50. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

CHASING VERMEER by Blue Balliett (Scholastic, 2004)

Illustrated by Brett Helquist

GENRE: Mystery

HONORS: Agatha Award Winner, Book Sense Book of the Year Award, Borders Original Voices Award, Chicago Tribune Prize for Young Adult Fiction, Edgar Allan Poe Award, Great Lakes Great Books Award

REVIEW:

Growing up in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, sixth-graders Petra and Calder could never have been considered friends, even with only two houses between them.  Then a book about unexplainable events brings them together and they start to connect some of the coincidental happenings in their own lives, including the woman in a Vermeer painting that sends Petra messages.  When that same Vermeer painting disappears, Petra and Calder find themselves in the middle of a mystery, making them suspicious of their neighbors, favorite teacher, and even Petra’s father.  Using the clues that keep popping up and their intuition, Petra and Calder set out to find the painting before it is too late.

OPINION:

Labeled by Newsweek as “a Da Vinci Code for tweens,” I was excited to read this novel and see if the comparison is accurate.  Filled with adventure and mystery, and even an international crime ring, this book definitely deserves such high praise.  Especially interesting for readers that enjoy solving puzzles, the book contains letters written in code between Calder and his best friend Tommy that readers can solve with the included key.  Also, the author points out in a note to the reader at the beginning that the illustrations contain hidden messages related to the code Calder and Tommy use, adding to the mystery for readers that desire to figure it out.  This adds an interactive element to the novel that many tweens will enjoy.  I found this to be a truly compelling novel that raises questions about seemingly unrelated happenings and challenges tween readers to further their imaginations as they put together the clues with Petra and Calder.

IDEAS:

This book would be a wonderful addition to a library display for mystery novels.  It would also be a fun book to design a library program around with tweens writing letters in code and solving puzzles inspired by the ones in the novel.

49. I Am...Sasha Fierce by Beyonce (CD)

I AM…SASHA FIERCE by Beyonce (Columbia, 2008)

GENRE: R&B / Pop

HONORS: Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Grammy Nomination for Album of the Year

REVIEW:

With Beyonce’s third studio album, eleven tracks are divided between two discs, representing the two sides to Beyonce’s personality.  The first disc, labeled I Am…, contains six slow and mid-tempo songs, showcasing Beyonce’s personal side.  Songs like “If I Were a Boy” and “Halo” represent the disc’s more mainstream, adult-contemporary feel, while also highlighting the serious and introspective elements of Beyonce’s true personality.  With the second disc, Sasha Fierce, Beyonce formally introduces the alter-ego that she becomes on stage, shifting to up-tempo dance songs.  The opening song on the disc, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” is a perfect example of the fun, aggressive personality that encapsulates Beyonce’s celebrity image.  Beyonce has grown with this album by incorporating several different styles of music and allowing listeners to experience the more intimate side of her, as well.

OPINION:

This album contains songs that will appeal to many pop and R&B fans.  The idea of splitting the album into two discs resulted in a bit of schizophrenia as listeners switch between discs, but there are still some really great songs on each.  The first disc holds a couple beautiful ballads that I absolutely loved, with “Halo” being my favorite.  Beyonce delivers the lyrics about an all-encompassing love with such conviction and the piano melody is perfect, making it one of those songs that I can listen to on repeat.  The second disc stays true to the style of music that has made Beyonce popular and it is sure to please her fans.  “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” has gone to take on a life of its own and it continues to be an extremely catchy song with a fun dance to go along with it.  The split between slow and up-tempo songs provides listeners with a collection of songs that they can choose from depending on their mood, but it leaves something to be desired as a complete album.

IDEAS:

This album could be included in a music-themed library program where tweens can learn some popular dances, including the “Single Ladies” dance.

48. A Pizza the Size of the Sun by Jack Prelutsky

A PIZZA THE SIZE OF THE SUN by Jack Prelutsky (Scholastic, 1997)

Drawings by James Stevenson

GENRE: Poetry / Humor

HONORS: ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Award, Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books

REVIEW:

A Pizza the Size of the Sun is a collection of humorous poems by the master of children’s poetry, Jack Prelutsky.  Along with the drawings by James Stevenson, Prelutsky introduces readers to a smorgasbord of memorable characters, including Lester the levitator, Herman Sherman Thurman the perfectionist, and Gladiola Gloppe the inventive soup chef, among others.  The poetry plays to kids with an abundance of bugs, animals, aliens, and even a magical hat.  With a mixture of short and longer poems, Prelutsky throws in a few new forms that will surely please kids, as well, such as a poem that wanders around the page, one written backwards, and another poem that never ends.

OPINION:

Whether through clever word play or crazy characters, the whole collection brings hilarity from start to finish.  This is a book that is just begging to be read aloud, sharing the laughter with others.  I enjoyed that the structure of the book makes it so that readers can open it at any point and they will not loose any of the humor.  The black and white drawings illuminate many of the outlandish topics, adding to Prelutsky’s wit—and in some cases, absurdity.  One of my favorite drawings is of the teenage hippopotamus, bouncing along with his boom box on his shoulder.  Because each poem plays with a completely different topic than the one before it, tweens will not get bored and many will want to read the book the whole way through.

IDEAS:

This book would be great for a poetry library display, as well as to choose as a read aloud book.  The book would work well with a library program on poetry to give tweens examples on different types of poetry and invite them to construct their own.

47. Discovery Girls Magazine - August/September 2011

DISCOVERY GIRLS MAGAZINE – August/September 2011

Published by Discovery Girls, Inc.

GENRE: Magazine

HONORS: Although this issue has not won any awards, the magazine won the 2009 iParenting Media Award.

REVIEW:

Discovery Girls is a magazine with the motto, “A magazine created by girls, for girls.”  With each issue, the contributors visit a different state and selected twelve girls—“Discovery Girls”—to help put the issue together.  The magazine features advice on several different topics that interest tween girls, such as getting ready for school faster and the pros and cons of earning new privileges, as well as a regular column titled “Ask Ali” for readers to get advice on personal questions.  The Discovery Girls and multiple readers share their experiences in some of the magazine’s regular features, including “The Great Debate” and “Embarrassing Moments.”  There are also multiple-choice quizzes on topics such as peer pressure and organization that give girls insight to their own personalities.  With few advertisements, the magazine features bright, bold colors and real tween girls instead of models, appealing to the average girl.

OPINION:

As a fan of Seventeen and Teen Magazine when I was younger, I found several parallels between those magazines and Discovery Girls, with Discovery Girls being much more age-appropriate for nine to fourteen year olds, of course.  I especially liked the idea of using a different group of “Discovery Girls” with each issue, using real tween girls as the inspiration for the topics included.  This helps ensure that topics will be interesting and entertaining to readers, as well.  The majority of the magazine uses the opinions and writings of tween girls, making it a wonderful forum for girls to get their voices heard.  There are several places throughout the magazine that invite readers to send their letters in, demonstrating that it is a priority for the editors to have real girls contribute.  This is definitely a magazine that I will recommend to tween girls.

IDEAS:

This magazine would be helpful in designing library programs on issues important to tweens, such as peer pressure and being prepared for school.  Also, each issue includes a “Creative Corner” section that could be used for an arts and crafts program at the library.

46. The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers

THE GREATEST: MUHAMMAD ALI by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic, 2001)

GENRE: Nonfiction / Biography

HONORS: YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers

REVIEW:

In this biography, Walter Dean Myers chronicles the public life of Muhammad Ali, the man Sports Illustrated named the Greatest Athlete of the 20^th Century.  Growing up in the segregated South, Ali, born Cassius Clay, became a role model for young people of every color when he won the gold medal for boxing in the 1960 Olympics and then went on to a successful professional boxing career.  His brashness and confidence especially influenced young African Americans in a time when many were demeaned with the nicknames “boy” and “uncle” and expected to ignore race.  Ali lived his life with the goal of doing what he believed was right, leading him to convert to Islam even though he faced many harsh critics.  He even risked his career and imprisonment by refusing to serve in the Vietnam War because it was against his beliefs.  The book follows Ali up through his last fight in the ring and the biggest fight of his life, his current fight against Parkinson’s disease.

