When the Whistle Blows

Author: Fran Slayton¡
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th to 8th

Pages: 160
Publisher: Philomel, Penguin Young Readers
Edition: Hardcover, 2009 (from galley)

Judging by the somewhat muted and sleepy cover, I thought I was going to read a "pensive, quiet" coming-of-age, historical fiction. It turned out that the story is NOT all that quiet: every episode falls on an All Hallow's Eve from early-40s to late-40s. You get the thrill of the secret Society's weird, slightly off and scary way to honor a recently deceased member; you get the Halloween prank gone awry; you get the blood-pumping, almost heart-stopping football game actions; and you get the death and danger working on the steam-engined trains. But then, you also get so much HEART between the main character and his father. It is an entirely "male" book, glaringly so -- you hardly see a female character and they hardly have even a speaking turn. It's all... very, macho, but oddly also very tender. And so much humor and humorous wisdom. I am not ashamed to say that I cried hard at the end of the tale... mourning the passing of a man and of an era so lovingly and convincingly portrayed by the author.

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Hate That Cat

Author: Sharon Creech
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd to 5th grade

Pages: 153
Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2008

I was really delightfully surprised at how I enjoyed reading this one. I remember loving Love That Dog and did not think that I was emotionally manipulated -- although most of the time I feel Creech's books highly "manipulative." And again, I cried over this little story and did not hate the fact that I cried. I have been wondering about Verse Novels and this book does not only present itself as a verse novel, it discusses the notion of poetry -- light ones vs. "serious" ones; children's self-reflective writing vs. classic, grand poetry. It's definitely a very teacher-y book. I can see 4th-6th grade teachers all over thinking to themselves, "I can use this in my poetry unit! It even teaches techniques such as similes, metaphors, and alliteration!" The introduction of a deaf mother is an interesting touch. Maybe a little forced but it does offer the opportunity for the young readers to think and discuss the notion of beat/rhythm as "sounds" and actual physical vibrations. (Oh, my, god, can this book even be used by Science Teachers about sound waves?!!)

Anyway. I am pleased with the book.


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Sunrise Over Fallujah

Author: Walter Dean Myers
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th, 7th, 8th, YA

Pages: 290
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Edition: Hardcover, 2008

It took me a while to read this one -- in between, I finished quite a few other books -- my opinions of the story and the telling wavered like a pendulum: sometimes I felt detached, bored and other times my heart almost stopped and I did not want to read on for fear of what was to come in the story, to the soldiers, to the "enemies." It was at times, predictable, like the last death of the story -- you did see it coming, somewhat. However, it did not diminish its impact and the manner of the soldier's death elevated the book for me -- the last letter was so real. So my final "verdict"? This book feels "real" -- the mundane parts are mundane, because that is what an ordinary life is and we are seeing just an ordinary young person's life, in an unusual setting. It is also real when things get to be so surreal that not the character, nor the reader can really absorb or interpret what's going on. The emotion is true and raw and the manner of telling matches the character. So, all in all, an excellent book about a timely and important topic.

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Six Innings by James Preller

Six Innings by James Preller

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
My reaction after finishing this short novel for pre-teen and teens, especially who are really into the finer points of baseball playing and the spirit of the game was a tremendous respect for the author. James Preller poured much of his passion for the game into a finely crafted story set in just ONE little league game: 6 innings, character sketches of 12 players of one visiting team, and the framing, soul-searching story of the 13-year-old severely ill ex-ballplayer-turned-announcer...



I am not particularly into baseball: enjoy watching the game once in a while, of course, but do not personally collect memorabilia or statistics as a life-long hobby. This book makes me want to know and learn more about the game, its history and all the psychological aspects of the players and the plays; it also makes me believe that there is a reason for someone, young or old, to be completely lost in the world of sports and get much of their life's wisdom out of these games.



Preller also has quite a way with words and turn of phrases:



p. 15: "Aaron Foley, short and stocky with a squashed-in face that reminded Sam of an English bulldog, did more than toss his cookies. No Aaron projected his vomit across the room, spewing his insides as if fired from a cannon, a thunderous blast of wet barf splattering onto the tile floor." p. 16... That's how Sam and Mike began their friendship, sealed with a simple exchange, a look across a silent (but foul-smelling) distance.



p. 18: (About the five tools of baseball: speed, glove, arm, power, and the ability to hit for average.) Branden Reid, however, posesses a sixth tool, amnesia, the art of forgetting. Baseball is, after all, a game of failure. The only thing that a player can influence is the next play, the next at bat.



p. 22 (this describes the game, but somehow fittingly describes the book as well): "The slow rhythm of the game, a game of accumulation, of patterns, gathering itself toward the finish..." AND what a finish this book has! I felt like I witnessed a historic game after reading the last page of the book (and it isn't even about the game or the innings or the winners and the losers.)



p. 63: "There's a squarish, two-story bulding -- an overachieving shed, really"



p. 46: On the field, baseball is a game of isolation, nine singular outposts of shared solitude... You are a "team" immediately before and after each play. (This does get repeated on page 132.)



p. 106: Tragedy, the stuff of comedy.



