Ms. Lommel Reads

Found (Missing Series #1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

2008-06-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

Fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix's Shadow Children series will LOVE her new series, Missing, which begins with Found.

When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time. The cliff-hanger ending promises that the next book in the series will pick up with the same action and adventure that permeates this book.

The many fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix will love other books by her, including the previously mentioned Shadow Children series (starting with Among the Hidden), Double Identity, Running Out of Time, and my personal favorite Takeoffs and Landings. Another author you may enjoy is Eoin Colfer. And don't forget the ultimate classic of time travel, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

Burning Up by Caroline B. Cooney

2008-06-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Another suspenseful book from prolific author Caroline B. Cooney. When a girl she had met at an inner-city church is murdered, fifteen-year-old Macey channels her grief into a school project that leads her to uncover prejudice she had not imagined in her grandparents and their wealthy Connecticut community. This is a book which caused me to reflect on the issue of prejudice.

Although I enjoyed Burning Up, the series The Face on the Milk Carton sremains my favorite book by Ms. Cooney. Fatality by the same author is on my summer reading list, as it has been recommended by one of my students. If you like Caroline B. Cooney, you'll also enjoy Lois Duncan.

Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica

2008-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another sports book from Mike Lupica for all his fans. Josh Cameron, introduced to readers in Travel Team and its sequel Summer Ball, "stars" in this new book. Josh meets a girl, Molly Parker, who claims to be his daughter. There's some basketball court action, but most of the book is about Josh and Molly's attempt to begin a father-daughter relationship.

I heartily recommend Lupica's other books, and I can't wait to read Heat, another of his latest reads. Other great sports books are Night Hoops by Carl Deuker; great sport writers include John Feinstein, John Tunis, and Thomas Dygard.

A House Called Awful End by Philip Ardagh

2008-03-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

"When Eddie Dickens was eleven years old, both his parents caught some awful disease that made them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly around the edges, and smell of old hot water bottles." So starts this book, the first in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy. Eddie's Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud take Eddie to their home, Awful End. A madcap series of zany adventures begins, with zany characters abounding throughout the pages of this quick read (alright, I didn't actually read this book, I listened to it on audio CD in my car, but that's considered reading, too!).

You'll love this book if you liked A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (for the offbeat humor, use of vocabulary definitions, and frequently absurd happenings). And if you really liked this book, continue on with the series!

Drita My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard

2008-03-12T11:26:00.001-07:00

When ten-year-old Drita and her family, refugees from Kosovo, move to New York City, Drita is teased about not speaking English well, but after Maxie, a popular student, is forced by their teacher to learn about Kosovo as a punishment for teasing Drita, the two girls soon bond.

The theme is a perennial favorite of middle school literature: that despite our differences, we truly are more alike than we may have originally have thought. This book, the first by the author, was a quick and enjoyable read. I particularly liked the format, with Drita and Maxie telling their side of the story in alternating chapers.

If you liked this book, you'll also like Defining 'Normal' by Julie Anne Peters (for the theme) and Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen (for the alternating chapters format).

The End (Book the 13th) by Lemony Snicket

2007-10-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

I finally reached the end of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Thirteen volumes of the adventures and misadventures of the Baudelaire orphans came to an end with The End (Book the 13th).

More questions were left unanswered than answered, in my humble opinion, as the book came to its end. My vocabulary increased substantially as a result of reading this series, as Snicket uses a "big" word in the book and then gives the definition.

I started this series when my son was in fourth grade, and finished it with him now a sophomore in high school!! I read the first four volumes, and have enjoyed the last nine as CD's on my car radio. I saw the movie, which was based on the first three books--I loved it, my son hated it, and my husband slept through it. Wow, the Baudelaire orphans and I have been through so much together the past six years. A good series for those readers who enjoy expanding their vocabulary.

The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

2007-06-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

This book was sent to me by the publisher for my review. It is scheduled to be published in October. The similarities between this book and A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket are many: among them, both of these authors' names are obviously pseudonyms. Next, the tone of absurdity and offbeat sense of humor (and I mean that in a positive way!) by both authors is similar, as is the technique of using a big word and then defining it in the text.

I was also struck by the appearance of the condition synesthesia, or confusion of senses, in this book as well as in A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass, one of the most popular books in our school library this past school year.

