Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea

Title: Because of Mr. Terupt
Author: Rob Buyea
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Year: 2010
Pages: 288
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: Friendship, School, Acceptance, Dealing with Tragedy, Forgiveness
Age Range: 3rd through 8th Grade

Summary:
Seven students in Mr. Terupt's fifth grade class narrate this story about the power that one special teacher can have on the lives of their students. Told in alternating perspectives, this book follows the students in Room 202 through a school year that changed them all. Mr. Terupt is the best teacher any of them has had, a teacher who sees his students for who they really are, despite the masks they put on to hide their fears, insecurities, and family tragedies. When Mr. Terupt is gravely injured in a freak accident on the playground, his students learn the true meaning of taking responsibility and forgiveness.

Review:

I realize I am late to this party, but this book! I basically read it in one sitting, and I gave it a very rare five star review on Goodreads. As a teacher, I'm a sucker for inspirational teacher stories. Especially in the current school reform climate, I need as many reminders as possible as to why I chose this profession. To be honest, I feel like this profession chose me, and while I wouldn't say that I am quite as special as the fictional Mr. Terupt, I try my best every day to be as special as possible. Mr. Terupt's ability to see through the attitudes and behaviors of his students into the very things that made them tick is a gift that not all teacher have.

I was concerned that seven shifting perspectives might be too disjointed, but each student narrator is so perfectly written that I didn't even have to look at the name on the first page of each chapter to know who was speaking. I've been an educator for over twenty years, and in that time I have known students EXACTLY like the fictional students in this book. The brainiacs, the popular girls, the bookworms, the jokesters, and the kids who pretend not to care-I've dealt with them all. Any child who picks up this book is going to see themselves in at least one of the characters-I certainly did (Jessica, in case you're wondering). I can't imagine any student reading this book that won't get swept up in the emotions of it-these kids articulate common childhood feelings and experiences in a way that may help the children who read it figure out how to explain their own truths.

I've had a few days where I ended up crying at my desk over the year, and usually those were the bad days, the sad days. Today, as I closed the cover on the last page of Because of Mr. Terupt, I had tears streaming down my face for the best of reasons-because a book so moved me that I was swept away, not just reading a story, but living it.

Teacher Resources:

Bookrags Novel Unit
Kids Wings Activities
Discussion Questions from Conversation Pieces

Sisters, Raina Telgemeier

Title:  Sisters
Author: Raina Telgemeier
Publisher: Graphix
Year: 2014
Pages: 200
Genre: Memoir, Graphic Novel
Themes:  Sisters, Divorce
Age Range: 4th-8th Grade

Summary:
Raina begged her parents for a sister.  She couldn't wait to have someone to share her favorite activities and deepest secrets with.  But when her sister Amara is born, Raina doesn't exactly get what she was hoping for.  Amara is a grouchy, cranky baby, and her mood doesn't really improve the older she gets.  When her mother announces that she and the girls will be driving cross-country for a family reunion, Raina is less than enthused.  Being stuck in a car with her siblings for days at a time doesn't seem to improve their relationship, and there is something strange going on between her mom and dad.  But when a roadside emergency causes both girls to put aside their petty concerns, they find that while they might not always get along, they always have each other's back.

Review:
This third book in the series of graphic novel memoirs by Raina Telgemeier lacks some of the scope and emotional impact of her other books, but it is still a story that many children can relate to.  I think most of us with siblings have had moments when we wonder if being an only child might not be preferable to living in a house with someone who seems to know how to push every last one of our buttons.

A lot of this book is about Raina coming to terms with the fact that the reality of her sister does not match her expectations.  Raina gets a taste of what it must be like to be the younger sibling when her older cousin, who she was looking forward to spending lots of time with at the reunion, suddenly doesn't have time for her.  Raina is in that awkward 'tween phase in this book, and as someone who successfully passed through it myself many years ago, I could easily put myself back in that place of uncomfortable uncertainty, holding on to the things from your childhood that you love, while trying to be more grown-up than you really were.  I think students who are in that stage themselves, or are soon to be, will feel a strong connection to Raina's character.  Some may see themselves in Amara's character as well, though since she is not the narrator we don't get quite as much insight into her own feelings about her place in the family.

The fact that Raina's parents are having problems becomes more clear as the story progresses, and I know that this is an experience that many children will experience sometime in their childhood.  While the parents' relationship issues are not resolved within the scope of the story, the subplot adds a layer of tension that increases the emotional intensity of the story, if only slightly.  And if all of this sounds like pretty heavy stuff, have no fear.  Telgemeier uses her rather dry sense of humor to lighten it up.

This book as seen heavy rotation among my 5th grade students, along with Telgemeier's first memoir, Smile. Boys and girls alike have enjoyed following Raina's story, and I look forward to using this book next year as part of a school-wide reading initiative.

El Deafo, Cece Bell

Title:  El Deafo
Author:  Cece Bell
Publisher:  Harry N. Abrams
Year:  2014
Pages: 233
Genre:  Memoir, Graphic Novel
Theme:  Disability, Perseverance, Friendship, Self-Esteem
Age Range:  4th-7th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece's class was deaf. Here she is different. She is sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. 

Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in school--in the hallway...in the teacher's lounge...in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it's just another way of feeling different... and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend?

Review:
Charming is the first word that comes to mind when I try to describe this graphic novel about a girl (rabbit?!?) with a hearing impairment.  Cece Bell tells her own story in this engaging memoir, which details her bout with meningitis as a toddler, her struggle to learn to lip read, her ambivalence with her hearing aids, and her eventual acceptance of herself exactly the way she is.

Bell grew up in the 1970s, and there are quite a few pop culture references that today's student readers may not get right away.  But I grew up during the same period as Bell, and I found myself fondly remembering times and places from my own childhood.  The setting also highlights the difference in treatment options for children with hearing impairments today, when technology has allowed doctors to return normal or almost normal hearing to many people who would not have been able to hear as well in the past.

What hasn't changed, as far as I can tell, though, is the way that the deaf and hard of hearing are perceived and treated by some in society.  Cece's experiences demonstrate the things that people do, with good intentions or bad, that make people with hearing impairments (or physical or cognitive disabilities) feel like the "other".  Cece was afraid to stand out, didn't want to be noticed for her hearing aids or her awkward speech. She pretended to understand things that she didn't really hear in an effort to "fit in".  She desperately wanted a friend who just treated her like the normal person she really is inside, but the various other children she met during her elementary school years never seemed to be able to totally forget the hearing impairment.  She was the "deaf" friend, the friend who sometimes made unfortunate, laughable mistakes because of her difficulty understanding speech,  and some of the girls who befriended her seemed to be motivated by their own desire to be noticed for their kindness to the "deaf" girl.

There are a few things in this book that might be problematic in a school setting.  It was the 70s, and people smoked in the 70s (including her teacher, which is mentioned one time in one panel).  There is also some bathroom humor involving Cece's ability to hear her teacher while peeing.  I didn't find anything really objectionable, but if you are a teacher, you know your population and what would be acceptable or not.  There are definitely plenty of opportunities for discussion with the themes in this book, and the fact that this is a memoir makes the message even more powerful.

Teacher Resources:
Cece Bell Talking About El Deafo
Cece Bell's Website
Abrams Teaching Guides

Breaking Stalin's Nose, by Eugene Yelchin

Title:  Breaking Stalin's Nose
Author and Illustrator:  Eugene Yelchin
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Year: 2011
Pages: 160
Genre:  Historical Fiction/Memoir
Theme:  Conformity, Right vs. Wrong, Freedom
Age Range: 3rd-5th Grade

Summary: 
Ten year old Sasha is the son of an intelligence officer in the Soviet Union.  He strives in all things to be a good communist so that he can join the Young Pioneers and make his father proud.  On the night before he is to join the Pioneers, his father is taken away by the Soviet secret police.  Convinced that there has been a mistake, Sasha goes to school the next day, sure that Stalin himself will hear of his father's arrest and release him.  But when he gets to school, it becomes clear that Sasha, who has always been the star pupil, is now blacklisted along with the children of other "traitors" to communism.  How can he become a Young Pioneer now?

Review:
This semi-autobiographical account of Yelchin's childhood in Soviet Russia brings to light for elementary age students a time period that they probably know little about.  As a child of the 70s and 80s, I was very aware that the Soviet Union was the "boogeyman under the bed" the enemy that the brave and free United States had to fight in order to save the world from their tyranny.  Children growing up today have a very different context-now it is the Islamic terrorist who is the nightmare in the closet, ready to jump out at us freedom-loving Americans whenever they can.  While the political landscape has changed, both the Soviet era and our present situation have one thing in common-fear of an "other" who wants to destroy our very way of life.

The book-longer than a short story, shorter than a novel-is fast paced, taking place over a day and a half in the life of Sasha and his classmates.  Yelchin describes the crowded living conditions, and the constant state of fear and paranoia that the Russian citizens lived in.  Jealousy over their larger rooms in the communal apartment leads one resident to turn-in Sasha's father for being a capitalist sympathizer.  Sasha's school resembles a brainwashing camp more than a place to learn reading, writing, and 'rithmetic.  The fear, jealousy, and paranoia have bled down to the children, who are quick to turn on each other whenever a student is chastised by the teacher, who is a caricature of a rabidly conforming communist.

Children will need to be given some background knowledge to completely understand the book, as there is very little exposition given for what the Soviet Union was, or for its role in global politics and the Cold War.  But regardless of the historical knowledge that students may be lacking, the feeling of being betrayed, of fearing for a parent's safety, and the inherent unfairness of Sasha's situation is palpable.  I think this book provides teachers a rich way to introduce concepts of conformity and freedom to elementary school students.

Teacher Resources:
Bookrags Summary and Study Guide
Breaking Stalin's Nose Discussion Guide
Kids' Wings Activities for Breaking Stalin's Nose

One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake

Title:  One Came Home

Author: Amy Timberlake
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Year: 2013
Pages: 272
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Themes:  Loyalty, Bravery
Age Range: 4th-8th Grade

Summary: from Goodreads

In the town of Placid, Wisconsin, in 1871, Georgie Burkhardt is known for two things: her uncanny aim with a rifle and her habit of speaking her mind plainly.
But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of "pigeoners" trailing the passenger pigeon migration. And when the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body—wearing Agatha's blue-green ball gown—everyone assumes the worst. Except Georgie. Refusing to believe the facts that are laid down (and coffined) before her, Georgie sets out on a journey to find her sister. She will track every last clue and shred of evidence to bring Agatha home. Yet even with resolute determination and her trusty Springfield single-shot, Georgie is not prepared for what she faces on the western frontier.

Review:

This is an odd little book.  I enjoyed it, both as a mystery story, and as the story of a strong young woman, but the subject matter seems a little mature for the intended audience.  While there is very little in the nature of graphic descriptions or violence, the fact is that the major impetus for most of the plot is the discovery of a decomposing body.  I think there are definitely readers in the targeted age range that are mature enough not to be put off or frightened by that, but the fact of it makes it a little more problematic for use as a while group or guided reading novel  Of course, a case could be made that there are many video games or movies that kids this age are exposed to that are more casually graphic about violence, but I'd probably stay away from it as required reading at the bottom of the range.

That said, there are many things that are really good about the book.  It was listed on many lists of he best children's fiction in 2013.  Georgie is a strong, sassy female characters, which I am always happy to see in books for kids.  Her loyalty to her sister known no bounds, and she is brave, even if impulsively so.  The historical context of the novel provides an interesting look at both passenger pigeons, which were hunted to extinction, and the small towns that were affected by their yearly migrations.  The mystery itself is pretty engaging, and there are elements of danger that make the story pretty exciting.  Overall, I think this is a good book to have as part of a classroom library.