There are a few specific references that will definitely date the book -- which is too bad: p. 40: the boys talking about Jessica Simpson and someone listening to the lyrics to a Jay-Z tune.




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Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

Author: Lauren Tarshis
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th

Pages:
Publisher: Dial
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The tone, matter-of-fact, aloof, observatory, self-aware, emotionally detailed -- is very interesting -- at least at the beginning. It becomes a little boring after a while. The chapters from Colleen's viewpoint are told pretty much in this same tone, which does not quite fit her timid personality. Even though the story is seen through Emma-Jean's eyes and thus are all exaggerated (slightly or largely,) certain events (such as the Queen Been losing her hold on the 7th-grade populace) still need the real-life logic to convince this reader.

Captives

Author: Tom Pow
Rating:
Reading Level: 7th and up

Pages:
Publisher: Roaring Brooks
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

I really appreciate the layered perspectives from all parties and the courage Tom Pow exibits as an author to not put forth a more popular view point in condamning the captors. The setting is brought to life vividly and each character and their back story convincingly portrayed.

The switch from Part I to Part II is a little too fast and it took some adjusting to change gear and expectations. To have the second part as an unpolished manuscript that Martin scribbled in one night seems a bit far-fetched, though.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th-6th

Pages: 533
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

The superb and impeccable design gives me such pleasure that I feel like hugging this big fact block of a book every time I see it! Selznick's cinamatic illustrations that take up most of the 533 pages, blend seamlessly with the crisp text and enigmatic storyline.

I like how Hugo's plans do not always pan out the same ways he imagined -- often they go wrong, but in a very realistic way. The adults intervene just the right amount so the situation never becomes hopeless without reducing the excitement generated by Hugo's desparation and urgency. Of course, there are a lot of coincidences, following the Dickensian storytelling tradition.

A most wonderful offer!

Mismatch

Author: Lensey Namioka
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th-8th grade

Pages: 217
Publisher: Delacorte
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

I agree with almost every notion Namioka presents in this book: that no singular experience (no matter one's race or heritage) is truly shared by all and that one has to discover and rediscover one's heritage and relationship with that heritage over and over again: a life long endeavor.

However, these "messages" are so heavy that I felt as if being sat on by a giant troll and had the air squeezed out of my lungs the entire time while reading this book. This is not an organic story, growing out of the young couple's (Japanese and Chinese American teens) love for each other, but a plastic plant with the author's hands manipulating the shapes of the branches and the color of the flowers and all the folds of the leaves. It seems such a shame that a potentially profound story can become so superficial and the "solutions" of the cultural and racial conflicts are unconvincingly simplistic. I cannot bring myself to believe that the grandmother (who is about my own mother's age, with similar experience as a Chinese young girl in Japanese occupied China) would have accepted the Japanese family within a week of her discovery of this dating business. How can someone's life-long bias against an entire orther race be altered overnight? Anyone who does not have this specific "Asian" experience should still know that racial biases do not get resolved like this. This story's all happy endings render all the messages too lightweighted to matter at all.

Weedflower

Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th - 8th Grade

Pages: 260
Publisher: Atheneum (S&S)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

Kadohata's strength lies in her quiet tone and close-up examination of the main characters' thoughts and feelings. Weedflower is a perfect example. The readers are intimately familiar with every strand of emotion in Sumiko's life but the full picture of the time in history is a bit foggy. The fate and experiences of Sumiko's uncle and grandfather (in the prison camp) is also sketchy at the best. This is in keeping with Sumiko's young girl perspective. There is no telling if Kadohata had opted to force other pieces of the historical puzzle into the telling, the result would have been a more diluted or intensified tale.

My personal issue with this book is my indifference to Sumiko. I don't find her particularly inspiring or even likable. Her status as a social outcast seems more self-imposed than forced upon by others and her small triumphs did not stir much admiration in me. I felt impatience and displeasure, rather than empathy, for her. Maybe because she seems way too self-absorbed - which, once again, shows the author's skill at portraying a realistic person without false glorification. But, I need that glorification. I need to see that she opens her eyes and understands more about what is affecting her people, and not just how miserable her own life is or what's going in within her immediate environment.

Report from the field: Several people (of Japanese and general Asian descent are troubled by the cover. Their first reaction has been consistent: "No one at a Japanese-American Internment Camp would have worn a kimono! That is entirely inaccurate!" And besides, Sumiko never once wore a kimono throughout the entire story.