In The Name of This Book is Secret, Cassandra and Max find a missing magician's notebook and start to investigate the fire which burnt down his house and his mysterious "symphony of smells." I found the book a little too long (359 pages), but that seems to be the trend in children's book publishing since Harry Potter came on the scene.

So if you like Lemony Snicket (and I'm a BIG fan), you'll be sure to like this book, too. The ending foreshadows a sequel to come, so that's good, too. Who is Pseudonymous Bosch? We'll have to wait to find out.

Lunch Money by Andrew Clements

2007-06-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

As the old song says, "Money makes the world go around", and Greg Kenton couldn't agree more with that. He and Maura Shaw, his neighbor and classmate, team up after being competitors, selling mini comic books at school and discover there's more to running a business than just making a profit.

All the components of Andrew Clements' previous novels are here once again: school, teachers, friendship (what else would one expect from an author who's a former school teacher??), but are combined with some lessons on economics and entrepreneurialism (look that up in your dictionary!) for middle school readers. I listened to this book on CD, and enjoyed a bonus: an interview with Clements at the book's conclusion.

Other Andrew Clements books for middle schoolers to enjoy are Frindle (my personal favorite), A Week in the Woods, and The School Story. I'm looking forward to No Talking, his newest book which will be released this summer, about which I've already heard a good review. I've ordered a copy for our school library which should be here in early September.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

2007-05-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Miranda watches with her family as a meteor hits the moon, knocking it into an orbit closer to Earth. Life as they know it quickly changes for Miranda and her family, as a chain of horrific occurances (tsunamis, earthquakes, dramatic climate changes, and volcanic eruptions) creates a life and death struggle for survival for earth's inhabitants. As life goes from bad to worse, Miranda, sixteen years old, writes in her diary.

I can't remember the last time I was so engrossed in a book, not wanting to catch a glimpse of what was going to happen next. Readers will devour this engrossing, page-turning science fiction novel, which was recommended to me by Mary M., Director at the Long Hill Public Library, in a perfect case of "librarian collaboration"!

Life As We Knew It is available at the Long Hill Library and will be available in September at the Central Middle School Library.

Other books in this genre or with similar plots that I recommend are Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse; Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien; and Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. This is the first book I've read by Pfeffer, who also wrote The Year Without Michael. All of these books are available at the Central Middle School Library, and at the Long Hill Library.

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy

2007-05-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

As a middle school librarian, there are several ways I can tell if students really like a book. One way is when one student comes in with a book and says "My friend says I have to read this book, so I'm here to return this book for him/her, and check it out on my library number." So I check the book in, and then immediately check it out to the second student.

Such was the case recently with Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy. I purchased the book for our school library based on reviews in a professional journal, but hadn't yet had the opportunity to read it. Yellow Star is the fictionalized account of the author's aunt's childhood in Poland. Only four years old at the beginning of World War II, Syvvia and her family were forced by the Nazis into a Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. Six years later, at war's end, Syvvia was one of only twelve children among the 800 survivors. This is an incredible tale of survival, a testament to the strength and determination of one family, and in particular, one little girl. The book concludes with an update on Syvvia and her family, and a timeline of World War II events. Yellow Star is definitely one of my top reads of the year. A must read!!

Other Holocaust books I recommend are Hana's Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine (non-fiction); Four Perfect Pebbles by Lila Perl and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (autobiographies); and Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli and Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs (fiction), all available at the Central Middle School Library.

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

2007-05-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Danny the Underdog triumphs once again in Summer Ball, sports writer Mike Lupica's brand-new sequel to his popular Travel Team. Danny Walker, still struggling with his lack of height both on and off the court, goes to Right Way, a summer basketball camp in Maine owned by a pro basketball star. Joining Danny and his friends Will and Ty (also in Travel Team) is Rasheed Hill, previously their opponent but now on the same team at camp. Summer Ball is action-packed and full of suspense guaranteed to entertain and excite middle school fans of Mike Lupica and basketball.

If you liked Travel Team, you'll love Summer Ball. And if you like Mike Lupica, try Heat and Miracle on 49th Street, also by him. Other great basketball books to read are Night Hoops by Carl Deuker and Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein.