Year: 2013

Never Say Die

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves , ,

Never Say Dieby Will Hobbs

for middle grade readers with a love for adventure and the outdoors – Alaska in particular

Never Say Die opens with a grolar bear attack.  Neither you nor I would have made it, but the savvy hunter, aware of the ways of bears in the tundra does.  Nick Trasher is Inuit – in his blood he’s only half; in his outlook he’s full.  Nick’s grandfather, Jonah, is the most important influence in Nick’s life.  They have spent fifteen years in the wilderness together.  Jonah has taught him the old ways, as well as the new adapted ways using up-to-date tools for hunting and fishing and gathering.  That is the only way to maintain family in the Arctic – and Nick means to stay.  Nick understands the balance that must exist between the hunter and his environment in order for all to survive.  That way of life is changing, however.  The environment is changing.  The effects of global warming are evident all around them – ice is less, herds are smaller and animals that would never be sited are frequently.  Jonah, and Nick through him, isn’t totally sure he approves of the work of the environmental biologists and scientists as they track animals to understand changes.  Nick thinks, “Just ask the hunters – ask the old hunters – they know all there is to know.”   Life is changing one way or another in Inuvik and Nick wonders what his future will bring.

Right now Jonah is struggling with a cancer that will soon claim his life.  That change is sure for Nick and he is making the most of every moment. Then comes the second change. Nick is invited by his older half-brother Ryan to take a raft trip up the Firth River in search of the caribou herds. Ryan is a professional photographer.  He is working with many scientists and wants to write an article on the effects of climate change on caribou, their migration and numbers. It is the brothers’ first opportunity to get to know each other.  They’ve been raised by their moms and know little of their dad.

Nick hesitates to leave, but Jonah urges him on. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity- one that Jonah wishes he had been able to share with Nick himself.  He tells Nick to go and says he will surely wait to hear Nick’s stories of the trip before he “lets the bear and wolf enter the town.” Nick decides to join his brother and promises to bring back all the stories he can of his trip, the land and especially, the caribou.

Full of uncertainty at his leaving, Nick draws hope from the school motto, “Never Say Die.”  – meaning:  always think, always survive.  It is a motto he will think of often over the coming days because on the first day of the trip the raft flips over and Nick and Ryan are separated on opposite shores. Now they must find each other and survive in a brutal environment with limited supplies. Never Say Die is a survival story to say the least, but it is also the story of brothers who learn from each other, come to understand their differences and grow in respect of each other. They form a bridge between old way and new way through understanding and respect.

Never Say Die is an amazing journey both for what you learn about the land, and for what you learn about the ways people of different backgrounds and outlooks can come together for a common good.  Having finished this, I am off to read all the Will Hobbs’ books I can find.  If I enjoy them half as much, I’ll be pleased.  I appreciate having another author to recommend to realistic fiction, with a fast pace readers.

In a Glass Grimmly

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves, traditional literature

In a Glass Grimmly (A Tale Dark & Grimm, #2)a companion to A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz  You can find out more about him by clicking on his name.

Where the first book follows Hansel and Gretel through various Grimm fairytales this book follows cousins Jack and Jill through Grimm and Anderson tales , along with rhymes from Mother Goose.  Jack and Jill are not happy in their respective homes.  Jack longs to be admired and Jill longs for beauty and both are bent on making decisions that will enable them to reach their goals.  Off to a rough start, they find themselves working together with the help of a talking, three-legged frog.

After making a deal with a strange baby-faced ancient woman, Jack and Jill set off on a quest that sends them to many different places.  They go to the clouds where they meet a murderous group of giants who are outwitted after stunning amounts of vomit.  From there they journey to the sea only to find beautifully cruel mermaids and then on to the goblin market where truth is not valued, nor are body parts or life.  Lastly they find themselves underground where they befriend an enormous salamander that smells worse than any combination of smells you can imagine – and that is on the outside before they enter his gullet to retrieve a lost treasure.

