Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Ferris by Kate DiCamillo

Image: Candlewick Press

Ferris by Kate DiCamillo. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~4 hours. Read by Cherry Jones. Listening Library, March, 2024. (Review of e-audio borrowed from the public library.)

Happy Monday. Middle Grade Monday features Ferris by Kate DiCamillo. The summer between fourth and fifth grades is an eventful one for Ferris. Her real name is Emma Phineas Wilkey, but she's called Ferris because she was born at the bottom of a ferris wheel. She lives in a small community, in a home with her parents, her beloved grandmother, her six-year-old sister, Pinky and Boomer her dog. Uncle Ted has recently left his wife and moved into the basement to paint the history of the world. She likes things predictable, but that summer there's a lot of change. In addition to Uncle Ted, Ferris receives an unfortunate perm from Ted's hairdresser wife, and her headstrong sister decides she wants to become an outlaw complete with a "Wanted" poster. Oh, and her grandmother is being visited by a ghost.

In typical DiCamillo fashion, each character in this slim novel springs to vivid life. She has a knack for capturing mundane moments and making them shine with beauty and possibility. This is a beautiful story of family bonds, best friendship, ghosts and raccoons. At turns heartfelt and hilarious, fans of Kate DiCamillo will feel right at home. The performance by Cherry Jones is pitch perfect. 

Here's  a link to a short video of Ms. DiCamillo discussing the book.

Happy reading!

#tbtt: Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Image: Macmillan Publishers

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. 240 p. Square Fish/ Macmillan. (Own)

Oops! Almost forgot #tbt TMS Readers! Thanks to the storms last night for the slightly cooler temps. I got into my overgrown and weedy garden. Helga looked on.

#tbt features Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. This debut is a dark, dark look at bullies and bullying and is best suited for mature teen readers. Simon Glass is a nerd who is in the crosshairs of a popular group of alpha males. Suddenly, they decide to adopt Simon and make him "popular." As Simon becomes popular, he develops some ideas of his own, which goes against the clique. Will they put up with it or will Simon pay?

Shattering Glass was published in 2002 and was named a YALSA Best Book. Click on this link to Ms. Giles' website for a peek inside the inspiration for the novel. Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday: Mouse and His Dog (Dogtown, Book 2) by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko

Image: Macmillan Publishers

Mouse and His Dog (Dogtown, Book 2) by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko. Illustrated by Wallace West. 336 p. Feiwel & Friends/ Macmillan, September 17, 2024. 9781250345004.

Happy Wednesday! And the heat goes on here in northern NJ! I am limiting the amount of time my dogs are outside and trying to stay off the hot, hot, hot pavement. Waiting on Wednesday features Mouse and His Dog by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko. 

From the publisher: Mouse lives in Dogtown, a shelter for real dogs and robot dogs, where the kibble is plentiful, and the rafters hide a secret community of mice. His unlikely best friend is Buster, a big-hearted real dog who attracts trouble like a burr to fur.

Determined to help Buster find his forever home, even if means losing his best pal, Mouse embarks on a bold quest with three of Dogtown’s “unadoptables”: Buster, Stewie--a huge, lovable dog whose ex-owner said he was mean, and Smokey--a robot dog hardwired with a smoke alarm he can’t control.

But Mouse is just a mouse, and the world is big and complicated. How’s a little guy supposed to find homes for the dogs he loves?

DogTown is a TMS favorite and I just know my students will clamor for this installment. It's due out on September 17.

Middle Grade Monday: The Night Librarian by Christopher Lincoln

Image: Penguin Random House

The Night Librarian by Christopher Lincoln. 256 p. Dial Books for Young Readers/ Penguin Young Readers, July 30, 2024. 9780593617663. Review of arc courtesy of publisher.

Happy Monday! The temps continue to sizzle her in northern NJ, but not as bad as some locales in the U.S.! Middle Grade Monday features The Night Librarian by Christopher Lincoln. Twins Page and Turner Reed love the New York Public Library and reading better than anything in their home town of New York City. It's a good thing they are pragmatic and self-sufficient because their parents are usually traveling for business and their nanny often leaves them alone. Page decides to smuggle their dad's first edition of Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula out of the apartment in order to get the book appraised by one of the librarians. Unfortunately, it goes missing! Their father will not be happy if they don't get it back. The two enlist the aid of Ms. Literati, the Night Librarian, who's tasked with managing and containing the mysterious vandalism that is happening at the library almost nightly.

This pun filled debut graphic novel has something for every reader. It's action-packed and fast-paced featuring the relatable to the fantastic; from sibling rivalry to villains who are breaking free from their books to wreak havoc.

I read an arc (advance reader copy), so most of the art was unfinished. Sample finished pages featured hues of blue and varied panel placement that engages. This should appeal to a wide range of readers. It's out on July 30 and on my book order for my school's library. I can't wait to reread the finished book. Happy reading!

#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.