their first adventure arose when the three realize that they don't have much to do on Christmas Day since both of Kyle's parents work and neither Marilla nor Dave celebrate it. Marilla is a Jehovah's Witness and Dave is Jewish. They want to do something momentous but can't figure out what until a little item in the local paper about improvements at the local sewage treatment plant are underway. They learn about the the sludge fountain, which is about to get an upgrade and decide then and there that they must see the POOP fountain.

Not many authors are as slyly wry observers of the middle school jungle as Mr. Angleberger. It's also nice to see that he incorporated a diverse cast of characters both racially and economically. There's humor here low-brow and high. Give to your reluctant readers or fans of potty humor. Fans of the author's Origami Yoda series will be all over this new series. Well, I assume this is a new series. My one or two bits of criticism: it is a bit slow and the adventure part is a bit tame.