The Danger Box, by Blue Balliett

Title:  The Danger Box
Author: Blue Balliett
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Year:  2010
Pages: 320
Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Themes:  Friendship, Family, Science
Age Range: 4th-7th Grade

Summary:
 Zoomy, now twelve, was found on the doorsteps of his grandparents as an infant, with a note explaining that he is their run-away 19 year old's son.  The immediately take him in and raise him as their own, no questions asked.  Zoomy's childhood in bucolic Three Oaks, Michigan is not free from problems however.  Zoomy has pathological myopia, rendering him legally if not completely blind.  He also has symptoms reminiscent of Tourette's Sydrom or Autism Spectrum Disorder, including an obsession with tiny plant and insects and a penchant for list-making.  These conditions make it difficult for Zoomy to make a friend, but he finally finds one in Lorol, a girl his age who's mother is working at a local summer camp.  His life has never been better, but it is all threatened when his father reappears in town, bringing a mysterious box with him.  Concerned that the box may be part of a crime, Zoomy's grandparents open it to discover an old notebook.  Antique store owners that they are, they take the box, but give Zoomy the old notebook.  What Zoomy reads in the notebook leads him to an amazing discovery, and also brings danger to his small home town.

Review:
Balliett takes on a completely different vibe with this novel.  Her fourth mystery for the 9-12 year old set, The Danger Box is not set in the usual urban landscape of Hyde Park in Chicago, but in the lovely rural countryside of southwestern Michigan, just an couple of hours outside the city.  I can attest to the loveliness of the scenery there-I recently drove right past the exit for Three Oaks on my way back from a visit to Traverse City, Michigan.

What is the same, of course, is Balliett's high quality storytelling.  Balliett takes a real life mystery-on of Charles Darwin's missing notebooks-and uses it as the back story for her fictional story.  In the process of discovering whether the notebook was authentic, Zoomy and Lorol provide the reader with tons of interesting information about Darwin's life and work, making this novel a perfect tie in to a life sciences unit of study.  In the process, Zoomy's fears about his father coming back into his life, and his observations about the different way in which he sees the world, provide good fodder for discussions about family structures, what makes a family, and how people perceive the world differently.  And as always, Balliett's writing style shows an ease and flow that are a study in author's craft.  I highly recommend this book as an addition to any reading program, whether it be independent reading, guided reading, literature circles, whatever!

Teacher Resources:
Scholastic Discussion Guide
Blue Balliett's Website

Hollow Earth, John and Carol E. Barrowman

Title: Hollow Earth
Author:  John and Carol E. Barrowman
Publisher: Aladin
Year: 2012
Pages: 416
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Family, Good vs. Evil, Imagination
Age Range: 4th-8th Grade

Summary: 
Matt and Emily Calder are twins with a special connection.  When they draw together, the things they imagine can come to life.  When a secret society called Hollow Earth wants to use them to access the nightmare world of demons they believe exists in a realm under the earth, they are forced to flee their home in London and go to their grandfather's estate on a remote island off the coast of Scotland.  There they learn more about their powers, and their father, who disappeared when the twins were small.  But the Hollow Earth Society doesn't give up that easily, and it will take all of their new found skills to stay one step ahead of the people who are trying to take advantage of them.

Review:
Full discolsure: I am seriously predisposed to love this book because Captain Jack Harkness is one of the authors.  As a serious Doctor Who/Torchwood geek, the man can almost do no wrong.  So I am happy to report that my love of this story is not JUST because John Barrowman wrote it.  I liked it because it is an interesting concept, something that I have never read before in all of the fantasy books I have read over the years.

(In fairness to myself, I really wanted to love Chris Colfer's books as well, given my love of all things Glee, but I didn't, and I gave it an honest review.)

This book has some great elements of traditional fantasy in a contemporary setting, which I love.  I also appreciate the historical context that the Barrowmans (brother and sister) create for the Animare, with a middle ages tie in that helps ground the story in that period of time when people were most likely to believe in magic.  Not only are the children really well written characters, but the adults in the story are also pretty well developed and made the story feel a little more mature, though still appropriate for the age range.  The setting is cool-there's something about islands that I love.  This book is the first in a series, and I am so looking forward to reading the next book.

While the story is really exciting and engaging, there isn't really a ton of discussion-worthy themes in the story, so I don't think I would use it as a literature circle choice or for guided reading, but I think it is a very good choice to have in an independent reading program or as part of a classroom library.

Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos

Title: Dead End in Norvelt
Author: Jack Gantos
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Year: 2011
Pages: 341
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Themes:  Mid-20th Century America, Mystery
Age Range:  4th-8th Grade

Summary:
In the Newbery Award-winning Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos (the fictional one, not the real-life one) has his whole summer vacation stretching before him like the blue Pennsylvania sky-at least, until he finds himself in the middle of his parents' feuding and ends up grounded.  He fears that he will see no more of Norvelt, the small town where he lives, than the walls of his own bedroom, but he is given an unexpected reprieve when his mother starts loaning him out to the old woman down the road for chores.  His most important-typing up the obituaries for the town paper now that she has become too arthritic to do it herself.  His new job teaches him about the history of his town, designed as a modern day Utopia by Eleanor Roosevelt herself for soldiers returning from World War II, and the very flawed people who inhabit it.  When the old-timers start dropping dead, Jack senses a mystery to be solved. Despite his parents' fighting, his near constantly bleeding nose, and a few Hell's Angels, Jack helps uncover the disturbing truth about the deaths.

Review:
Jack Gantos decided to name his main character after himself, and apparently he has merged facts about his own childhood with a completely wild made-up tale about murder and mayhem in a small town.  Despite the 50 years between Jack's childhood and today, I think that he is a character that lots of kids, especially boys, could relate to.  He's mischievous but not mean, with a self-deprecating voice that rings true.  The fact of his ever-present nosebleeds and overprotective mother are things that would speak to any child who has ever been embarrassed by something over which they have very little control.  Jack sneaks out of his house, plays with his dad's war mementos, and lies to his parents when he thinks they need to be lied to.  He loves to play baseball, wants to learn to fly his father's plane, and uses binoculars to watch the drive in movies from his own yard.  In short, he feels very much like an average kid who happens to get drawn into extraordinary circumstances.

