Guinness World Records: Just Outrageous!

Title: Guinness World Records: Just Outrageous!

Authors: Joanne Mattern & Ryan Herndon

ISBN: 0-439-79192-8

Pages: 90 pgs.

Format: Non-fiction

Summary: The world famous Guinness Book of World Records is among one of the most popular books for kids. This small chapter book version is great for independent readers that want interesting facts without having to read hundreds of pages. Ten chapters focus on different areas of interest such as animals, the human body, Sports, insects, and things that are just plain gross. If you want to know what the most expensive fungus is, what the most tattooed or pierced individual looks like, what flower has the worst stink, or who has the longest hair, than this book is full of fun and outrageous facts to blow your mind and even make your stomach feel a little weak. It is a great read for kids and as I learned even adults.

Cooking Wizardry for Kids

Title: Cooking Wizardary for Kids
Authors: Margaret Kenda and Phyllis S. Williams
ISBN: 0-8120-4409-6
Pages: 314 pgs.
Format: Cookbook (Non-Fiction)

Review:
This is a real cookbook for kids. Not only is it a book of recipes but it is also a basics in cooking type of book, with lots of how-tos and good basic knowledge about food, safety in the kitchen, and preparation tips. There is also lots of information about nutrition, portion sizes, building a well-balanced meal, and maintaining a balanced diet. This book has so many recipes from breakfast foods, to dinners, snacks, and baked goods. I thought it was very thorough in giving a good foundation to tweens on food preparation and cooking. One thing I thought was not quite age friendly was the amount of wording compared to the amount of images or illustrations on each page. I think a non-fiction book geared for tweens and kids aged 9-12 should include many more pictures to build more context on the topic. The authors should realize while their instructions are well written, most kids this age have very limited experience cooking, especially cooking independently. A how-to book should have way more images than this one does. Also I felt that initially the child using this book would need some adult assistance, especially since a lot of the recipes refer to previous lessons or recipes in the book and it requires a lot of flipping around from page to page. Overall, I thought this book was well written for the age group, it just needs a more pictures for kids to be able to use it on their own. I also thought that it was very gender neutral, which is nice, since most cooking books for kids tend to be geared for girls. The cover has a boy and girl cooking and many of the drawings in the book do as well. As a test I had my niece, perform one of the recipes in the book. She is 14 years old so a little over the recommended age group. She made the chocolate chips cookies. She has made them many times before from other recipes, but I think this one was a little easier for her to follow. The only confusing part was that this recipe called for "mix" which is a premade recipe for "mix" that can be used for brownies, other cookies, and cakes. Again, lots of flipping around and the recipes really need to be read completely in advance before attempting them, since it requires other previous steps. Overall, it is a good book for tweens, just needs a little restructuring. The cookies came out well without my help, and she has already been planning other things to make.

Morning Girl

Title: Morning Girl
Author: Michael Dorris
ISBN: 0-7868-1358-X
Format: Chapter Book
Pages: 74 pgs.
Awards: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Review: Narrated by both a brother and sister, this book tells in very descriptive words, the story of a Taino family living on a Bahamian Island in 1492. You actually do not learn the year until the very end when, a journal entry by Christopher Columbus is shown in the Epilogue. The sibiings are Morning Girl, since she is an early riser, and Star boy, since he is a night owl. Their narration interchanges by each chapter and gives a look at life from these two very different perspectives. They tell about events that happen to the family, such as their mother losing a pregnancy, an awful storm that destroys most of the village, and their feelings about these situations. It is interesting to see how they are so differently affected by the same circumstances and how even though they are not the closest of siblings, they still love and respect each other. The story ends with an encounter for Morning Girl that implies big change for the family and the village.

At first, I must say that the narration changes by chapter confused me. I did not realize what was going on and got a little lost in the story. There was no explanation of this on the cover, so I think for a younger reader, this too might be quite confusing as most books maintain a consistent narrator at this age level. The book was very descriptive with lots of colorful language, strong imagery, and explanations that really drew upon the readers senses. I enjoyed that fact, since most literature at this level usually lacks this quality. I would even go as far to say that is was almost poetic. This might lose some tween readers that have not been exposed to the use of descriptive language. The author took more than one page to describe a storm, and some younger readers by become bored by that. On the other hand, younger readers that are not exposed to this style, might find that they love it, so it could provide a good introduction to descriptive language in literature. I think tweens can identify with the two narrators even though they are a native Taino people living on an island during the 15th century. The relationship with the brother and sister is very similar to any sibling relationship, and it is interesting to get both sides of the same story from two very different perspectives. Most tweens would be able to relate to the same annoyances as Morning Girl and Star Boy. Overall, this is a good quick read with much to learn and relate to for a tween reader.

Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day

Title: Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day
Author: Gary Paulsen
ISBN: 0-385-90911-X
Format: Chapter Book
Pages: 105 Pgs.


Summary: This book by Gary Paulsen, is one of the few that he has written narrated by a girl protagonist. It is a humorous book about middle school student, Molly McGinty and her super organized life. She keeps herself completely and totally organized with a 3 ring binder that has lists, important papers, her schedule, pretty much anything she needs to get through her day successfully, that is until she loses it one day. Uh-oh, we can see where this is going. This also happens to be the day at school where Senior Citizens, a.k.a. grandparents are allowed to visit and follow their grandchildren around school. Lucky for Molly, her grandmother, Irene is the only Senior Citizen that volunteers to come and she is no ordinary grandmother. As the day progresses, chaos ensues due to her out-of-control grandmother, and her missing binder. It is a hilarious and fun read, making the reader eager to turn to the next page to see what is going to happen to poor Molly next.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Title: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Author: Eleanor Coerr
ISBN: 0-698-11802-2
Format: Chapter Book
Pages: 79 pgs.


Review: This is the story of Sadako Sasaki, an eleven year-old girl living in Hiroshima, Japan. It is 1955, 10 years after the infamous atom bomb was dropped on the city. The country is still recovering from the devastating loss of life and others are fighting diseases and sicknesses that they developed as after effects of the bombs deadly chemicals. Sadako is a happy, healthy, and energetic child. Her main focus and goal for the upcoming year when she enters junior high, is to make the track team. As she practices her running, she begins to develop dizzy spells and weakness. At first she thinks she is just overexerting herself, however after collapsing at school and going to the hospital, she learns she has leukemia, (the atom bomb disease). She becomes upset that she has to stay in the hospital for treatment, and is missing out on her opportunity to run. Then her feelings change to fear, not just of missing out on her dream, but of dying. There are so many things she still has to do with her life. So many things she has left to accomplish. A friend reminds her of an old folktale, when a person gets sick, of if they fold one thousand paper cranes, they will be cured of their ailments and live a long and prosperous life. She begins making paper cranes, and everyone gets involved by bringing her paper and hanging them up around her room. She makes paper cranes for months. Usually I do not like giving away the ending, but some might already know the story of Sadako. She eventually grows weaker and the cancer takes her life. Her legend lives in Japan and they even have a day of peace commemorating her life and death and the others that suffered the consequences of the bomb. This book is very appropriate for tween reading. It brings up topics of war and death and I think children of this age group need to be aware of. Many children are diagnosed with cancer at young ages, and other children can help and learn from these situations. It should not be a taboo topic for tweens or even younger children. It is important for young tweens to be aware of wars too and the reasons for war as well as the consequences of war. This book does an incredible job telling one person's story and how war affected their life. It is not gruesome or violent, but does a valid job of describing the situation. It goes into the feelings and emotions of Sadako and her family, and I feel it is a very appropriate book for most tweens to read. This would be a great book to read as a class as well, since the themes give a good opportunity for class discussions on war and disease. This book an excellent tween read.

Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio

Title: Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio

Author: Tony Johnston

ISBN: 0-439-18936-5

Format: Chapter Book-Fiction

Summary: Arturo Rodriguez is eleven years old and growing up in the barrio of Los Angeles. His family emigrated from Aguascalientes, Mexico in search for a better life in the states. However life in the U.S. is a lot different than Mexico, especially living in the barrio. There are gangs, drugs, and violence. Through his story, Arturo shows that any small goodness in this setting makes a big difference. He shares stories about his neighbors, teachers, friends, and the other families that are in his life and how these people make a difference. It is the little things that brings them together and bonds them in the barrio which can be an ugly place. It is also through these small actions, that makes gives Arturo a lot of hope for his future.

"In life there is bueno and there is malo. If you do not find enough of the good, you must yourself create it. Remember this thing - any small goodness is of value."

Lucky Breaks

Title: Lucky Breaks

Author: Susan Patron

ISBN: 1416939989

Format: Chapter Book

Pages: 176 pgs.

Review: So Lucky is back in a new tale about growing up and learning some valuable life lessons in the old town of Hard Pan. In this sequel to The Higher Power of Lucky, Lucky makes a new friend, Paloma, from L.A. She also works for her adoptive mother Brigitte, in her small weekend cafe. She is also on the verge of turning eleven and that means opening the doors to a new life for Lucky. She is back to her adventurous ways, but is also learning a tough lesson in what it takes to be a good friend, not only to others but to herself. This sequel does a great job in tying up the themes presented in the Higher Power of Lucky. It continues with the search for self identity and belonging which is a common tween theme. Many readers can find themselves identifying with the issues that Lucky faces, I did as well even as an adult! The author presents typical tween issues such as self identity, future plans, becoming more independent, and learning to take responsibility for your own actions in an interesting and relatable way. Again, the story is interesting and as a reader, I found myself wanting to be friends with Lucky and all the people in Hard Pan. This story also great for tweens with issues such as living with a single parent, being adopted, having an incarcerated parent, and living with limited means. At points the lessons learned, dig drag on a bit and I found myself becoming a little bored with some of the conversations but I feel this is just my old age! I recommend this book as a great follow up to the original.