F Tocci, C. Lee. Stone Voice Rising, 411 pgs. Harcourt, 2009.
The other kids all laugh at Lilibit because she talks to stones. Todd gets the same reaction when he talks to birds. So Todd pretends for five years not to hear the birds talking. Lilibit, on the other hand, draws the attention of the Decreator, known currently as Syxx, who has her kidnapped and used as a research subject to the point of death. When Lilibit is kidnapped again, away from Syxx, and placed in the same foster care home as Todd, the stones she offers as gifts aid Todd and the other orphans as they try to find their way to Kiva, a place the kids hope is real but may very well turn out to be imaginary, while alluding the very real Reclamation Teams. Set in a magical world with elements of native American symbolism and tradition, this story is great fun with lots of action, dangers, and new friends throughout.
Language – G. Sexual Content – G. Violence – PG (battles).
MS – ESSENTIAL.
Labels : Worldbuilding Fantasy.


F Lowery, Pat. Hidden Voices : The Orphan Musicians of Venice, 345 pgs. Candlewick Press, 2009.
Anetta, Luisa, and Rosalba take turns telling about their lives in an orphanage in early 18th-century Venice, studying and performing music under a young Antonio Vivaldi. Their musical gifts have spared them a life of mindless drudgery, but they chafe under their constant supervision and are relentlessly pushed to work hard and perform well for the maestro. This is a story about young love, and the limited options available to these young women to make choices for themselves about their future. When flirty Rosalba sees a chance to arrange a clandestine meeting with a handsome young man she’s been spying on for over a year, she naively makes a play for love, with disastrous results. Luisa is sent to the countryside to recuperate from a serious bout of fever and finds sweet, reciprocated love with the local farm boy, while Annetta struggles to understand her own secret feelings of love and to be a good friend . I think the author throws too many kinds of young love into one story that, subsequently, ends up feeling too contrived, the plot too manipulated. I also think that Venice is not portrayed well enough to be vividly imaged by a reader unfamiliar with this incredible city.
Language – G. Sexual Content – PG13 (rape, gay character). Violence – PG.
MS, HS – OPTIONAL.
Labels : Medieval & Renaissance Era. Connections to Music & Art.


590 Turner, Pamela S. A Life in the Wild : George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts, 104 pgs. Melanie Kroupa Books, 2008.
Born in Germany. George comes to the United States as a 14-year-old with his family at the end of World War II. He studies zoology and anthropology at the University of Alaska and goes on to pioneer the practice of studying wild life in their natural habitat. He makes great contributions to our knowledge of gorillas of Africa, tigers of India, lions of Africa, big cats in the Himalayas, pandas in China, and hoofed animals on the Tibetan Plateau. He was a life-long advocate for preserving wild spaces and showing respect to both animals’ lives and habitat. Each chapter describes his family life at the time, and his professional challenges and contributions, enabling the reader to gain a better sense of his work as a zoologist and of the life of the animal under study. Contains index, sources, internet and multimedia resources, and information for getting involved.
Language, Sexual Content, Violence – G.
MS – ESSENTIAL.
Labels : Nature & Environment. World Cultures & Geography.


523.8 Jackson, Ellen; photographs and illustrations by Nic Bishop. The Mysterious Universe : Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes, 58 pgs. Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
This book follows around Alex Filippenko, an astronomer, on a few nights’ work using some of the world’s most powerful telescopes. Sprinkled throughout is information about supernovae, the Big Bang theory, the size of the universe, dark energy and dark matter, white dwarfs, black holes, and other topics related to telescopes and space. Visually appealing, the text illustrates how astronomers spend their time, and explains how they are helping answer some of the questions about our universe. Contains an index, glossary, bibliography, resources for students, websites for teachers, and related clubs and organizations.
Language, Sexual Content, Violence – G.
MS – ADVISABLE.
Labels : Space & Technology Nonfiction. Connections to Business.


939 Woods, Michael and Mary B. Woods. Seven Wonders of the Ancient Middle East, 80 pgs. Twenty-First Century Books, 2009.
This book provides background, highlights, and current status of seven architectural wonders : the ziggurat at Ur, the library at Nineveh, Persepolis, King Solomon’s Temple, Petra, Hagia Sophia, and Krak Des Chevaliers. Each chapter contains photographs, a map, pull-out quotes and sidebars, and the current situation of the site. It is a good introduction to this area of the world, and some of its history. Contains an index, further readings and websites, bibliography, source notes, glossary and pronunciation guide, choose an eighth wonder activity, and timeline.
Language, Sexual Content, Violence – G.
MS – ADVISABLE.
Labels : World Cultures & Geography Nonfiction. Ancient Civilizations Era.



F Booraem, Ellen. The Unnameables, 316 pgs. Harcourt, 2008.
Medford Runyuin and Prudence Carpenter are friends. They spend many afternoons together on Bog Island. But the time of their naming approaches and Medford’s adoptive dad, Boyce Carver, says they shouldn’t hang out there together anymore. It is not a useful thing and people are beginning to talk. No use, no name, the Book says. On the day of naming, Medford is denied a name by the Counsel for another year, and Prudence becomes a Learned, one who studies the Archives and teaches others from the Book. Their friendship is further strained when Medford meets a Goatman and has to add this acquaintance to the many other Unnameables he must hide. Reminiscent of The Giver, this story examines a community that lives strictly by the writings of a book and how such a community might react to an outsider with different traditions, or to a new idea from someone within their community.
Language, Sexual Content, Violence – G.
MS – ADVISABLE.
Labels : Keeping Secrets. Touched with Magic. Politics & Rulers.


F Bodeen, S.A. The Compound, 245 pgs. Feiwel and Friends, 2008.
Six years ago, the world succumbed to a nuclear holocaust, but Eli’s billionaire father had been planning for that day for years. Within the forty-minute window, most of the family was safely sealed within the Compound, an underground complex with all the luxuries of home. Grandma and Eddy, Eli’s twin, didn’t make it. Now, however, the food is running out, and the longing for a sea breeze, memories of Eddy, and a yearning for something – anything – out of the routine are tugging on Eli’s spirits. But the outside world won’t be safe for another nine years. Or will it? The suspense of what’s behind the yellow door, and what the father is really up to kept me reading this fast-paced story to the end.
Language – G (two swear words). Sexual Content – G. Violence – PG.
MS – ADVISABLE.
Labels : One False Move. Keeping Secrets.


811.54 Prelutsky, Jack. Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry : How to Write a Poem, 191 pgs. Greenwillow, 2008.
Including many stories from this children’s poet laureate’s childhood, Prelutsky shows how experiences can lead to poems. He shares twenty writing tips, such as “write what you know,” and “always carry paper and pencil to write down your ideas at once,” and “make lists,” and “exaggerate.” This entertaining and quick read also offers explanations and examples of various literary conventions, such as voice, point of view, irony, rhythm and rhyme, and poetic license. I can see language arts teachers using it to introduce a lesson, and kids enjoying the anecdotes and resulting poetry. Includes table of content, glossary, and index to the poems.
Language, Sexual Content, Violence – G.
EL, MS – ADVISABLE.
Labels : Poetry. Biographies & Memoirs. How-Tos.