Miss Volker, Jack's "employer", is a feisty old woman, bent on preserving the town and its history, dedicated to making sure that Mrs. Roosevelt's dream of a peaceful, fair world becomes a reality.  She uses the obituaries she writes (which are honest to a fault, reputations be damned) to remind residents of Norvelt of the importance of their town, and about the values of fairness, equity, and tolerance that it was build on.  She also writes the "on this day in history" column for the paper, and she is very careful to choose events that support the very ideals that Norvelt stands for.  There are other examples of children and oldsters forming close relationships in children's literature (Opal and Miss Franny Block from Because of Winn Dixie come to mind), but while Miss Volker fulfills the role of mentor and guide to young Jack, she does so with a great deal more piss and vinegar than the average fictional 80 year old.  Through her, Gantos (the author, not the character) shows the importance of knowing your history, for those that don't are doomed to repeat it.

The subject matter, while not graphic, does include murder and arson.  Not to mention the Hell's Angels.  I actually think that this book would make a great read aloud, because the language has a lovely flow, but if you don't think that your kids can handle hearing the word "hell" spoken aloud by their teacher, then I'd avoid it.  I definitely this that it belongs in any classroom library for upper elementary or middle school, and I'd use it in guided reading, or even as part of a social studies unit.

Fortunately the Milk, by Neil Gaiman

Title:  Fortunately the Milk
Author:  Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year:  2013
Pages: 114
Genre:  Fantasy/Science Fiction
Themes:  Time Travel, Imagination
Age Range:  3rd-6th Grade

Summary:  
One day, when Mother has left Father in charge of the children, there is no milk for the cereal.  Father goes off to the market to purchase some, and comes back some hours later with the most fantastical tale of time travel.  Fortunately, the milk helped him get out of some pretty serious scrapes.  He was kidnapped by aliens, forced to walk the plank by pirates, and rescued by a stegosaurus in a hot air balloon.  The children aren't sure what to make of this story-was their dad really abducted by aliens, or is this convoluted story made up just to excuse their father's tardiness?

Review:
Followers of this blog, and my adult book blog Book Addict Reviews, will know that I have a bit of hero worship going on when it comes to Neil Gaiman.  He is one of those people that makes me wish that science had the ability to transport us into another person's mind to live for a day, just to see what makes them tick. Of course, that's what writers use words for, to present their unique perspective and voice, and Gaiman gives us a pretty clear view into his imagination with Fortunately, the Milk.

According to Publisher's Weekly, Gaiman wrote this book as a counterpoint to the father in the book The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish (my review here), in which the father is basically a passive lump to whom things happen, rather than an active participant in the story.  Gaiman wanted to write a story in which the father did the sort of heroic things that fathers wish they could do, with a healthy does of humor thrown in.  The book is quite short, especially when you factor in the illustrations on each page, but Gaiman fits in lots and lots of action.  It is essentially non-stop, with aliens and dinosaurs and pirates and all manner of silliness.  In fact, that silliness highlights one of the things that I love about Gaiman's writing.  How is it possible that the same man who wrote the very dark story Ocean and the End of the Lane could be the man who wrote Fortunately, the Milk?  Because he is mad versatile, that's how!

I would definitely say this book would make an excellent addition to any classroom library, and it could also be used as a read aloud or for guided reading.  There is not a ton of character development, but it is science fiction that does NOT include a superhero, which can be hard to find for this age range.  The time travel creates a narrative structure that is linear, sort of, but could lead to interesting discussions with students about time and the way we perceive it.  And as a mentor text for writing it could work great-students could choose an errand or chore they were supposed to do, and come up with a fantastical story for how or why it did or did not get accomplished.

Teacher Resources
Harper Collins Discussion Guide
Brightbulb STEM Activities for Fortunately, the Milk

Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda, by Margaret Atwood

Title:  Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda
Author:  Margaret Atwood
Illustrator: Dusan Petricic
Publisher:  Bloomsbury Publishing
Year: 2007
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Alliteration, Friendship, Family
Age Range:  2nd through 5th Grade

Summary:  
Bob was abandoned by his mother and raised by a pack of dogs. Dorinda is an orphan being taken care of (in Cinderella like fashion) by distant relatives.  Bob is bashful, Dorinda is sad and lonely.  When Donrinda decides to run away, she encounters Bob living in the bushes on a vacant block with his canine companions.  Dorinda and Bob become fast friends, with Dorinda teaching Bob how to talk and behave in public.  When a rampaging buffalo threatens the town, Dorinda and Bob's quick thinking make them celebrities.  When Dorinda's long lost parents show up, and Bob's mother has a change of heart, they each get the one thing they were lacking-a home to call their own, with people who love them.

Review:
You may know Margaret Atwood from her many novels for adults.  She is a master of speculative fiction, demonstrated most notably in her books The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake.  She has written many feminist novels, and several volumes of poetry.  I've admired her work for a long time, and like many consider her one of the most important literary voices of the 20th and 21st centuries.  So imagine my delight to find that she has written books for children!  Atwood brings all of her prodigious alacrity with language to this charming story about a bashful boy and doleful girl.

The story reads in style very much like something written by Roald Dahl, taking on rather morose subjects with a sense of whimsy and sly humor.  But what truly makes this book unique, and perfect for classroom use, if that it is written in alliteration.  The first couple of lines gives you a sense of what's to come,

 "When Bob was a baby, he was abandoned in a basket, beside a beauty parlor.  His bubbleheaded mom, a brunette, had become a blonde in the beauty parlor, and was so blinded by her burnished brilliance that baby Bob was blotted from her brain."

The entire book reads this way, with B themed sentences for Bob and D themed sentences for Dorinda.  Despite this device, the story is not at all simplistic.  As you can see from the above sample, the vocabulary is very high level, and most of the sentences flow perfectly well, despite the challenges of finding alliterative phrases that express exactly what Atwood wants to say.  Teachers in my school have used this book, and another of Atwood's that I will review later, to teach alliteration, and to discuss how to find word meanings from context clues.

Speaking of context, the illustrations by Dusan Petricic  go perfectly with the text, and provide students with some clues as to the meaning of the often long, convoluted sentences Atwood wrote.  This is not a text I would hand students to read on their own unless they were pretty mature readers, but as a read aloud this book has lots to offer.

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, by Neil Gaiman

Title:  The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
Author:  Neil Gaiman
Illustrator:  Dave McKean
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Year:  1998 
Pages: 64
Genre:  Realistic (?) Fiction
Themes:  General Silliness
Age Range:  1st through 5th Grade

Summary:
The narrator of this silly story desperately wants his best friend's two goldfish.  So desperately, in fact, that he trades his father for them.  (His father wasn't that interesting anyway-all he ever did was read the newspaper.)  His little sister tries to tell him that it's a bad idea, but he doesn't listen.  When his mother comes home, she is understandably furious, and sends him on a journey to retrieve poor old dad.  Of course, Dad's now been traded to a string of friends for a variety of interesting items.  Finally, the narrator tracks down his father, sitting in a chicken coop-reading the paper!

Review:
Full disclosure:  Neil Gaiman could probably transpose the phone book and I would love it.  I have yet to meet one of his books-children's or adult-that I didn't want to gobble up with a spoon.  It is therefore no surprise that I adored this charming picture book.

The story is simple enough.  What brings it to life is the interplay between the narrator and his younger sister. She is dryly hilarious in a way no small person probably ever is in real life, but authenticity is not exactly what this story is going for.  There were a couple of points that I found laugh-out-loud funny, and you don't often find that in a picture book meant for children.

McKean's illustrations are darkly engaging, and they fit perfectly with the mood that Gaiman creates with his storytelling.  As always with Gaiman's books, there is a certain level of darkness present, but unlike some of his longer fiction for children it is not scary.  As an anglophile, the fact that the book is littered with British turns of phrase only added to the appeal, and provide good opportunities for conversation with kids about the difference in language.  The story structure is fairly straightforward, and there isn't a ton of depth there to mine for good discussion, but it is a funny story that I think kids would like, and could certainly be used for working on sequencing, plot structure, or examining how the illustrations enhance comprehension.  Overall, a solid choice as a read aloud for elementary age kids.

Teacher Resources:
Diana Wagner Lesson Plan (scroll down)
TeachingBooks.net Resources
Oh, Boy, Fourth Grade Writing Unit for The Day I Swapped My Dad...

Slob, by Ellen Potter

Title:  Slob
Author:  Ellen Potter
Publisher:  Philomel
Year: 2009
Pages:  208
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Themes:  Dealing with Loss, Bullying, Self-esteem
Age Range:  4th-8th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. But he's also a genius who invents cool contraptions? like a TV that shows the past. Something happened two years ago that he needs to see. But genius or not, there is much Owen can't outthink. Like his gym coach, who's on a mission to humiliate him. Or the way his Oreos keep disappearing from his lunch. He's sure that if he can only get the TV to work, things will start to make sense. But it will take a revelation for Owen, not science, to see the answer's not in the past, but the present. That no matter how large he is on the outside, he doesn't have to feel small on the inside.

Review:
Bullying has been big in the news in recent years.  School districts and states are trying to address bullying in a number of ways, both legislative and practical.  As a result, there have been many, many books featuring bullies published in the last few years.  Usually, the bully is another student, and teachers and parents are at a loss as to what to do to help the victim.  The plot often revolved around the victim finding ways to deal with the bully through improved self-esteem, or we discover the bully is actually in such emotional pain themselves that it is only through helping the bully overcome their own issues that the bullying is resolved.  But Slob takes the bully story another direction-what do you do when the person bullying you is a teacher.

To be sure, the other students at Owen's school are not exactly understanding of his weight gain and general clumsiness.  But the driving force behind Owen's fear of school, and his biggest detractor, was his gym teacher.  As a teacher myself, reading about the way that the coach went out of his way to make Owen's life miserable, humiliating him at every turn, made my stomach turn.  I have never really understood why there are some people who seem to take other people's weight (or physical appearance in general) as a personal affront, but the character of the gym teacher really seemed to feel personally offended by Owen's very existence.

Ultimately, however, this book is not really about the bullying, except as part of a larger issue for Owen. Owen's parents were killed in a robbery, and it is this event that drives the major events of the book.  His issues with food and dramatic weight gain are the result of emotional eating.  Most of us are guilty of it at some point-the pint of ice cream consumed after a break-up, the secret stash of chocolate bars for days when you want to punch everyone you meet in the face.  But Owen has taken emotional eating to the level of an Olympic sport in an effort to subsume his feelings of loss and guilt after the death of his parents.  It is these same feelings that cause him to obsess over making  the machine that he believes will allow him to see into the past, and find his parents' killers.  Owen thinks that by bringing these people to justice he will be able to move on, but it is the quest itself that is holding him back.

There are lots of interesting characters in this book-the boy who he thinks is stealing his oreos; his sister, who is a member of a club of girls who want to be boys; his Tibetian Buddhist friend who is trying to teach him different ways to deal with his emotions.  I think that middle grade students will find a lot of things to think about while reading this book, and there are lots of good topics for discussion.  I think this book would be well suited as a guided reading book, or as part of a classroom library for independent reading.

Teacher Resources:
Scholastic Anti-Bullying Activities for Slob
TeachingBooks.net Resources
Indie Library Discussion Questions for Slob

When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead

Title:  When You Reach Me

Author:  Rebecca Stead
Publisher:  Wendy Lamb Books
Year: 2009
Pages:  199
Genre:  Realistic Science Fiction (?)
Themes:  Friendship, Family, Space Travel
Age Range:  4th-8th Grade

Summary: from Goodreads

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: 
I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.
The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.