Irreverently disgusting, this book is full of revolting delights.  It is a well written blend of fairy tale telling with a vocal narrator who offers cautions and belated apologies for events that may have scared or offended.  Along the way there are other ideas to ponder…

One is the ravens’ distinction between being confused and being con-fused.

“As long as you are con-fused you will never find what you seek.  Even though it is right there.”

“There is this weird thing that happens, when you stop worrying so much about what other people think of you.  When you are no longer – to use the ravens’ word – con-fused.  At that moment, you suddenly start seeing what you think of you.”

You’ll love it from beginning to end.  Enjoy!

Dragonborn

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

Dragonborn (The Flaxfield Quartet, #1)by Toby Forward

Book 1 of the Flaxfield Quartet

don’t be deceived by the cover – this is a book for seasoned fantasy readers who’ll be okay with a little confusion and patient enough to have their questions answered as the story unfolds throughout the series.

Dragonborn begins with these words:  Flaxfield died on a Friday…  Flaxfield had been teaching Sam to become a wizard.  Sam is halfway through his apprenticeship – he knows some magic but not enough.  He is completely alone but for his dragon and best friend, Starback. Everything that is familiar to Sam disappears in that instant.  Flaxfield’s past apprentices come back to the cottage to honor their master as the rules dictate – while there they question Sam and don’t believe he is an actual apprentice.  They frighten and confuse Sam enough so that he runs away in search of someone or a way that will help him complete his apprenticeship. He is determined to become a full wizard.  That he will not lose.

Sam’s journey follows a tracing of trails that weaves worlds and times together.  For a time Sam loses Starback because he meets a roffle.  The roffle leads Sam to a school for wizards suggesting he can finish his apprenticeship there.  Once at the school, Sam discovers that it is not what he needs at all. The magic taught there is not what he wants to learn.  Most of the teachers and students there lack respect for the rules of real magic, the important kind.  Magic is wasted there so it becomes weak and useless. Sam leaves there too.

Almost as soon as Sam begins his journey, the other Flaxfield wizards realize that Sam might be “the one” and they go in search of him. Starback, no longer with Sam, but wishing to help, sees this and leads them away from Sam.  He leads castle he once knew.  Then it was teeming with life.  Strangely now it is lifeless and dark, but it is away from Sam and Starbuck hopes that will keep him safe.

Separated from his friend, Sam’s lonely journey continues.  Glimmers of hope appear around some of the bends, while shadows of evil slip through at others. Sam is on a quest, one that threatens his very life.  It seems he has no choice but to follow the path before him.  There is no running from destiny and by the end of the book I had a inkling of what that destiny might be. There is evil magic abroad and an old danger is gathering strength.  It seems that Sam and Starback have an important part to play in this unfolding battle.

I have much more to learn about magic, dragons, Flaxfield, Flaxfold, Tamrin and Ash and I can’t wait!  Dragonborn is the first of four books.  I am eager to read them all.  I had many questions as I read.  It was challenging to keep the characters and the action straight. Jot some notes. They may help you understand the sides and that’s important.  I found myself rereading large sections of the book to make sure I understood how the pieces fit together.  This is a complex book – one to read and read again and enjoy.

Hold Fast

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves ,

Hold FastBlue Balliett

What is the dream you keep in your heart? What is the rhythm that makes your heart sing?

It may not be fancy, but it certainly feels just right.  Early Pearl is part of a family of four.  There’s Dashel her dad, Summer, her mom and Jubilation (Jubie for short), her younger brother.  Together they are Dashsumearlyjubie, a celebration of rhythm and caretakers of words.  In the Pearl family words are “for choosing, admiring, keeping, giving.  They are treasures of inestimable value.”  The family has a notebook for interesting words – recorded by origin and definition and another for important quotes worth remembering.

Together the four Pearls fit snuggly into their Woodlawn apartment.  They dream one day of having a house – a dream similar to those kept by Langston Hughes.   Their ordinary, yet joyful life skids and crashes to a stop when Dash’s bike is found crumpled in the street, groceries strewn across the snowy sidewalk, but no man.  He has disappeared – but how and why.  Is he gone?  Did he just decide to leave?

