#tbt: Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko. 216 p. Putnam's, 2001.

#tbt features Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko. This was Ms. Choldenko's debut middle grade novel and was published in 2001. Twelve-year-old Antonia MacPherson (Ant) is convinced she's adopted. She's a middle child, stuck between two perfect sisters and everyone in her family is blond with light complexion. So she writes letters to her "real" parents and she lies. She cares about two beings, her elderly dog, Pistachio and her best friend, Harrison. She's prickly and holds everyone at arm's length until her art teacher, "Just Carol" tries to break through Ant's facade. Ant's first-person narration will make readers alternately laugh-out-loud and cringe, especially when her lies become dangerous.

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog was named a School Library Journal best book. Her next book, Al Capone Does My Shirts was published in 2004 and won a Newbery Honor. She's written three sequels to Al Capone Does My Shirts as well as picture books and other novels. She and Katherine Applegate are co-authors of Dogtown, which is the first book in the Dogtown series. Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Image: Penguin Random House

Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus. 400 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, July 30, 2024. 9780593900741. 

Happy Wednesday. Oh dear me, it is so hot! Too hot to take the dogs for any kind of a long walk. They are lying on the tile floor trying to stay cool. Waiting on Wednesday features Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus. Ms. McManus is a favorite author among seventh and eighth graders at TMS, with her book, One of Us is Lying in constant demand. Such Charming Liars will be published on July 30, so you don't have long to wait! 

Here's the publisher synopsis: The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie—except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job—at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn’t know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father—a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter.

Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can’t trust anyone—except each other.

Or can they? Because if there’s one thing both Kat and Liam know, it’s how to lie. They learned from the best.

I love a good heist story. This one reminds me a bit of Thieves Gambit by Kavion Lewis. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko

Image: Penguin Random House

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko. Unabridged e-audiobook ~7 hours. Narrated by Javier Prusky. Books on Tape/ Listening Library, June, 2024. 9781984833716. Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.

Happy Monday! What are you doing the beat the heat? It's pretty steamy here. Too hot to garden and too hot to take the dogs for long walks. Middle Grade Monday features The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko. 

Eleven-year-old Hank adores his three-year-old sister, Boo, even though she calls him Pooperman. He also adores his mother even though she doesn't make the best decisions. She has been gone for a week now and Hank has stayed home from school to take care of Boo, but food is running out and there's no money to buy more. The electricity was turned off and the landlord is about to evict the family for non-payment of rent. When Hank finds the name of an emergency contact, he knows his mom will be angry with him, but he feels he has no choice. Together, he and Boo take buses to find their way to LouAnn Adler's house. Ms. Adler was Hank's grandmother's best friend and runs a day care center from her home. She's not happy that Hank and Boo showed up, but she takes them in out of respect for his grandmother's memory. Hank starts a new school, makes new friends and might even make the basketball team, but deep down, he knows this arrangement isn't permanent and he really misses his mom.

There is so much to love about this first-person narrative. Hank is so earnest and endearing and Boo is just a hoot! Be prepared though, Hank and Boo's situation is dire. LouAnn can't/ doesn't want to keep the siblings and social services might split them up. Hank is very resourceful, but makes some poor decisions of his own out of love. My heart just broke for Hank and Boo.

The audio performance was well done. Mr. Prusky sounded appropriately young and had a wide variety of voices to distinguish the characters. I can't wait to add this to my library's collection and share it with my students. Highly recommended. 

PS: Posting might get a little hit or miss in the coming days. On Friday, I became a foster mom and Boo became a foster brother to Helga. She's a German Shepherd who was pulled from an animal cruelty situation. The rescue thinks she's around three. An amazing trainer has been volunteering his time to work with her and help her trust again. She's eager and smart, but a bit mouthy, especially if I try and sit down. She's doing really well and Boo is getting lots of extra treats.

#tbt: Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

Image: Simon & Schuster

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. 304 p. FunJungle #1. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, May, 2010. 9781416987314. Own.

Oops! Happy Thursday! I hope you had a terrific Fourth of July. I have been busy getting ready to take in a foster dog. She's coming tomorrow and you will definitely hear more about her in the coming days. I'm excited. Not so sure about Boo, though. He's going to have to learn to share.