Review:
When You Reach Me is a hard book to describe.  It's genre defying, since for most of the book you think it is a realistic fiction story, only to discover that in Miranda's world, time travel is a thing.  I enjoyed the book, but it is written in such a way that you feel a bit unsettled while you are reading it.  Of course, this tone is entirely appropriate for the major plot point, which is these scary notes that Miranda keeps finding.   But that sense of menace is so tightly wrapped up with the day-to-day issues that Miranda is dealing with that it gives even her most benign interactions with people a weight that might not be there otherwise.  After all, who knows which "friend" it is whose life needs to be saved?

Aside from the mystery of the notes, this is mostly a story about friendships.  Miranda and her best friend are drifting apart, and Miranda attributes it to her witnessing Sal getting punched on the way home from school.  She tries to give him some space, but as usually happens in books and movies, if she had just talked to him she would have figured out a lot sooner that all was not as it appeared.  Her new friendships bring her her first girl friend, and her first crush.  Miranda tries to negotiate the choppy waters of pre-adolescence with as much grace as she can muster, but how can she concentrate on her friends when this threat is hanging over their heads?

Understanding this book is a lot easier if you have read A Wrinkle in Time, the classic children's science fiction novel by Madeleine L'Engel.  It is Miranda's favorite book, and she references it in an off-hand way that would make it hard for someone who hasn't read it to fully appreciate the parallels be tween this story and that one.  And the book reads sort of brainy...I don't know a better way to describe it, but it feels cerebral.  Not in an offputting, impersonal way, but the bits about time travel definitely stretch a person's thinking.  Overall I think this is a solid choice for a classroom library, and I could see it used in guided reading with the right group of kids, maybe as a companion to A Wrinkle in Time.

Flora & Ulysses, Kate DiCamillo

Title:  Flora and Ulysses
Author:  Kate DiCamillo
Publisher:  Candlewick Press
Year:  2013
Pages:  233
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Family, Friendship, Superheroes
Age Range:  3rd-6th Grade

Summary:  From Goodreads

Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in a genre-breaking new novel by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo. It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry—and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. 

Review:
Kate DiCamillo's work is always filled with a sense of magic.  From Because of Winn Dixie to The Tiger Rising to the Magician's Elephant, DiCamillo uses unusual animals to help her human characters deal with life's problems in charming, unexpected ways.  This particular book takes advantage of the current graphic novel craze to tell a story that is part fantasy novel, and part heartwarming family drama.   Flora & Ulysses is not a graphic novel in the strictest sense of the word, but DiCamillo's prose is broken up by mini-comics that move the story forward in a way that simple text could not.

Flora, the titular character, is a self-described cynic.  It isn't hard to see where this comes from-her mother, and author of romance novels, seems much more interested in her fictional characters than her own daughter, and her father, who she only sees on weekends, is more and more remote emotionally the longer he and Flora's mother are divorced.  Is it any wonder that Flora is obsessed with what to do if the worst happens? To her, the worst already has.  Rounding out the cast of remarkable characters are the neighbor lady and her nephew, who has come to live with her because of his supposed psychosomatic blindness.  But, in true comic book fashion, the true hero of the book is Ulysses, the superhero squirrel.  His heroic antics and his heartfelt, accidental poetry help everyone improve their relationships with each other by showing them that sometimes the impossible is anything but.

I think that this novel could be used to teach narrative structure, since it does have an unusual one, though the plot itself moves forward in the linear fashion of most fiction.  The themes provide plenty of discussion topics, and I could see kids really enjoying Ulysses and his antics, or relating to Flora and her ambivalence towards her parents.

Kimchi and Calamari, by Rose Kent

Title:  Kimchi and Calamari
Author:  Rose Kent
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Year:  2007
Pages:  220
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Themes:  Adoption, Family, Identity
Age Range:  3rd-6th Grade

Summary: from Goodreads

Kimchi and calamari. It sounds like a quirky food fusion of Korean and Italian cuisine, and it's exactly how Joseph Calderaro feels about himself. Why wouldn't an adopted Korean drummer-comic book junkie feel like a combo platter given: (1) his face in the mirror (2) his proud Italian family.

And now Joseph has to write an essay about his ancestors for social studies. All he knows is that his birth family shipped his diapered butt on a plane to the USA. End of story. But what he writes leads to a catastrophe messier than a table of shattered dishes—and self-discovery that Joseph never could have imagined

Review:
I've been considering using this book as a part of a "one school, one book" type project for the school where I work.  I've been looking for books with multicultural characters that have depth and substance.  I am happy to report that this book has both, with some self-deprecating humor thrown in.  Kimchi and Calamari is an entertaining read that also has lots of avenues for discussion, and that highlights issues of identity, both cultural and familial, with grace and charm.

The character of Joseph is a good kid.  He loves his parents, dotes on his little sisters, and tries hard to be a good student.  It is this last thing that gets him in trouble.  When asked to write a paper about his ancestry, which he sadly knows almost nothing about, it never even occurs to him to just not do it, or to explain to his teacher his situation.  Instead, he makes up a fantasy about being the grandson of a famous Korean Olympian, which only makes the situation worse.  His very proud Italian father can't understand why he doesn't write about the family he does know (the Italian one), but Joseph feels like that would be lying, and he clearly isn't comfortable claiming an Italian heritage for himself.  His mother seems to understand a little bit better, but you can tell how ambivalent she is to his desire to learn more about his birth mother.  Add in confusion about girls and the new Korean neighbors who act like he's a "fake" Korean, and poor Joseph finds himself in quite a mess.

I think that the adoption angle is handled well in this book, and while it ends very satisfactorily, it does not end with a "Hallmark moment" reunion between Joseph and his birth family.  But as Joseph struggles along on his journey of self-discovery, everyone learns a little something about what family actually means.

Firegirl, by Tony Abbott

Title: Firegirl

Author: Tony Abbott
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Year: 2006
Pages:  147
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Themes:  Disability, Acceptance, Friendship
Age Range:  3rd-5th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

"...there is..." Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, "there is something we need to know about Jessica..."
From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and will be attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments. Despite her horrifying appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life. 

Review:
I loved this book!  Recently there has been a spate of novels about kids with disabilities finding varying levels of acceptance-both from themselves and from others.  Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine, The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Drunen...all of these books do an excellent job of bringing attention to the issues that children and youth with disabilities deal with on a daily basis.  Most of those books are for intermediate or middle school readers, and schools in my district have used them as part of a unit on dealing with disabilities and acceptance.  Well, Firegirl can definitely be added to the list of books perfect for teaching these important social justice concepts.  The reading level is lower than any of those other books, making it perfect for use during guided reading or literature circles for your lower readers. The readability may be easier, but the content is just an challenging, and the opportunities for discussion are just as numerous, as any of the other books I mentioned.

The book is told from the point of view of Tom, a seventh grade student at a prestigious private school in New Haven, Connecticut.  When Jessica joins their class, the other students are not sure what to make of her.  If you've ever seen a burn victim, then you have some idea of what Jessica's appearance was.  Abbott describes it in pretty vivid detail, but not gratuitously.  Tom, an inherently kind boy, feel very uncomfortable with his classmates reactions to her, and to their speculation about how she got the burns that scarred her so horribly.  He finds himself torn between doing the right thing and preserving his friendship with his best friend, who takes what seemed to me to be an irrational dislike to Jessica.   Abbott does an excellent job of showing Tom's inner turmoil, and even when he chooses compassion over peer acceptance, the book never falls into the trite, Hallmark moment sentimentality that mars so many TV movie attempts at showing these same kinds of stories.  Jessica is also a pretty realistic, complicated character.  She is not always likeable, she does not always make good choices, she is obviously scarred emotionally and not just physically by what happened to her.  The temptation with these kinds of characters is to make them saccharine, to reduce their very real struggles with tropes about inner strength and heroism, when in reality the road to recovery is long, painful, and full of dark moments.  Abbott avoids that-you feel compassion and sympathy for characters, but never pity or sappiness.

Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliet

Title:  Chasing Vermeer
Author:  Blue Balliet
Publisher:  Scholastic
Year: 2004
Pages:  254
Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Magical Realism
Themes:  Fitting In, Coincidences, Art, Friendship
Age Range:  3rd-6th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Balliett's book follows young Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay as they piece together separate, seemingly disconnected events to locate The Lady Writing, a Vermeer painting that gets stolen en route to Chicago's Art Institute. Going on the theory that there are no coincidences, the two wonder about the link between their teacher's statements, Petra's dreams, a book Petra finds in the library, and other clues that set the reader guessing as to their significance as well. But after they learn of the culprit's aim to correct untruths about Vermeer's life and art -- which spurs them into full-throttle detective work -- the pieces all come together in a brilliant ending sure to make readers cheer, "Ah ha!"

Review:
If you are a fan of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, but are looking to use more recent books in your classroom, then Chasing Vermeer should be right up your alley.  This mystery for the elementary school set is full of intriguing coincidences, art history, and enough clues to make teaching inferring a pleasure rather than a chore.

The main characters, Petra and Calder, are both oddballs in their 6th grade class.  They go to the University of Chicago Lab School, a place where teachers are encouraged to "teach outside the box", and their teacher, Mrs. Hussey, certainly takes that philosophy to heart.  Rather than use a prescribed curriculum, Mrs. Hussey allows the interests of the children and the questions they have about the world to drive her instruction.  As a teacher, tht sounds like heaven, especially in these days of test, assess, and test again!  This type of learning really appeals to Petra and Calder, and definitely prepares them for the mysterious circumstances in which they find themselves.

One of the delights of this book for me, other than really smart characters and an emphasis on art, which I love, is the setting.  The book takes place in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, an area of the city I know really well.  It is where the University of Chicago is, and as such is an interesting blend of diverse people from all over the world-students, professors, and local Chicagoans alike.  One of the most important places in the story is Powell's Books, which is one of my very faorite bookstores in the world!  There are many references made to locales around 57th Street, including parks and restaurants that I could instantly picture when they were mentioned in the story.  Of course, if you aren't a Chicago native, you can still appreciate the way Balliet describes the beautiful buildings on the U of C campus, and can probably feel the raw cold of late fall/early winter in Chicago. 

Aside from the mystery of the missing painting, which ends up having a fairly mundane explanation, there is an element of magical realism in the story.  There are just too many coincidences for them to actually be coincidences, but what (supernatural?) power may be at work behind the scenes is a mystery.   In addition, both Petra and Calder have what can only be described as visions-Petra in dreams (both waking and sleeping), and Calder in the random (or is it?) appearance of certain number patterns and shapes.  There's lots of fodder for discussion here, and the opportunity to make a curricular connection with art by studying the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, a real Dutch artist from the 17th century.

The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer

Title:  The Wishing Spell
Author:  Chris Colfer
Publisher:  Little, Brown Young Readers
Year:  2012
Pages:  438
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Sibling Rivalry, Family, Dealing with Loss, Fairy Tales, Adventure
Age Range:  3rd through 6th Grade

Summary:  
Alex and Connor are twins.  They live with their mother in a small house in a small town.  Their father died the year before, and they and their mother are trying to figure out how to move on with their lives.  Their grandmother comes to visit, and among the gifts she brings them is a beloved book of stories.  But this book is no ordinary book-it is a portal to the fairy tale world, where their favorite story characters are real, and where beanstalks really grow and wolves really gobble up little girls.  Alex and Connor get trapped in this world, and in order to get home they must collect the items needed to do the Wishing Spell.  But this task is not an easy one-some of the items include Cinderella's glass slipper and Little Red Riding Hood's basket.  And they are not the only ones looking-Snow White's stepmother, the Evil Queen, needs to spell to take revenge on her stepdaughter and regain her throne.  Alex and Connor go on the adventure of a lifetime, and learn about the power of love an perseverance in the process.

