Year: 2011

The Dragon of Cripple Creek

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

 

The Dragon of Cripple CreekThe Dragon of Cripple Creek

By Troy Howell

400 pages for middle grade readers of realistic fiction/fantasy blend – with adventure on the side

Katlin Graham, better known as Kat, is fascinated by gold. She has been all her life.  She named her pony Goldie. She had her tooth capped with gold. And when she sees an ad for tours of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine she won’t rest until she convinces her dad and brother they have the time to visit. Kat, her older brother Dillon, and her father are heading west for a new life, their old one having ended when a freak accident put her mother in a coma and caused them to lose everything.

Once in the mine Kat moves a bit away from the tour.  When she tries to get back to the group she has a nasty fall, discovers a rather large gold nugget (perhaps the answer to her family’s problems), and stumbles across a dragon. He is a real live dragon named Ye – the very last one in the world. He is gentle and helpful and wise.  Kat knows he is a kind soul and when Ye explains to her the origin of gold she is caught in a moral dilemma.  How can she choose between helping her family and respecting her friend’s wishes.  Later, back on the surface, the consequences of her choice become clear.  She accidentally begins the 21st century gold rush.  It is more horrible than she could ever have imagined and Kat decides she must change the course of her action. But how?

There are all sorts of people after Kat and the information about the origin of the gold.  There are all sorts of characters – some silly and some somber, some sinister and many selfish.  Kat has tough decisions to make and with the help of understanding and family, she does.  Read The Dragon of Cripple Creek to see what happens and to compare your choices with those that Kat makes.  Sometimes it is hard to know what is right or to understand how one choice is connected to the next and the next down the line.

This is a fun, original book – Ye might not be real, but the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine exists in Colorado.  Have fun reading The Dragon of Cripple Creek and let us know what you think.

Check out the book trailer here:The Dragon of Cripple Creek


The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963

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“And You Wonder Why We Get Called the Weird Watsons” says the title of Chapter 1 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. 10 year old Kenny Watson lives in with his family in Flint, Michigan. Oh, I forgot! I should introduce you to the Watsons. There’s Dad, Momma, little sister Joetta, Kenny, and “official juvenile delinquent” Byrone. After all the adventures the Watsons will have in Flint, Momma and Dad plan a trip to grandma’s in Birmingham. They hope that if they leave Byrone a grandma’s then his troublemakimg mind will be put to rest. But little did the Watsons know, that they were about to run into one of the worst acts of discrimination in history.

For teachers, click here for Scholastic’s Reading Guide for The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.

Click here for Christopher Paul Curtis’ website.

Click here for Kidsreads.com version on Christopher Paul Curtis.

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange StreetOne Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street

By Joanne Rocklin

201 pages – for middle grade readers

This book begins with a mysterious man and an orange construction cone placed in the street by the vacant lot.   This lot is home to an orange tree – the only one remaining from an old grove.  A cause for questioning looks, remembered stories and new found confidence.  The orange tree is at the center of activity for the people who live on Orange Street.  It is source of a wonderful smell and delicious fruit.  It is where the club meets. It’s where treasure is found that, just maybe, will bring luck. It’s where a lonely boy practices and practices.  It’s where a now silent child swings and a worried daughter keeps vigil.  It is a reminder of days gone by and of how friends and families change around you.

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street is a story of friendship and kindnesses.  It is a story about troubles and anxieties.  It is a story about guilt and understanding.  The characters are interesting and real.  I like that they are not prefect and struggle to deal with parts of themselves and their lives that are less than storybook perfect.  I like how past and present are melded together so we learn about the history of the tree too.  I think it is supposed to have a happy ending, but I’m not certain that it does.  After you read it, let me know what you think.

Diamond Willow

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

Diamond WillowDiamond Willow

by Helen Frost

109 pages for middle grade readers (and everyone else too.)

It took me a while to get and read this book.  I don’t know why.  I loved it!  Jenny, if you read this review – this book is for you.  You’ll relate to Willow.  She is strong and determined.  She is a survivor who depends on herself and her unbreakable connections with her family.  She’s not a sparkly girl – but she does realize she can have friends.  Caroline, if you’re reading this review, this book is for you.  It is a dog book, written in verse.  You will love Roxy and want so much for great things to happen for her.  She loves to run.  She is the lead dog – so smart and with almost a second sense when Willow is there.

For all other readers, it is that and so much more.  I love the diamond verse with the secret message in the heart of each one.  I love the connection between people and the land.  It is a wonderful way to understand a bit about life in Alaska and to get an introduction to the close connection between animal spirits and the ancestral heritage of the Athabascan. You’ll read it from start to finish and then close the book with a sigh – full of wonder.  Can you imagine writing like that?!

The Candy Bomber

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot"The Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnnell is a true story of hope and kindness. At the end of World War II Berlin was divided and in ruins.   The people had little.  The Allied Forces were airlifting supplies and food but US Air Force pilot, Gail Halvorsen knew there were children there grateful for food and freedom.  He spoke to the children who looked through the airfield fence.  They didn’t ask for chocolate or gum, nothing, but Halvorsen wanted to give them hope.  He told them the next time he cam back he would bring them chocolate.  The children asked how they would know it was him flying over.  He told them he would wiggle his wings.

Halvorsen gathered chocolate bars and gum from his buddies at the base, and using handkerchiefs, fashioned parachutes so the candy would float down to the children below.  “I had so much fun on my first drop … when I flew over the airport I could see the children…I wiggled my wings and the little group went crazy… I was able to give them a little candy and a little hope, but they were able to fill me us with so much more,” Gail Halvorsen wrote in the prologue of the book.

Read The Candy Bomber to learn about this amazing man and his commitment to humankind.  He didn’t stop with just one drop or with just operation.  His effort to show kindness to those most in need is inspirational.  What can you do to inspire hope in the world?  Share your ideas in a comment – no idea is too small.  After all The Candy Bomber began with only two sticks of gum.

Click here to learn more about Gail Halverson and Operation Little Vittles.

Elephant Run

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Elephant RunElephant Run

While World War II rages on, Nick Freestone and his mom’s apartment gets destroyed by a bomb dropped by enemy planes. When his mother decides that England is too unsafe for a person his age, he is sent off to Burma, where his real father owns a teak plantation. Nick’s mom sent him there thinking that it would be safer, and she would be right except when its a World War, everywhere isn’t safe. Japanese soldiers invade and capture the plantation, and one way or another his father becomes a Prisoner of War of World War II. Nick, meanwhile, is forced to work as a servant for the new rulers of the teak plantation. The village is very unstable for Nick and his friend, Mya so they start planning their escape. Read Elephant Run by Roland Smith to find out what happens.

Roland Smith, the author of Elephant Run, came to our school.  He gave a really great talk on who he is, how he wrote his books, and his second job! It turns out that Roland Smith, along with being an author, is a field biologist. He talked about saving animals from an oil spill and other field biology things. And also he pushed in some humor in those speeches. And the best part was, I was chosen along with my friend Isabel to have lunch with him. It was a great experience to talk to him in person.

Click here to view Roland Smith’s website. It has book descriptions, trailers an more!!

Calli Be Gold

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

Calli Be GoldCalli Be Gold

By Michele Weber Hurwitz

for readers 9 and up     Realistic Fiction     198 pages

Calli Gold might have been born into the wrong family.  In her eleven years she has discovered that “you can divide all the people in the world into two categories:  The loud ones who shout about who they are and what they do, and the quiet ones who just are and do.”  She supposes that all evens out “Except for this:  if you’re a quiet person randomly and hopelessly born into a family of louds….”  That’s where Calli finds herself the quiet one who notices much but says little.

While her family pushes her to discover the passion she can take to a championship level, Calli struggles to find hidden gift.  She knows that she has failed at everything she’s tried so far.  Perhaps she just isn’t a Gold.  Then Calli meets Noah Zullo, a second grader who seems strange to everyone else.  Calli likes him.  She feels a strange connection to this anxious little boy and partners up with him in the Peer Helpers Project. Together they create a beautifully simple display for the Friendship Fair.  As Calli begins to discover what makes her shine, the rest of the Gold family finds another side to being a winner – one that doesn’t shout out for all to notice.

Read Calli Be Gold by Michele Weber Hurwitz to find there may be many ways to be number one. After you read it, let us know are you a “loud” or a “quiet”?  Have you found your passion, or are you still looking for the thing that makes you gold inside? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Wideness and Wonder

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

Wideness and Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O'KeeffeWideness and Wonder – the life and art of Georgia O’Keeffe by Susan Goldman Rubin is the story of one woman’s determined effort to do what she loved – create art.  Packed with information and a  rich collection of photographs and art reproductions this book opens the door on the artist’s entire life.  When Georgia was in eighth grade she said she would grow up to be an artist. Closely tied to the land and her family, Georgia always worked to paint what she loved.  Each image was a celebration.

At first Georgia tried to stay within the lines of “good art and technique.”  It was fine, but it was also like everything else.  It wasn’t until Georgia found a way to share her unique view with the world that her art sang.  When she discovered her individual sense of expression and sought to share her own interpretation and arrangements of color, shape and form she knew she had found her true passion in life.  She made sure each image captured how she felt.  Georgia knew that, if nurtured, passion continued to grow and develop leading a person onward.  “Success doesn’t come with painting one picture.  It’s building step by step against great odds…Every year I have to carry the thing I do enough further so that people are surprised again.”  These quotes, found on page 79 of the book, show how Georgia created and thought about sharing her work with the world.

Later in life, once her success assured that she could devote her life to creation, Georgia O’Keeffe moved on to painting the world as she saw it boldly, serenely, full of light and color for the sheer joy and pleasure of learning how she saw her world.

As I read Georgia O’Keeffe’s story I was amazed and thankful for her determined life.  So many times it would have been easier to fade away into her family obligations – to care for her parents and her sisters.  So many times it just would have been easier to pack up the paints and colored pencils to live a quiet life on the lake.  We are so lucky she did not.  We are so fortunate she did not allow her vision to be put aside until life became more settled and taking time to create was convenient.

It is important to share your vision with the world no matter how challenging that is. It is the only way our world becomes richer and full of possibilities – when we understand more than our own mind.  What is your passion?  What talents will you develop?  How will you share your unique vision with the world?  How are you and Georgia O’Keeffe alike?  Read Wideness and Wonder and then let us know.

The Magic Thief

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The Magic Thief (Magic Thief, #1)

Young Conn is a pickpocket in the city of Wellmet, and when he picks the pocket of an unsuspecting wizard, things change drastically for Conn and the wizard, Nevery. What Conn pick pocketed from Nevery’s back pocket is his locus magicalicus, the stone that gives Nevery his power and magic. Conn should have been killed by the stone when he touched it, but that didn’t happen. This makes Nevery is curious about Conn and he takes him on as an apprentice. In order for Conn to take on the role of Nevery’s apprentice, he needs to find his locus stone. Meanwhile the City of Wellmet’s magic is dwindling and Conn has to help Nevery fix the magic and bring it back. Read The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas to find out what happens.

Click here for the Magic Thief Website!! (HarperCollin’s Children’s)

Click here for Sarah Prineas Website!!

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette (The Penderwicks, #3)After reading both Matt’s and Gus’ reviews of The Penderwicks:  a Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy I decided I needed to reacquaint myself with Jeanne Birdsall’s characters.  I remember liking the story very much.  I remembered the sisters and their meetings, Mrs. Tifton (who could forget her), Jeffrey, Sabrina Star and the bull, but that was all.  Time to read again.   I did and was immediately caught up with the each interesting character – striking in how they cared for each other while supporting their rights to be an individual.  I had such a calm, quiet feeling when I finished reading.

Right away I moved The Penderwicks at Point Mouette to the top of my to-be-read.  I’m so glad!  Skye, Jane and Batty are going to Maine with Aunt Claire.  Dad, Iantha and Ben are in England and Rosalind is off to the shore with a friend.  The family has been split apart and because of this we get to know the individual main characters a bit more. (Yes, even Rosalind in how the family selects the parts of their vacation to tell her about so she can continue to enjoy her’s worry free.) This story features Skye and how she deals with OAP (oldest available Penderwick) status, managing her wishes, controlling her temper and considering what it is like to be in another’s shoes.  Along the way there are dog mishaps, moose, music, golf balls, and a flashy skateboarding dude.

The ending, though not totally a surprise, is wonderful indeed!  When I finished reading, I again appreciated how the characters move through trials big and small, annoying, challenging and exhausting and are still able to believe in each other in the selfless way I admire and truly hope to live up to.  What a wonderful book.  What wonderful writing.  I can’t wait to read the next book.

You might like to read about all of Jeanne Birdsall here at her website:  Jeanne Birdsall