Lately I’ve been reading on a younger level. Not because
my brain is fried (though that is a bonus) but because I’ll be booktalking to
primary and secondary teachers and need to cram for the experience. I’ve been
pleasantly surprised by the books that friends and fellow librarians
have recommended to me. I'd forgotten how much fun tween lit was!
With Mum away at a conference its Dad’s job to make sure
the household runs smoothly. Things are fine the first night, but the following
morning our narrator discovers that Dad forgot to get any milk. As the narrator
and his/her sister wait (for what seems like forever), Dad goes on an incredible
series of adventures on his way home from the store. Fortunately, the milk is
saved in every encounter.
This delightfully quirky novella is not a picture book
but neither is it a full novel. Illustrated with black and white drawings,
which helps bridge the gap between those two worlds, the story is full of wit
and humor. Whether it’s an encounter with aliens who want to redecorate the
Earth or traveling through time with Professor Steg (a stegosaurus who has
built a time machine hot air balloon), each page brims with fun and absolute over-the-top
craziness. As I read it (it took about 30 minutes or less) I could easily
imagine my mother and nephew having a blast reading this book together (Gabriel will
especially love the wampires). I put this around an 8-year-old reading level.
What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved
the World by Henry Clark
While waiting for the bus one morning, River, Freak, and
Fiona find an old green sofa by the side of the road in front of the old
Underhill House. In the sofa cushions (they dared each other to look) they
found a zucchini colored crayon, an old coin, a plaid sock, and a double-six
domino. This assortment of lost items starts the three friends down an
adventure the likes of which they could never have imagined. Soon they are involved
in a mission to stop Edward Disin from reopening a portal into a world called
Indorsia and bringing an army to Earth to enslave the population – a process
he’s already begun through the use of technology and chemically-laced food
products. How will three middle schoolers battle this evil genius? With the
help of a tessering sofa, a double-six domino linked to the most powerful
computer in the world, and a zucchini colored crayon.
While this novel touched on a few more mature topics
(River’s parents died in a car crash; Freak’s dad is an alcoholic and abuses
him), it does so in a very gentle manner. Tweens who aren’t ready for these subjects may not really notice them within the plot. What they will notice is
the adventure, the friendship, and the humor. The characters are wonderfully
drawn and their dialogue is fantastic. I laughed out loud several times (and
read passages to my husband out of context – he wasn’t as amused for some
reason). The outlandish science fiction concept is over-the-top, but so is the
rest of the novel, so it doesn’t seem out of place. Boys and girls will enjoy
this one, and reluctant readers might be surprised by how much they like it. This one is listed for ages 8-12, but I'd say age 10 or 11 is about right unless reading comprehension levels are high.
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