Review:
I wanted to love this book.  I really really did.  I am a big fan of fantasy stories in general and fairy tales specifically, and the author is the actor who plays Kurt Hummel on Glee, one of my favorite television shows. So I tried really hard to like it.  Sadly, I just couldn't.  I didn't hate it, but there are some major issues with it that I just couldn't get past.

The story itself is promising-two young people from the 21st century who fall into fairy tale land and have an adventure.  But Colfer tried too hard to fit in something from EVERY fairy tale ever...you couldn't turn the page without another random character from some story or other turning up.  Sometimes this moved the story along, sometimes it seemed gratuitous, and that was when I took issue.  The book is quite long for a story aimed at intermediate school-age kids, but at the same time some of the events happened in a flash, so fast that there was no time to really get emotionally engaged with whatever drama or danger was happening to the characters.

Colfer actually did a pretty good job with the main characters.  Alex was a lonely girl who loved to read and was very good in school.  I identifed with her the most, since I was a lot like her myself in elementary school. Connor was a good kid, but school was hard for him, and he preferred playing with his friends to reading.  Even though he wasn't a mean kid, he was often in trouble at school for falling asleep in class or not completing his work.  As a teacher, I know plenty of real-life kids who are just like them, and I honestly did care about what happened to them.  Unfortunately, I don't feel like the rushed pace of the story did much to develop them much beyond where they start.

Like many first authors, and especially young authors, Colfer's writing feels immature.  There were parts of the story that read awkwardly, and parts that felt incomplete.  This book is designed to be the first in a series, and I will probably give the second book a try, even though I was not too happy with this one.  I feel like I owe it to one of my favorite young actors to see if he can develop as grow as a writer.  Younger readers will not take issue with some of the things that bothered me, so I'd say this book is worth having in a classroom library.  And MAYBE for use as a read aloud if you are teaching a fairy tales unit.  But I don't see enough quality writing to make it worth using for guided reading or literature circles.

Nathanial Fludd, Beastologist: Flight of the Phoenix

Title:  The Flight of the Phoenix (Nathiel Fludd, Beastologist #1)
Author:  R.L. LeFever
Publisher:  HMH Books for Young Readers
Year:  2009
Pages:  138
Genre:  Fantasy
Themes:  Family Tradition, Adventure
Age Range:  3rd-5th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Nathaniel Fludd’s life has taken a turn for the worst. With his parents lost at sea, he lands on the doorstep of a distant cousin—the world’s last remaining beastologist. Soon Nate is whisked off on his first expedition, to Arabia, where the world’s only phoenix prepares to lay its new egg. When disaster strikes, Nate quickly finds himself all alone.

       Will he be able to see the phoenix safely hatched, keep his accidental pet gremlin out of trouble, and rescue his guardian from the Bedouin? If he fails, nothing will stand between the world’s mythical creatures and extinction.

Review:
I have always been a fan of fantasy novels. Ever since my parents gave me the Narnia books for Christmas when I was 10, I have loved being swept away to imaginary lands full of rare and mysterious people and creatures.  As such, I had high hopes for this series.

Nathaniel is definitely a sad sort of boy.  Left behind while his parents went on an expedition in the arctic, stuck in the care of a woman who cares less for him than for the money she gets for taking care of him, Nathaniel longs to be old enough to accompany his parents on their journeys.  When news comes that they have been lost at sea, his caregiver wastes no time in dumping him on his only remaining relative-a cousin he has never met-in fact, never even knew existed.

But in cousin Phil (short for Philomena),  he discovers a rich source of family lore, and discovers that he is the last in a long line of Fludds who did the most dangerous and most important of jobs-caring for the mythological beasts that most of the world believes to be imaginary.  And it isn't long before he gets his first taste of adventure, as Aunt Phil whisks him off to Arabia to guard over the birth of a new phoenix.  Of course, flying there in her two seater plane, accidentally adopting a gremlin, and having to rescue his aunt from an angry Bedouin chieftain was more than he bargained for.  Even so, Nathaniel rises to the challenge in true Fludd style.

As narratives go this one moves pretty quickly.  There is very little in the way of character development or backstory when it comes to anyone other than Nathaniel.  That said, I enjoyed it almost as much as I'd hoped.  It reads a bit like the Series of Unfortunate Events books, though without the caustic narrator that made those books so unique.  While the book does deal with the loss of Nathaniel's parents and his general fears and anxiety, it doesn't really lend itself to serious discussion.  Mostly it is an enjoyable romp through an alternate past, and as the first of a series promises many more romps to come.  I think it would make a great addition to a classroom library, especially for those kids that are fascinated by mythical creatures.

How to Steal a Dog, by Barbara O'Connor

Title:  How to Steal a Dog
Author:  Barbara O'Connor
Publisher:  Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux
Year:  2007
Pages:  170
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Themes:  Poverty, Family, Homelessness
Age Range:  4th-6th Grade

Summary:  from Goodreads

Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is “borrow” the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected. 

Review:
O'Connor does an excellent job with the character of Georgina.  Basically a good girl, she contemplates doing things she knows are wrong to help her family get a place to live.  She is not always likable, to be honest.  She is horrible to her mother, who from all appearances was doing everything she could to earn enough money to provide for her children.  But it is clear where her anger comes from-her father's desertion, the loss of her friendships, and her embarrassment over their situation are a lot for a 10 year old girl to handle.

Given the current climate of shaming the poor and blaming them for their own troubles, O'Connor does a fine job of making you feel empathetic towards Georgina, her mother, her brother, and the other characters in the book.  There is Carmella, the women who becomes the victim of the dognapping, and Mookie, the homeless man who Georgina befriends during their time on the street.  Both have important lessons to teach Georgina about love, loss, and how to live in the world in a way that help rather than hinders others.  This book would be a good jumping off point for discussions about poverty, homelessness, and issues around morality and survival.  In the end it is the kindness of others that allows Georgina and her family to find a safe place to live, and in the end that is the biggest lesson learned, both by Georgina and the reader-being kind is always the right thing to be.