#tbt features Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs is definitely a TMS favorite. His Spy School novels are constantly checked out, but did you know that he has several other series? Belly Up is book one of his FunJungle series and was his debut, publishing in 2010, two years before the publication of his first Spy School book.

Twelve-year-old Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt Fitzroy has just moved to Texas with his zoologist parents from Africa. In Africa, he was homeschooled and everyday was an adventure. At FunJungle, where his parents have just been hired? Not so much. That is, until the irrascible mascot of the theme park, Henry Hippo, turns up dead under mysterious circumstances. The list of suspects is long and Teddy is determined to find justice for Henry. The action is fast-paced and over-the-top - think, Home Alone visits an amusement park. Teddy's first-person narration is sassy and hilarious.

Waiting on Wednesday: Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Play

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla. 208 p. Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, July 9, 2024. 9780063268852.

Happy Wednesday! It's another beautiful day out there! Enjoy it! Waiting on Wednesday features Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla. I adored Ms. Pla's debut, The Someday Birds and her most recent novel, The Fire, the Water and Maudie McGinn, which won a Schneider Family Book Award this past January. You won't have to wait long for this one. It publishes next Tuesday, July 9.

Publisher synopsis: From award-winning author Sally J. Pla comes an illustrated middle grade novel about introverted Isabel Beane, who learns to speak up to quiet her worries. This thoughtful, earnest story is perfect for fans of Elana K. Arnold and Leslie Connor.

Isabel Beane is a shy girl who lives in a home full of havoc and hubbub and hullabaloo. With five siblings, there is always too much too much-ness.

At school, there’s a new girl who is immediately popular, but she’s also not very nice to one person—Isabel.

Isabel has never felt more invisible. She begins to get bombarded by fears, like being abandoned by her classmates and taking the upcoming Extremely Important standardized test. Her fears feel like worry-moths that flutter in her belly. With every passing day, they seem to get stronger and stronger. How can Invisible Isabel make people listen?

Teen Tuesday: Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

Image: Penguin Random House

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino. 320 p. G.P. Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers, July, 2023. 9780593533796. Review of finished, purchased copy.

Happy Tuesday TMS Readers! We have been gifted with another gorgeous summer day. Please take advantage of it and get out in nature. Teen Tuesday features Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino. This first-person narrative is told by seventeen-year-old Lilah. She has been partially deaf since birth. She wears hearing aids and her IEP calls for an FM system, but they aren't always used, so she relies on lipreading and her hearing aids to "pass," but it's sometimes frustrating and challenging. 

She wants to brush up on her ASL (American Sign Language) skills and applies to be a camp counselor at a summer camp for deaf and blind children. She has fond memories of the camp as she attended one summer when she was in the eighth grade. At camp, she meets a variety of campers and counselors with varying degrees of deafness and blindness. Oh, and one really cute boy.

In addition to being a cute, slow-burn romance, readers will learn about the deaf community - about the myriad degrees of deafness and their causes, as well as the challenges they face in a sometimes uncaring hearing world. Ms. Sortino is deaf and Give Me A Sign is her debut novel. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday (a day late): The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate. 272 p. HarperCollins Publishers, May 7, 2024. 9780063221123. Review of finished purchased copy.

Happy Monday, a day late! I posted this to my school's learning platform yesterday and didn't get around to pasting and posting here. Happy July as well! It was a lovely day out there, so I hope you enjoyed the weather! Middle Grade Monday features The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate. This is the final book in the quartet called One and Only Ivan Stories. 

Ivan is a silverback gorilla, who is now living in a zoo/ wildlife sanctuary. Life is good. He has his own troop and even has a mate, Kinyani. Ruby lives in the habitat next door and often visits Ivan, and Bob was adopted and visits often as well. Ivan wants to be a good silverback, but grapples with tragedies from his past and worries about the future. Can he be a good dad to his twins? What should he tell them about his past?

Ms. Applegate skillfully juxtaposes humor with intense philosophical questions about conservation and the natural world. The spot art is just lovely. It is best to read all four books to appreciate the growth of this found family. 

Happy reading!