2008-2009 Reading List

Here is the list of books I've read during the 2008-2009 school year. They are sorted by call number. Included are the review dates.

1. 289.3 Eyring, Mormon Scientist (reviewed Mar 23, 2009)
2. 305.23 Naidoo, Making It Home (reviewed Oct 6, 2008)
3. 305.235 O’Brien, Afghan Dreams (reviewed Mar 9, 2009)
4. 333.72 Lasky, John Muir (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
5. 523.8 Jackson, Mysterious Universe (reviewed May 18, 2009)
6. 590 Turner, Life in the Wild (reviewed May 18, 2009)
7. 591.77 McLimans, Gone Fishing (reviewed Feb 4, 2009)
8. 612.8 Fleischman, Phineas Gage (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
9. 629.45 Thimmesh, Team Moon (reviewed Oct 6, 2008)
10. 741.5 Russell, Coraline (based on novel by Neil Gaiman) (reviewed Oct 20, 2008)
11. 741.5 Yang, American Born Chinese (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
12. 808.83 Tan, Tales from Outer Suburbia (reviewed Apr 30, 2009)
13. 811.54 Pretlutsky, Pizza Pigs and Poetry (reviewed May 18, 2009)
14. 939 Woods, Seven Wonders of the Ancient Middle East (reviewed May 18, 2009)
15. 956.95 Barakat, Tasting the Sky (reviewed Nov 26, 2008)
16. FIC Anderson, Pox Party (reviewed Mar 9, 2009)
17. FIC Bennett, Cassandra’s Sister (reviewed Oct 20, 2008)
18. FIC Berry, The Amaranth Enchantment (reviewed Jun 24, 2009)
19. FIC Bloor, Tangerine (reviewed Feb 10, 2009)
20. FIC Bodeen, The Compound (reviewed May 18, 2009)
21. FIC Booraem, The Unnameables (reviewed May 18, 2009)
22. FIC Bradley, Hot Lunch (reviewed Oct 30, 2008)
23. FIC Bray, Rebel Angels (reviewed Dec 18, 2008)
24. FIC Cannon, Loser’s Guide to Life and Love (reviewed Feb 21, 2009)
25. FIC Carroll, Awakening (reviewed Apr 30, 2009)
26. FIC Cashore, Graceling (reviewed Apr 30, 2009)
27. FIC Colfer, Airman (reviewed Nov 26, 2008)
28. FIC Collins, Hunger Games (reviewed Oct 6, 2008)
29. FIC Cooney, Enter Three Witches (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
30. FIC Cornwell, Carpe Diem (reviewed Dec 18, 2008)
31. FIC Crane, Skin Deep (reviewed Mar 23, 2009)
32. FIC Downing, Trials of Kate Hope (reviewed Nov 26, 2008)
33. FIC DuPrau, City of Ember (reviewed Oct 30, 2008)
34. FIC George, Looks (reviewed Dec 18, 2008)
35. FIC Grantz, Something Rotten (reviewed Sep 29, 2008)
36. FIC Halpern, Dormia (reviewed Jun 24, 2009)
37. FIC Harper, Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney (reviewed Nov 26, 2008)
38. FIC Hesse, Aleutian Sparrow (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
39. FIC Kilbourne, Dear Jo (reviewed Oct 30, 2008)
40. FIC Koertge, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (reviewed Apr 21, 2009)
41. FIC Korman, Schooled (reviewed Nov 26, 2008)
42. FIC Kostick, Epic (reviewed Spe 29, 2008)
43. FIC Kostick, Saga (reviewed Dec 18, 2008)
44. FIC Law, Savvy (reviewed Nov 3, 2008)
45. FIC Lockhart, Disreputalbe History of Frankie Landau-Banks (reviewed Mar 23, 2009)
46. FIC Lord, Rules (reviewed Dec 18, 2008)
47. FIC Lowery, Hidden Voices (reviewed May 18, 2009)
48. FIC Mahy, Maddigan’s Fantasia (reviewed Feb 10, 2009)
49. FIC Malley, The Declaration (reviewed Jun 24, 2009)
50. FIC Marr, Wicked Lovely (reviewed Dec 18, 2008)
51. FIC Marsh, Night Tourist (reviewed oct 20, 2008)
52. FIC Miller, Kiki Strike : Inside the Shadow City (reviewed Nov 26, 2008)
53. FIC Peck, River Between Us (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
54. FIC Pfeffer, The Dead and the Gone (reviewed Sep 12, 2008)
55. FIC Reeve, Here Lies Arthur (reviewed Oct 20, 2008)
56. FIC Reeve, Mortal Engines (reviewed Feb 4, 2009)
57. FIC Resau, Red Glass (reviewed Sep 12, 2008)
58. FIC Rex, True Meaning of Smekday (reviewed Dec 18, 2009)
59. FIC Sage, Magyk (reviewed Feb 10, 2009)
60. FIC Shusterman, Everlost (reviewed Apr 21, 2009)
61. FIC Sonnenblick, Zen and the Art of Faking It (reviewed Oct 30, 2008)
62. FIC Spinelli, Smiles to Go (reviewed Jan 29, 2009)
63. FIC Stahler, Doppelganger (reviewed Oct 20, 2008)
64. FIC Stewart, Mysterious Benedict Society (reviewed Apr 21, 2009)
65. FIC Tocci, Stone Voice Rising (reviewed May 18, 2009)
66. FIC Zimmer, Reaching for Sun (reviewed Dec 18, 2009)

Dormia ; The Declaration ; and The Amaranth Enchantment

FIC Halpern, Jake and Peter Kujawinski. Dormia, 506 pgs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
After learning that he is a descendant of Dormia, a hidden kingdom in the Ural Mountains whose inhabitants possess the ancient power of "wakeful sleeping," Alfonso sets out on a mission to save the kingdom from destruction, discovering secrets that lurk in his own sleep. Traveling with Bilblox, Hill, and a magic-inducing plant, Alfonso has some wonderful adventures fighting off killer plants, competing in a relay race on a pair of decaying ships, sailing across the frozen seas, following a haunted forest path, withstanding winter storms, and entering Dormia. Once there, he must help defeat those who have infultrated this hidden world and are set on killing the founding tree that keeps them alive. Final pages include selected Dormian hieroglyphs and the national anthem of Dormia. I found the adventures creative and well written. However, personally, I just don't find very exciting the possibility of having great abilities that exhibit themselves only when you're sleeping. Alfonso has to go to sleep before he can perform at the level needed to outwit and defeat his opponents. That just seems wrong, somehow.
MS - ADVISABLE.


FIC Malley, Gemma. The Declaration, 301 pgs. Bloomsbury, 2007.
In 2140 England, the drug Longevity has eradicated old age a century previously, but as the death rate plummeted, resource shortages became critical and children became an insupportable luxury. By 16 years of age, all people have to either sign The Declaration, allowing the use of Longevity but forbidding children, or Opt-Out. This story begins as Surplus Anna finally starts writing in the journal she received from Mrs. Sharpe last year after working for her for a few weeks. Accepting gifts isn’t allowed by Surpluses, and writing is strictly forbidden, but she can’t resist. She has a perfect hiding place for it and feels both heady and incredibly guilty as she periodically writes down some of her thoughts. Anna is living at Grange Hall and training to become a house servant. She is usually obedient, trying to earn her release as a Valuable Asset where she’ll work for a Legal to make up for the resources she has no rights to but is using up nevertheless. Anna has been taught to hate her parents for breaking the law and to accept that she has no rights to any resources or personal freedoms, since she shouldn’t exist in the first place. When a new Pending Surplus arrives, Anna’s world view is challenged. Peter claims to know her parents and insists that they love her and want her back. When she overhears House Matron Mrs. Pincent speaking about her with disgust and planning to kill Peter, she realizes that Peter is right, and that they must get out before it is too late. With the sadistic catchers, the bitter and revengeful Mrs. Pincent, and a little-used escape clause in The Declaration, this story is a believable glimpse into a troubling future as well as an examination of the meaning of love.
MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.


FIC Berry, Julie. The Amaranth Enchantment, 308 pgs. Bloomsbury, 2009.
Lucinda’s loving and wealthy parents died when she was five, taking with them most of the love and all of the wealth from Lucinda’s life. Now fifteen, she is being raised by her cruel aunt and henpecked uncle and her life at her uncle’s jewelry shop mostly resembles that of an unpaid servant. Three unusual visitors in one day – the beautiful woman Beryl with the incredibly enormous and perfectly round gem needing a new setting, the initially unrecognized crown prince Gregor looking for the perfect gift for his soon-to-be betrothed, and the pickpocket Peter who enters her room’s window late that night looking for a hiding spot – and the death of her uncle the next morning send Lucinda’s life in a new direction. With some elements reminiscent of Cinderella, this fairy tale-like story is great fun, always moving, with a great mix of twists, romance, and extraterrestrial powers to keep the reader turning pages.
MS – ESSENTIAL.

Tricking the Tallyman; Pippo the Fool; Roman Diary; You Are Weird; Food for Thought; Big George; and B Is for Battle Cry

E Davies, Jacqueline; illustrated by S. D. Schindler. Tricking the Tallyman : The Great Census Shenanigans of 1790, unpaged. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
When Phineas Bump rides into the small Vermont village of Tunbridge, he encounters residents who have mistaken ideas about the purpose of the first census of the United States and try to skew his count in their favor. After two counts that were first too small and then too big, the townsfolk persuade Mr. Bump to count them one last time when they learn that the census was to determine taxes and soldiers owed to the government as well as their representation in that government. The author includes one page of nonfiction information about the first census and types of questions asked.
EL – ADVISABLE.
List : US Birth of Nation (ERA)


E Fern, Tracey E.; illustrated by Pau Estrada. Pippo the Fool, unpaged. Charlesbridge, 2009.
When Filippo Brunelleschi hears about his town’s contest to design a dome for the cathedral, he sees the chance he’s been waiting for. His designs for peculiar machines that no one needs and sketches of outlandish structures no one wants to build have earned him the nickname Pippo the Fool, but he knows he can solve this new architectural challenge. Based on the true story of how the cathedral of Florence gained a dome, Pippo meets the challenge and becomes known as Pippo the Genius. This story has beautiful illustrations and could be used for a character-development lesson.
EL – ESSENTIAL; MS – ADVISABLE.
Lists : Middle Ages & Renaissance (ERA); Art (HOOK); TA (HOOK).


E Platt, Richard; illustrated by David Parkins. Roman Diary : The Journal of Iliona of Mytilini, Who Was Captured by Pirates and Sold as a Slave in Rome, AD 107, 64 pgs. Candlewick Press, 2009.
With a larger-than-typical page size, two-column text format, and graphic-novel illustrations, this fictional diary of a young Greek girl who works as a slave in Rome gives the reader an educational glimpse into life in ancient Rome. One learns about common practices of the day, such as the slave trade, education, public baths, social classes, military ranks, the senate, indoor plumbing, religion, gladiator fights, theater, and dining. The last six pages contain nonfiction information about all these topics, as well as a timeline of Roman history. Includes glossary and index. There are enough facts and great illustrations to make this of interest to some middle-school students.
EL – REQUIRED; MS – ADVISABLE.
Lists : Ancient Civilizations (ERA); Reluctant Readers (FORM).


612 Swanson, Diane; illustrated by Boake Kathy. You Are Weird : Your Body’s Peculiar Parts and Funny Functions, 40 pgs. Kids Can Press, 2009.
Single-spread chapters talk about unusual aspects of the human body : skin, canine teeth, appendix, and so on. Space is too limited for in-depth studies, but readers learn interesting and little-known facts about our bodies. Each spread includes a “freaky fact” and a sidebar that often contains a related experiment or observation the reader can try that relates to the topic. The illustrations have the life-like look of computer animation, and include a lot of expression and humor. Includes glossary and index.
Complete contents include : bacteria, skin, sweat glands, body hair, goose bumps, sinuses, wisdom teeth, canine teeth, eyeballs, wiggling ears, nose, appendix, plantaris and palmaris (superfluous) muscles, tail bone, finger nails, and toes.
Language, Sex, Violence – G.
EL – ADVISABLE; MS – OPTIONAL.
Lists : Factoids (FORM); Health & Medicine (HOOK).


641.3 Robbins, Ken. Food for Thought : The Stories Behind the Things We Eat, 45 pgs. Roaring Brook Press, 2009.
Robbins relates famous stories, anecdotes, historical highlights, and nutritional tidbits for several common foods : apples, oranges, corn, bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, pomegranates, grapes, and mushrooms. Four pages devoted to each food, this book leaves the reader with some interesting and, most likely, previously unknown trivia. Each chapter is illustrated with photos and paintings.
EL – ESSENTIAL; MS – ADVISABLE.
Lists : Factoids (FORM); Foods (HOOK).


973.4 Rockwell, Anne; illustrated by Matt Phelan. Big George : How a Shy Boy Became President Washington, unpaged. Harcourt, 2009.
This picture book introduces the reader to George Washington, from a shy boy, through his teens and brother’s death, to his time as a young officer during the French and Indian War. By the time the American Revolution begins, Washington has the best experience, and is the best prepared to accept the responsibility of leadership. It talks about his innovative battle tactics and touches on the Delaware crossing, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. The author’s note includes additional information about the stain on the flag of this new country – slavery.
EL – ESSENTIAL.
Lists : US Birth of Nation (ERA); Picture Book (FORM).


973.7 Bauer, Patricia; illustrated by David Geister. B Is for Battle Cry : A Civil War Alphabet, unpaged. Sleeping Bear Press, 2009.
For each letter, Bauer has written a four-line stanza that introduces a topic related to the Civil War and also would work as a verse in Stephen Foster’s Civil War-era song “Hard Times Come Again No More.” The more significant portion of the text fills the outer third of each page and provides explanatory information about each of the 26 topics. Accompanied with beautiful paintings, this text is a very satisfactory introduction to the Civil War. The actual stanzas, however, are too choppy and forced to work well as poems, and without a copy of Foster’s song, it is impossible to see how well they might work as a song. Contains glossary.
EL – ESSENTIAL; MS – OPTIONAL.
Lists : US Civil War (ERA); Factoids (FORM); Picture Book (FORM).

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.