A Blind Guide to Stinkville by Beth Vrabel

Title: A Blind Guide to Stinkville

Author: Beth Vrabel

Pages: 246

Finished: April 3, 2018

First Sentence: Even I could see that Tooter was no seeing-eye dog.

Summary: Alice has just moved to Sinkville, North Carolina. Things are not going well. Her mother suffers from depression, her dad spends all his time at work, her brother leaves her at the library every day, and Alice herself has to find her way around town where she clearly sticks out being both blind and an albino. But she decides to prove to everyone just how much she can take care of herself by entering the Sinkville success contest.

Thoughts: Much more charming than I thought it would be. Enough that I wanted to keep reading. Of course, it's your standard outcast kid finds outcast stories and ends up being the underdog who learns more than everyone else. But cute enough story. 

Dash by Kirby Larson

Title: Dash

Author: Kirby Larson

Pages: 243

Finished: March 7, 2018

First Sentence: Mitsi Kashino packed her sketch pad, her binder, and her worry in her book bag. 

Summary: Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Mitsi, her family, and her fellow Japanese Americans are rounded up and moved to interment camps. Her dog, Dash, unfortunately cannot come with her, and Mitsi must navigate the camps and her emotions without his help.

Thoughts: Book itself is great for reminding American kids that America is not always infallible. Brings awareness to the fact that just because bad people do bad things doesn't mean that everyone of that nationality (or religion) is a bad person.

Read for Bluestem Challenge.

The House that Jane Built by Tanya Lee Stone

Lovely little non-fiction picture book about Jane Addams and her work founding Hull House in Chicago.

I did a report on Jane Addams in middle school, but I honestly don't remember much of anything from it. She was a remarkable lady. Nice bit of Chicago history.

Stick Dog by Tom Watson

Title: Stick Dog

Author: Tom Watson

Pages: 189

Finished: February 3, 2018

First Sentence: This is Stick Dog.

Summary: Stick Dog loves food. Stick Dog is also very smart. His friends also love food, but they are not so smart. This is the story about how they all get hamburgers.

Thoughts: Silly book. Quick read. Lots of pictures. Definitely a great recommendation for reluctant readers who see lots of words on a page and freak out. 

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

Title: Save Me a Seat

Authors: Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

Pages: 216

Finished: January 31, 2018

First Sentence: Most people in America cannot pronounce my name.

Summary: Ravi, top of his class and most popular boy at school in his hometown in India, is starting school in America. Confident that he'll maintain that position here in America, he soon finds over the course of his first week that things are very different in American schools.

Meanwhile, Joe navigates the first week of school trying very hard to not get noticed by the class bullies and failing miserably.

Thoughts: I really liked the construct of the book being told over the course of a week. For elementary school, the course of a week is a very long time. Book itself wasn't anything super special. As usual, I found myself infuriated at the failure of the adults in the story. I get why kids books get the adults out of the way so fast, but it always bugs me.

Read for my Bluestem challenge.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar

Title: Fuzzy Mud

Author: Louis Sachar

Pages: 192

Finished: December 27, 2017

First Sentence: Woodridge Academy, a private school in Heath Cliff, Pennsylvania, had once been the home of William Heath, after whom the town had been named.

Summary: To avoid a fight with the school bully, Marshall and Tamaya cut through the woods by the school. Sadly, it doesn't work and Chad finds them. Tamaya throws some "fuzzy mud" in his face in order to escape. The next day, she discovers a rash upon her arm from where the mud touched her. Turns out, the mud isn't quite mud and a full blown epidemic is about to descend on the town of Heath Cliff.

Thoughts: Interesting read. Or listen really. Most of the story took place over the course of about 24 hours, which I thought was really interesting. The main story was interspersed with transcripts of hearings re: the happenings. It really made the experience all the more horrifying. In general, the bits about the school happenings were the most boring, but that's because I'm a 30 year old adult who's been out of school for quite a while now. This book read for Bluestem and Caudill Challenges.

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Title: Book Scavenger

Author: Jennifer Chambliss Bergman

Pages: 343

Finished: November 12, 2017

First Sentence: Garrison Griswold whistled his way down Market Street, silver hair bobbing atop his head like a pigeon wing.

Summary: Emily is obsessed with the online game Book Scavenger - a game where people hide books and others hunt them down. Think Letterbox and Geocaching with books as the prize. Book Scavenger has been her constant friend while her family movies around from state to state. And now, they've moved to San Fransisco, home of Garrison Griswold, the founder of Book Scavenger. Only Griswold has been shot and Emily finds a book that might be the start of a new game. A game people will kill for.

Thoughts: Middle grade fiction perfect for kids who like treasure hunts and suspense. Repetitive and boring as an adult reading all the Caudills and Bluestems.

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Title: Among the Hidden

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Pages: 153

Finished: November 5, 2017

First Sentence: He saw the first tree shudder and fall, far off in the distance.

Summary: Somewhere in the supposed future (that feels more like now or even a little earlier) Luke lives in his parents' attic. He's a third child. Illegal due to current laws that limit how many kids a family can have. He lives a life of monotony until one day, he sees a face in a house across the way. A face behind a curtain. Taking a chance, Luke sneaks over to find another Shadow Child, and his live changes forever.

Thoughts: I like Haddix a lot, but I found this fairly dull. I know it was set up, but little about it made me want to read more. Look! Dystopia of a government completely overstepping their bounds. However, I'm betting kids primarily 4th grade and up would really enjoy this. Read for my Bluestem Challenge.

November Reads

The Lost Princess of Oz by L Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz Challenge
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - Back to the Classics
Among the Hidden by Margaret Petersen Haddix - Bluestem Challenge
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman - Bluestem/Caudill Challenge
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai - Caudill Challenge
Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre - Caudill Challenge (Not Pictured)
Parenting Beyond Belief edited by Dale McGowan
Once Upon a Summer Day by Dennis McKiernan

This is a bit ambitious. Absolutely, positively, I want to read the Oz book, Parenting book, and the Summer Day book this month. I also want to read Last in a Long Line of Rebels since I was supposed to read it last month. Book Scavenger counts as both a bluestem and a caudill which helps things immensely. Listen, Slowly is in verse which means it'll go fairly quickly as well. (Listen, Slowly is not in verse. I assumed it was in verse because the author's last book was in verse.) While I'd LOVE to finish Old Curiosity Shop this month, I'm not too worried about it because I'll be reading an Austen book to finish the challenge up in December. That'll take maybe a week, so if Dickens goes long, I can take the time. I'm currently working through Last in a Long Line of Rebels. Once I finish that, I think I'm going to go back to my pattern of Adult Books during the week and Kid Books during the weekend so that if I get stuck on something, I don't waste my time not reading. 

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Title: 11 Birthdays

Author: Wendy Mass

Pages: 267

Finished: October 17, 2017

First Sentence: The oddest thing about Angelina D'Angelo was that no one could remember a time when she didn't live in Willow Falls.

Summary: Amanda and Leo were best friends. The did everything together including celebrating their birthdays. But on their 10th birthday, Leo said something unforgivable, and he and Amanda have been fighting ever since. She's relieved when her 11th birthday is finally over, until she wakes up the next day and has to relive it.

Thoughts: Groundhog Day meets middle grade fiction. Sweet enough story. Typical fifth grade life events with the addition of the magic/scifi element. Quick read. Not really my wheelhouse though.

Read for Bluestem Challenge.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Author: Grace Lin

Pages: 278

Finished: October 15, 2017

First Sentence: Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal.

Summary: Minli lives with her mother and father in a little gray village in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain. They have little to eat and hardly any money to spake of, a fact that causes her mother no end of grief. Minli's father, however, tells stories that seem to sustain Minli. In an effort to change their fortune, Minli decides to find the Old Man in the Moon. On the way she has many adventures and learns many more stories.

Thoughts: I think this definitely counts as a frame story. The frame being Minli's journey. I really enjoyed this. I was also surprised at how little I remembered from reading this a couple years ago. I don't know my Asian folktales as well as I do my western European tales. Grace Lin adjusted the tales for her own purpose in the book, but she also added a bibliography for those who wish to read more.

I really like books with female protagonists. Particularly ones as lovely as Minli. Definitely a great role model for young girls reading this book.

Book read for Bluestem Challenge

October Reads

Rinkitink in Oz by L Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz
I Am Princess X by Arthur A. Levine - Caudill Challenge
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin - Bluestem Challenge
Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass - Bluestem Challenge
Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis McKiernan - Retelling Challenge
Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Nancy Paulsen - Caudill Challenge
The Once and Future King by T H White - Back to the Classics

This is a significantly easier month for me. I was supposed to read the Caudills and Bluestems last month, but that obviously didn't happen. Once and Future King might take some time. My goal is to finish it by mid-month which means averaging 45 pages a day. I already started The Once and Future King. It's so much funnier than I remember.

September Reads

The Bear and the Nightingale - Retellings Challenge
The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud (Not Pictured)
Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass - Bluestem Challenge
The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud (Not Pictured)
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie - Personal Reading Challenge
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne - Back to the Classics Challenge
I Am Princess X by Arthur A. Levine - Caudill Challenge

Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Nancy Paulsen - Caudill Challenge

The Odyssey by Homer - Back to the Classics Challenge
The Scarecrow of Oz by L Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz Challenge
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin - Bluestem Challenge

Another very ambitious list. I looked at the calendar and realized many challenges are coming to an end soon. I have until February of 2018 for the Bluestem and Caudill challenges, so I'm pushing those books to the end of the month. The Stroud books aren't part of any challenge, but the fifth (and hopefully final) book comes out this month. I didn't read book four because I wanted to wait for this last one. I'm really excited for the book I picked for my personal challenge, and the book on my retellings challenge.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

Title: Roller Girl

Author: Victoria Jamieson

Pages: 240

Finished: August 5, 2017

Summary: Astrid discovers Roller Derby and decides she and her best friend HAVE to sign up for Roller Derby camp this summer. Sadly, she and her best friend have a falling out, and it turns out she's really not that good at roller skating. She spends the novel trying to figure out her own identity.

Thoughts: I really liked how the kids acted their age. They're fifth graders going into sixth grade, and they felt like that in this book. I really liked the idea of roller derby too. Such a neat sounding sport. A solid middle grade graphic novel similar to Raina Telgemeir's work.

Three Bluestems

Crossing Niagara by Matt Tavares

This is a non-fiction picture book talking about the Great Blondin crossing the tightrope across the Niagara Falls. Would be really fun to read to Kindergartiners through second grade probably. Full of terrifying tricks to make an adult's stomach drop at the thought of doing them!

Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh

I really appreciated this book. Separate is Never Equal is a nonfiction picture book about the Mendez vs the Board of Education case in the 1940s to desegregate schools in the California area for primarily Latinx families. I had never heard of this fight for desegregation. I thought this book laid it out nicely for early elementary children, and the author's note at the end gave more information that could be used as an jumping off point for more information. 

The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea by Brenda Z Guiberson

This non-fiction picture book posits the question what is the most amazing creature in the sea, then procedes to talk about various candidates. The various creatures range from really neat to absolutely disgusting, to terrifying. Definitely a fun read for early elementary school.

August Reads

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Back to the Classics (Not Pictured)
Crossing Niagara by Matt Tavares - Bluestem 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Back to the Classics

The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea by Brenda Z Guiberson - Bluestem

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The Odyssey by Homer - Back to the Classics

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - For Work

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson - Bluestem & Caudill

Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh - Bluestem

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - Personal Challenge Quit Book

Tik-Tok of Oz by L Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz 

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier - Retellings

Slade House by David Mitchell - Personal Challenge

Three of these are picture books and will probably be reviewed in one entry. One is a graphic novel. One was thrust upon me when I got to work today and has to be read by August 21st. So twelve but really eight or nine. So not so bad.

