This Moose Belongs to Me, Oliver Jeffers

This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This Moose Belongs to me is sweet story about a young boy who's "pet" moose only obeys his many rules when it suits him. I am not sure about it's broad appeal. Younger children may be put off by the moose's lack of loyalty and the story's dry humor.


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Where Things Come Back

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It's nice to finish a book right before it wins a major award! I like this book a lot, Where Things Come Back tells the story of a Cullen Witter who's world is up-ended by the appearance of a long extinct bird and the disappearance of his younger brother. Very well written and not to difficult, this book will appeal to many teens. It is dark and there are many adult themes so I recommend this one for mature upper middle school and high school only.



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Amazing Agent Luna, V. 1-3

Amazing Agent Luna Volume 1 by Nunzio DeFilippis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A fun read for middle to high school girls about a genetically engineered, lab raised teenager who is on the hardest mission of her life: high school. Sent to Nobel High to investigate why her nemesis is researching the school, Luna must learn to navigate a "normal" life for the first time.

The series doesn't break any new ground, but is good fun. Within the first three novels, the only concern is the exaggerated depiction of the female body - which is an unfortunate norm of manga. The art is nicely done, crisp and serves the story.



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Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Once again Eoin Colfer has created an adventure that engages from start to finish! The story resumes with Opal Koboi safely imprisoned in a coma and Artemis and Butler's memories of The People wiped. As always, though, things are not what they seem. Opal escapes, Holly is in the worst trouble of her career and she needs the help that only Artemis and Butler can provide.

Colfer has created a wonderful villan in Opal. Both brilliant and irrational she is hilarious when she commands her henchmen not to look directly at her since it is "bad for the skin." With no Juliet in this book, it is good to have the humor that Opal's increasing insanity provides.

This is a great book for upper elementary boys and especially good in audio.



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higher power of lucky

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Lucky is an orphan in the hard luck town of Hard Pan, CA. She is seeking her own higher power to help her get through the loss of her mother and her fear of losing her Guardian. Though she is from a tiny town (pop. 43) and everyone is poor, her entire community is there to help her when she needs it most.



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Decline in Picture Book Sales

This is an really interesting, if over-reaching, article on the decline in sales of picture books.

The author attributes this decline to parents pushing their kids too quickly into chapter books, but does little to examine other reasons that picture book sales have slumped.

One commenter, a librarian, ran stats on picture book circulation and found them up about 10%. Suggesting that picture books remain an important resource for families, jsut not one they will pay $18 for.

Now, I LOVE picture books, but I also have a hard time with the high price tag. I have noticed my local Borders carrying fewer and fewer paperback editions, except for the character driven books (Barbie's Whatever Adventure with Yo Gaba Gaba).

I really hope that kids are not pushed too quickly into chapter books, both because I think the visual literacy skills learned by decoding a picture book are critical and because the stunning art work is something to savor, not push through.

Read the article, and let me know what you think.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html

Maximum Ride, Or Beach Reading for the YA Set

If you have a reader in 4th through 8th grade, you have probably seen the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. The story follows Max (AKA Maximum Ride) and her "flock" of genetically altered friends as they attempt to save the world from a pharmaceutical-military company out to destroy it.

The stories are a mishmash of Third Reich meets X Men meets enviromental propaganda meets kid power action. The writing is weak, at best and the character development nonexistent. There is no nuance, no shading. Adults are almost uniformly bad, and have destroyed the world.

Still, the books move along at a clip and are certainly engaging, in the way candy corn is: it's great until your teeth hurt and then it's too late.

For an almost equally far fetched scenario but with better writing and character development, go for the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.