Hope Was Here

Plot Summary

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer is a Newbery Honor Book that tells the story of sixteen-year-old Hope. Hope who lives with her aunt is about to embark on a new adventure. Both Hope and her aunt move from Brooklyn, New York to Mulhoney, Wisconsin where they will work in a diner. Her aunt has accepted the position of managing the diner. In the story they become involved with diner owner's political campaign. Hope becomes a terrific waitress and falls in love with a boy from the diner. Throughout the story Hope finds a voice, love, and a father. I thought this book was wonderful. It is a beautiful story about perseverance, abandonment, love and loss, and hope. This is a great book for young teens. I think this book would be great for a book talk and also to discuss important themes such as families, challenges and triumphs, the individual vs. society, and friends.

Reviews
" Joan Bauer, who won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Rules of the Road, has served up a delicious novel in Hope was Here, full of delectable characters, tasty wit, and deep-dish truth. ( Ages 12 and older)- Patty Campbell, Publisher's Weekly

"Like Bauer's other heroines, Hope is a typical teenage girl who works hard, excels at her part-time job, and plans for her future. The adults around her, though mostly one-dimensional, together create a microcosm of society--the best and the worst of a teenager's support system. It's Bauer's humor that supplies, in Addie's cooking vernacular, the yeast that makes the story rise above the rest, reinforcing the substantive issues of honesty, humanity, and the importance of political activism. Serve this up to teens--with a dash of hope.- Frances Bradburn, Booklist

Take me out of the bathtub and other silly dilly songs

Plot Summary

Take me out of the bathtub and other silly dilly songs by Alan Katz is a book of poems that match the rhymes of familiar song tunes such as " Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and " Take Me Out to the Ballgame". The poems are amusing and the spirited watercolor illustrations compliment the poems in a very " silly dilly" way. I found this book to be hilarious and very entertaining. I think this would be a great book for a music teacher to use and definitely for a read aloud in a library setting. Young children will love it! This book will be requested over and over!

Reviews
" These new and wacky versions of old and familiar songs will provide hours of musical fun at home and in the classroom." - Children's Literature, 2001

" There's something here to tickle most funny bones."- Jane Marino, School Library Journal

Babymouse: Heartbreaker

Plot Summary

BabyMouse: Heartbreaker by Jennifer L. Holm is the fifth book in the Babymouse graphic novel series. In this book young Babymouse is daydreaming about Valentine's Day and the upcoming school dance. As the school days go by no one has bother asking Babymouse to go to the dance. She comes up with a detailed plan to get a date for the dance. Despite all her attempts to get a date she ends up going to the dance by herself. To her surprise she finds someone who is interested in her at the dance.

I found this book to be very amusing and I really enjoyed all the illustrations. It's a fun book that I think would appeal to all ages. This book would be great for a read aloud and also to introduce graphic novels in a library setting.

Reviews
" Move over Superman, here comes Babymouse!" - The Chicago Sun-Times

" Graphic novels for the early elementary set are rare, and this humorous and adventurous series will be snapped up."- The Bulletin

" Sassy, smart...Babymouse is here to stay."- The Horn Book Magazine

Twisted Summer

Plot Summary

Twisted Summer by Willow Davis is about a girl named Cici and how she spends her summer at Crystal Lake. Cici is going on fifteen years and is hoping to have a great summer with the older kids. When Cici and her family arrive at the lake they discover that there was a murder of a young girl. They find out that a boy named Brody who is two years older than Cici's brother had been convicted and sent to jail. Cici cannot believe that Brody commited the crime so she tries to discover what really happened. Cici later finds out that she will be in great danger if she continues her investigation.
I thought this book was very intriguing and really enjoyed it. I think young readers will find this book appealing. I think this would be a great book to use for a mystery unit and also to read aloud in a library setting.

Reviews
" Cic's first-person narrative enhances the realistic characterizations, and although the ending is a bit formulaic, it's still a surprise. A charming mystery for readers who like Nancy Drew." - Karen Simonetti, Booklist

" This is a well-crafted, sophisticated story that conveys Cici's conflicting feelings as her hopes for a romantic summer turn sour." - Connie Tyrrell Burns, School Library Journal

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The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts

Plot Summary

The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck is a story about fifteen-year-old Russell who lives in rural Indiana in 1904. He dreams of quitting school and joining a wheat threshing crew. Instead his dreams are put on hold when his teacher passes away and his older sister Tansy takes over the teaching at his one-room schoolhouse. Russell and his schoolmates try their best to ruin the school. With his sister in charge, Russell realizes that he can't get away with anything.

I thought this book was great! It has great writing, characterization, and pacing. Peck definitely knows how to tell a story. This would be a great book for a read aloud in a library setting. It is also a great book to compare and contrast the past with the present. This books describes many of the early 1900's inventions.

Reviews
" Following the tradition of Mark Twain, Peck gently pokes fun at social manners and captures local color while providing first-rate entertainment. Ages 10-up." -Publishers Weekly

" The best thing about Richard Peck's funny stories is the way he lets his characters slowly come to realize something about a person in their lives, and learn something about themselves as a result. With such delightful characters keeping him company. Peck surely must have enjoyed writing The Teacher's Funeral." -Charlotte Observer

Gregor the Overlander

Plot Summary

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins is the first book of a popular fantasy series called the " The Underland Chronicle". This book is about a young boy named Gregor and his baby sister who accidentally discover a hidden world under the streets of New York City after they fall down a hole. The hole they fall through is located in the basement of their apartment building. They find themselves in a fantasy world populated by rats, bats, cockroaches, and spiders. There are also fair-skinned humans with purple eyes that ride on bats and live in this fantastic underground city. In this story the humans and other creatures are almost at war with the rats. There is an ancient prophecy that tells the people that a hero will come to save them. When Gregor appears the people believe it's him. Gregor does not want any part of it but he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. So unwillingly Gregor goes on a dangerous adventure that changes both him and the Underland forever.

I thought this was a very exciting book with fun characters. I think in a library setting it would be great for a book talk and also to introduce the elements that are found in a fantasy.

Reviews
"This is an engrossing adventure for fantasy fans and for those new to the genre." Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library

" A refreshing combination of sensitive characters, innovative devices, and an unusual setting make this an appealing purchase for younger fantasy fans." Voya, 2003

Clementine

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker is a delightful and amusing chapter book. This book is about Clementine who is a third grader who is always out to do good but instead finds herself in trouble. The book starts out with Clementine trying to help her best friend Margaret cut her hair after getting glue in it. Clementine then gets in trouble with the principal, her parents, and Margaret's mother for making a mess of Margaret's hair. Throughout the same week Clementine continues to get into trouble and she has convinced herself that her parents want to get rid of her.

Clementine eventually helps her parents solve a problem and she patches things up with Margaret and her mother. I found this chapter book to be so funny and engaging. I was amused by the illustrations by Marla Frazee, they really do capture the energy and facial expressions of Clementine. I know this would be a great chapter book to use for a read aloud in a library setting.

" This engaging chapter book is well suited to reading alone or reading aloud to a roomful of children." - Carolyn Phelan, American Library Association

" A delightful addition to any beginning chapter-book collection." - Cheryl Ashton, Amerherst Public Library, OH