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick

Title: Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

Author: Judd Winick

Pages: 193

Finished: July 22, 2017

First Sentence: AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Summary: (from Goodreads) D.J. and his friend Gina are totally normal kids. But that was before a mysterious boy came crashing down from the sky! Hilo doesn’t know where he came from, or what he’s doing on Earth. (Or why going to school in only your underwear is a bad idea!) . . . But what if Hilo wasn’t the only thing to fall to our planet? Can the trio unlock the secrets of his past? Can Hilo survive a day at school? And are D.J. and Gina ready to save the world?

Thoughts: As an adult, I thought it was cute. If I were a 3rd grader, I would have loved this!

Who Was Louis Braille? by Martha Frith

Title: Who Was Louis Braille?

Author: Margaret Frith

Pages:112

Finished: July 8, 2017

First Sentence: When Louis Braille was three years old, he had a terrible accident that left him blind.

Summary: This slim volume in the Who Was series follows the life of Louis Braille and how he developed the Braille writing system for those who are blind.

Thoughts: I help kids find books in this series daily, yet this is the first time I've read one of the books. I was pleasantly surprised. The information is solid, but simple enough for third and fourth graders to enjoy. The book reads like a story, so it remains interesting enough for younger kids. Definitely a great addition to elementary non-fiction literature.

Read for my Bluestem Challenge

July Reads

1. Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner - Retellings Challenge
2. Who was Louis Braille by Margaret Frith - Bluestem Challenge
3. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier - Retellings Challenge
4. House Arrest by K. A. Holt - Caudill Challenge
5. Hilo: The Boy who Crashed to Earth by Judi Winick - Bluestem Challenge
6. Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton - Caudill Challenge
7. The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
8. The Odyssey by Homer - Back to the Classics Challenge
9. The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz Challenge
10. Catch - 22 by Joseph Heller - Back to the Classics Challenge

Ahahahahah! Look at that stack of books! It's enormous, and there is no way I'm reading it in a month. Focus is on the Bluestems and Caudills, the Oz book, Catch-22, and Thomas the Rhymer. You'll notice I picked two slim novels for the Bluestems, and the Caudill titled House Arrest is in verse.

I am also reading Miracle Morning in the mornings. It's a book I picked up for personal development, and while it reads like a sales pitch, some of the ideas are great. So I'm going to continue reading that in the morning as one of the parts to my morning routine. Once I finish that (which should take the week), I'm going to plug The Odyssey in there instead. I expect this to be a 9 week endeavor.

The Marillier was a can't help myself. I've always seen it categorized as an adult novel, but my library has it set as a Teen novel. I'm counting it for my Retelling Challenge regardless.

ALSO, there's an 11th book that will probably end up on this list. I'm continuing a children's series called the Lockwood and Company series. I have book three on hold and will probably push all reading aside to finish it because the books are mild horror books and therefore have to be read as quickly as possible so I don't get too freaked out.

And now off to the reading!

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Title: The Wild Robot

Author: Peter Brown

Pages: 269

Finished: June 19, 2017

First Sentence: Our story begins on the ocean, with wind and rain and thunder and lightning and waves.

Summary: When a storm sweeps a number of boxes off a cargo ship, one lands safely on an island. This crate contains a Rozzum unit. Curious otters accidentally turn the robot on, and we get to meet Roz. Roz finds herself alone on an island full of mistrusting animals. It takes a while, but she eventually wins them over as she adopts an orphan gosling and keeps as many animals alive as possible.

Thoughts: I liked this more than I expected. A great work of speculative fiction for middle grades set in an undetermined future when the oceans have risen and humans use robots for many tasks. Roz is a lovely character who seems to learn quite a bit over time. Overall I loved the story. I wasn't a fan of the stylistic choice to make the chapters so short. Otherwise, I would recommend this to just about any middle grade kid. Read for the Bluestem challenge.