Without Dash there is no rhythm in their lives.  They are four Pearls.  How can they become three?  And as if losing Dash isn’t enough, thugs come into their home taking everything of value and smashing all they leave.  They even take the family books of words and quotes.  Nothing is right.  There is no beat.  The Pearls can’t seem to find their rhythm.  As they are plunged into the homeless shelter system of Chicago they find it harder and harder to hold onto their dreams.  Nothing works – in fact it seems as though the rules are set up to keep the Pearls from getting the help they need to make changes in their lives – to keep dreams alive. “’I’m sorry, baby,’ Summer says to Early after a few days in the shelter.  ‘It’ll feel refreshing to get to school tomorrow, and if you can just keep an eye on Jubie for a few more hours, that’ll be the best help ever.’  Early nodded numbly.  She thought of all the fun things they’d had at home – Play-Doh, paints and crayons, paper, toys…and, of course books.  They’d gone on trips to the local library, sometimes twice a week.  Made cookies with Sum.  Had blocks and Legos to build with.  It had all felt normal then, but so much choice now seemed a luxury.”

While reading this book I also reread the collections of Langston Hughes poems – Dream Keepers and other poems and Love to Langston.  I started thinking more about words and rhythms.  I paused to consider all we have that goes unnoticed.  People are amazingly strong – but how much easier our lives would be if we all remembered kindness.  The mystery of this book may not be as compelling as those in Blue Balliett’s other books but I loved the flow of the story from the “click” through the “crash, cling and clutch” and on to the “chase, catch and cast.”  What dream do you hold on to?  How do you honor the dreams of those around you?

The Spindlers

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

The Spindlersby Lauren Oliver

a intermediate adventure with an eerie twist

The first thing I noticed when I opened The Spindlers was the dedication:  To Patrick, of course –  And to my sister, who has rescued me many times from the dark, and for whom I would gladly go Below.  Hmm… I thought as I began to read…  “One night when Liza went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and pancake loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and the next morning , when she woke up, he was not.”

A few sentences later I read:  The fake-Patrick picked up his spoon and gave Liza a look that chilled her to her very center.  Then the fake-Patrick began to eat his cereal, methodically, slowly, fishing all the alphabet letters out of his Alpha-Bits one by one and lining them up along the rim of his bowl.  … I-H-A-T-E-Y-O-U.

Patrick was somehow both there, and totally gone.  Because of this, their parents see no reason to notice.  They are caught up with  the search for missing reading glasses and the endless cycle of working hard and worrying about paying bills on time.  If Patrick is to be saved, it is totally up to Liza.  She knew there were worlds beyond and below.  She’d heard the stories, and though she hadn’t been sure they were true, she wondered now that Patrick was gone.  Had his soul been stolen by the Spindlers.  Though he was a pain, he was her brother.  He was her friend and it seemed to Liza that she must try to find and save him if at all possible.  And so she went looking.  She discovered more than she had ever dreamed of and she had the courage to go Below.  That is how she met Mirabella, the mascaraed rat, learned of the lumer-lumpen, discovered the seeds of hope and found the truths that come to you in your dreams.

Liza is off on a challenging quest in a land that is totally unique and far from kind – and yet it is just down the stairs and a bit below from where you are reading right now.  Will you dare to go?   Will your courage hold ?  Once you’ve made your decision you’ll have a great tale to tell…if you return.

A Tangle of Knots

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves

A Tangle of Knotsby Lisa Graff

an intermediate, middle grade delight

Which cake is your perfect match? – let us know.

There’s something special about A Tangle of Knots.  It’s not just the bit of magic that surrounds the people in the story or the questions they seek to answer.  It has to do with the connections that bind them – even though they don’t know each other yet.