OPINION:

With this biography, readers can feel Walter Dean Myer’s admiration for Ali and I came away from the book with a great amount of admiration for the legend, as well.  While other biographers may have chosen to make Ali’s personal life a larger part of the story, I appreciate Myers’ insistence on telling about the man he knows as the Greatest.  His personal life is definitely a part of him, but it is his public life that made him the role model he still is today.  His willingness to give up everything in pursuit of his beliefs is something that all tweens can look up to and honor.  In Myers’ final words about Ali, he writes, “Whatever he is doing, whatever he has done, he has always been a man of outstanding character.  He has always done what he believed to be the right thing.  It is the most that anyone can ask of a life.”  In a society in which athletes and actors are looked upon as role models, it is these last few sentences that emphasize what makes Ali different from many of them and what makes him a man worthy of admiration.

IDEAS:

This biography would be great in library displays about influential people and sports legends.  It would also be a great book to use in a library program on the Civil Rights movement.

45. John, Paul, George, & Ben by Lane Smith

JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE, & BEN by Lane Smith (Hyperion Books for Children, 2006)

GENRE: Picture Book / Humor / Historical

HONORS: Books of the Year Winner, Connecticut Book Award, National Parenting Publications Award Gold Book, New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year Winner, Quill Awards Nominee, Society of School Librarians International Book Awards Honor Book, Virginia Readers’ Choice Award

REVIEW:

Using their most famous characteristics, Smith reports some of the mischief that the Founding Fathers got into while growing up.  John Hancock was known to sign his name across the whole chalkboard at school.  Member of a bell-ringing club, Paul Revere had to scream to even hear himself talk.  George Washington admitted to his father that he chopped down his cherry tree and, when his father applauded his honesty, he confessed that he chopped down the rest of the forest, the barn, and his father’s carriage, too.  Ben Franklin loved to make up sayings for every situation and share them with others whether they wanted to hear them or not.  Independent Tom Jefferson always did his own thing, especially when he deemed school projects too amateur, and he even constructed his own Declaration of Independence from Idiotic Classwork.  In the end, all of there talents were put to good use as the colonists fought for and won their independence.

OPINION:

This is a hilarious book that elaborates on some of the myths and characteristics of the Founding Fathers.  While some of the humor will be lost on readers that do not know of the historical references, this book is a great way of introducing these influential men.  Smith takes obvious liberties with the material, but a true or false section at the back of the book clarifies any questions that young readers may have.  Although the nods to the Beatles may be lost on younger tweens, adults reading the book will appreciate them.  The antique-looking illustrations add to the humor of the book, especially with the childhood depictions of the famous men and their trademark hairstyles.  John, Paul, George, & Ben will especially appeal to younger tweens that do not like learning about history and hopefully peak their interest in an exciting time.

IDEAS:

This book is a perfect choice to read aloud to younger tweens in the library.  It could also be a starting point for a library program about the American Revolution, with tweens being introduced to the Founding Fathers in this fashion before branching off into more factual materials.  This would be a good book for a library display on American history, as well.

44. Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer

MIRROR MIRROR by Marilyn Singer (Dutton Children’s Books, 2010)

Illustrated by Josee Masse

GENRE: Picture Book / Poetry / Fairy Tale

HONORS: Mind the Gap Award, Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award Nominee, Gate City Book Award Nominee, Horned Toad Tales Nominee

REVIEW:

In this collection of fairy-tale poems, Singer introduces readers to the reverso, a form in which a poem read from top to bottom changes in meaning when read from bottom to top with only changes in punctuation and capitalization.  Emphasizing that there are two sides to every story, the poems transform some of the most popular fairy tales, including Beauty and the Beast, the Frog Prince, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Sleeping Beauty, among others.  The accompanying illustrations support the poems by depicting the two different views that the poems illuminate.

OPINION:

With Mirror Mirror, Singer has created a brilliant picture book of witty poems that will appeal to many tweens.  The combination of the poetry and the illustrations makes this book a pleasure to read, engaging readers as learn about reverso poetry.  While certain poems work better than others, the whole collection is entertaining for readers of all ages.  The one about Rapunzel has to be my favorite, explaining why she is so grouchy in one version by using the phrase “cut off” to describe Rapunzel being cut off from the world and in the other by using it to describe her cutting off her hair and having to sweep it all up.  Fans of fractured fairy tales will especially enjoy seeing how Singer tweaks the stories.  Singer’s invitation to create your own reversos will lead many readers to attempt this and discover for themselves how difficult it may be.

IDEAS:

This would be a wonderful book to inspire a library program teaching tweens about different types of poetry.  By reading this book to them, they could then attempt their own reversos and read them to the group.  This book could also be included in library displays for poetry and fairy tale books.