The story begins 53 years before the main action of the book when Mason gets on a bus north.  He carries with him a small blue suitcase – a light blue, boxy, three-dimpled St. Anthony’s suitcase.  It contains a single piece of paper defining his future and his fortune.  While waiting for the bus Mason meets a tall man – a man with a talent for knot tying.  In fact, it is this man’s Talent.  You see, most everyone in this place has a special Talent.  Here’s some of what the man says about his:

Could have been blessed with a Talent for finance or medicine.  Even a log-splitting Talent might have done me some good.  But no, I find myself with knot tying.

Well, the only knot I’ve mastered is the one to tie my shoelaces,” Mason admitted.  He couldn’t help it; he liked the odd fellow.  “Every other knot just looks like a tangled mess to me.”

The man in the gray suit thought about that.  “Well, that’s the thing about knots, isn’t it?” he replied after a moment.  “If you don’t know the trick, it’s a muddled predicament.  But in fact each loop of every knot is carefully placed, one end twisting right into the other in a way you might not have expected.  I find them rather beautiful, really.”

His description of a well-done knot is just exactly how Lisa Graff writes her story weaving the lives of Cady, Toby, Marigold, Will, V, Zane, Mrs. Archer and Miss Mallory together with each surprising and satisfying twist.  Will Cady find a way to make another perfect cake?  Will Will be found in time?  What is the secret ingredient that makes each family a uniquely satisfying combination?  Is it fate?  Is it destiny?  It is the unexpected twist in an unnamed knot?

A Tangle of Knots is a satisfying puzzle that will keep you wondering right through to the end.  You may discover your perfect cake along the way, but even if none of Cady’s recipes appeal to you, her story and the writing you’re about discover certainly will.  Like all of this author’s books, A Tangle of Knots is sure to please.

Wild Boy

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves, informational

Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyronby Mary Losure

a piece of history we should all try to know better and understand

This book tells the incredible story of this historical boy – why was he there, how could he survive, what did he wish?  Reading Mary Losure’s, Wild Boy – the Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron helped me answer these questions and then think of more.  The book is incredibly well researched (look here) and beautifully written to tell the story of a life. Where gaps exist in the record, Mary Losure does a masterful job of putting the pieces together so readers have a complete understanding of what this wild boy must have seen and felt during his exposure to the civilized world.  One he must surely have been cast aside from.

As you read you have to wonder about what people and life was like at the turn of the 18th century.  Curious, fearful, scientific, superstitious – whatever combination was  held, the wild boy was captured repeatedly and watched.  He was transported halfway across the country of France in the name of science. But it was through this name, that his humanity was oft times forgotten. (It does seem that we tend to destroy a lot of things in this name.)

As the story unfolds we are able to see Victor grow and change.  We are able to learn as he learns.  We are able to see how he is seen and treated over the course of his lifetime.  And, if we choose, we are able to look inside and ask ourselves what is kind and just. Do we take the time to accept and understand the differences in people around each day?  Do we take time to appreciate our gifts – the warmth of the sun, the cool of the breeze, the music of rain?  Sometimes this book is troubling and sad.

After dinner, both boys and girls were let out to play in separate parts of the garden.  When he saw the other children the wild boy ran and hid.

Sometimes he crouched in the Institute’s attic behind a pile of old building materials.

But when rain pattered on the roof and everyone else went inside, the wild boy often crept into the garden, to the tiny, formal reflecting pond that sat among the flower beds.  He would circle the pond several times, then sit by it’s edge and rock himself back and forth as the rain dimpled the surface of the pond.  He’d gaze into the water, toss in a handful of dead leaves, and watch them drift.

But it is also full of hope, endurance, friendship and care. This book immerses you in the growing story of Victor’s life as he changes from boy to man.  Though he find a place, he is always kept on the outside, and never fully recognized as human by society.

That was then, but this is now. Could this story happen today?  Wild Boy – the Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron will make you question just how civilized our world really is.  Have we changed? When you consider the contemporary story, The Dogs in Winter by Bobbie Pyron you’ll have to say, “no” or “not much.”   Mary Losure does a wonderful job sharing and highlighting the incredible strength of human spirit and the importance fleeting glimmers of kindness have in a person’s life.

Read Wild Boy – the Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron and wonder.

Timmy Failure – Mistakes Were Made

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves ,

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Madeby Stephen Pastis

it’s a book I wanted to leave until I thought about it

I am looking forward to finding out what reception is receives in my classroom – thinking it should be in grades 4, 5 and 6

I chose to read this book because it seemed like one my students would like – highly illustrated text, a comic/graphic novel feel.  Timmy Failure (used to be spelled Fayleure) runs a detective agency in and around his boring obligation – school.  Total, his sort-of-pet-found-wandering-around-searching-for-an-iceberg polar bear is his sidekick.  Timmy’s cases don’t go well to begin with.  Total doesn’t make them any better.

Timmy’s friend, Rollo Tookus would definitely make a great sidekick (if not lead detective).  Timmy dismisses his suggestions as foolish though.  After all who would ever want to take the advice of somebody who thinks, studies and takes his GPA seriously.  Timmy is adored by Molly Moskins,  though as with most things, Timmy hasn’t a clue.  Then, of course, there is the girl whose face is obscured from the reader.  She is Timmy’s arch rival and detective competition. She is into school as much as Rollo and rich enough to get what she wants – and because of this  she solves cases faster than Timmy – at least that is what he believes.

Timmy means well for certain, but his intentions and his actions don’t match very often (that is to say, “never.)”  Are you starting to get the picture about Failure Detective Agency?  At first I thought Timmy Failure was too silly, but the more I read the more I realized he has a lot offer his readers.  What happens when things aren’t going so well for your mom?  What happens when you do things you know you shouldn’t  and one thing leads to another and to another and to another and…  Timmy Failure will make you nod in recognition – we’ve all been in that place when things aren’t really working out no matter what we try.  Maybe you’ll laugh or maybe you’ll  think about what it’s like to have bad luck while you’re trying to achieve greatness.  Should you give up?  I don’t think so.  Most things aren’t what they seem – any detective can tell you that.  But you know… mistakes are made.

Odette’s Secrets

Mrs. Eaves by Mrs. Eaves ,

Odette's Secretsby Maryann Macdonald

a middle reader must!

Odette’s Secrets begins “I live in Paris…but it is about the change…soldiers march, their legs and arms straight as sticks.  A funny looking man with a mustache shouts a speech.  His name is Hitler.  What are these soldiers?  Why do they move like machines?”  For Jews in Nazi-occupied Paris, nowhere is safe. So when Odette Meyer’s father, an enlisted soldier in the French Army, is sent to a Nazi work camp, Odette’s mother takes measures to protect her.  With the help of her godmother, Madame Marie, and Monsieur Henri Odette is sent deep into the French countryside. There she pretends to be a peasant girl attending Catholic masses with other children. On the outside she is like all the other children.  On the inside, Odette is burning with secrets and questions.  When the war ends Odette must figure out how she can go back to her old life in Paris.  It’s not easy when even the things that are the same –  Mama and Papa, the bed, even the pots and pans – have a totally different feel and understanding.  Secrets are never fully shared even when they are told, especially the secrets that were used for solving problems.

Inspired by the life of the real Odette Meyer, this beautifully flowing free-verse novel is a story of triumph over adversity.  Maryann Macdonald began this project as a biography.  In her author’s note she explains that as she wrote, Odette’s story needed to be told through her feelings and emotion.  Odette needed to speak to us, and through Macdonald, she does.  Her questions and fears, her confusion and understanding, her joy and devastation are artfully shared as her secrets are revealed.  Odette’s Secrets is an astonishing story of determination and care.  The story of how one person was connected to so many others offers a full picture into life at the time – and how life forever after would be changed.  Odette’s Secret is a book to read and read again.

Here’s a link to another blog review with an interview of the author. It’s interesting to know how she came upon this story.