Lily Reads: Betsy-Tacy

Author: Maud Hart Lovelace
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd to 4th Grade

fairrosa: So.. you gave this book 5 stars. Is it that great?
Lily: Yes. Because I felt that it made you very emotional and so you had a connection with the book.

Lily Reads: All-of-a-Kind Family and More All-of-a-Kind Family

Author: Sidney Taylor
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st to 3rd

fairrosa: Why do you like All-of-a-Kind Family?
Lily: I liked this book because it's about five girls and they have adventures and it's very exciting.
fairrosa: Do you have something to say about the second book?
Lily: Yes. It has a lot of tension.
fairrosa: How? What happened?
Lily: There was a disease going around and they didn't want to catch it.

Samurai Shortstop

Author: Alan Gratz
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th - 8th

Pages: 280
Publisher: Dial (Penguin Putnam)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

Every scene is necessary in this tightly written and thoroughly researched historical novel. The events unfold as the momentum gains and as Toyo's self-understanding grows - subtly but with such forces that I could not put the book down. The opening scene of detailed Seppuku (suicide by cutting open one's own stomach) ritual and some of the High School hazing methods are definitely not for the faint of heart. Yet this is not a book about violence, but about honor, loyalty, teamwork, inner strength, and physical strength, as well. All the necessary components of a successful baseball team.

To link the spirit of Bushido (Way of the Warriors) and baseball presents such a fresh look on the American's National Pasttime that will inspire many young readers to think about the sport they love more deeply and meaningfully. This is an amazing and perfect book!

Note on Cultural Inaccuracies: My suspicion was confirmed by a Japanese friend that since Gratz is not Japanese, nor is he an expert in the Japanese language, some cultural inaccuracies occur in the book. The most glaring problem for me is the use of first names of anyone elder. It simply is not done -- not then, and not even now in the 21st century. A son will never call his own father by the first name - no matter HOW much he detest his own father. When calling an upper classman, one will always use honorifics: -san and -sempai attached to either the first or last names; and when the younger students are addressed, the older ones might use -kun. These can be easily researched -- even a simple google search or any entry level Japanese language text book can reveal the correct usage of these honorifics. Since it IS still an integral part of the Japanese culture, the ignoring of such practice shows a certain mentality from the author and the publisher. What a shame!

Nothing but the Truth (and a Few White Lies)

Author: Justina Chen Headley
Rating:
Reading Level: 7th-9th

Pages: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

I had to try twice to finish this book. During the first attempt, I got SO annoyed by the piled-on, not-always-so-clever, made-me-cringe similies and metaphors (dried shitake mushroom of a heart?) that I simply had to put it down. I couldn't believe that the author was getting away with such a case of over-writing syndrome.

However, since I had to read it for the Asian Pacific American Award of Literature, I braced myself to continue reading. Gradually, I accepted that this habit of overusing figures of speech belongs not to the author but to the narrator, who is both an over-achiever and someone who does not recognize her own strengths. Lots of humor and cultural references (although they can be somewhat stereotypical) - both realistic and with quite a bit of exaggeration make the book eventually an entertaining read, albeit a bit of a mess in plot twists and tangents. But, hey, a half-half Taiwanese-White American girl whose father went absentee when she was just a tot, whose mother is pushy and demanding, whose brother just got into Harvard, and whose first love turns out to bit quite a jerk, is nothing short of a messy situation.

Wait for Me

Author: An Na
Rating:
Reading Level: Junior High

Pages: 172
Publisher: Putnam (Penguin)
Edition: Hardcover (Galley), 2006

Mina's story is told with such quiet power by An Na that it's almost unbearable to read. So much stuff is laid on the shoulders of this one child: her mother's expectations, family secrets, lies, her sister's wellbeing... It is almost unrealistic. But it does feel real -- her relationships with all people in her life, from the former childhood friend to the new boyfriend, from her helpless sister to her dominating mother, all ring true. Suna's story is not as fleshed out, although she is given her own chapters -- they are all quite dream-like, which I believe is An Na's intention, and yet, I'm left with a sense of dissatisfaction at the incompleteness of her story, especially toward the end.

Habibi

Author: Naomi Shihab Nye
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th and up

Pages: 259
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Edition: Hardcover, 1997

When I say a novel is comprised of a series of character studies, I usually mean that in a negative way. I usually mean that there is no story or there is no emotional impact. However, when I say that there are impeccable character studies abound in Habibi, I mean that Nye is so skilled at "sculpting" her characters that they all come to life, each of them in 3D glory! Their relationships -- from a street vender who appears in two brief scenes, to Liyana and her family members and her new found friends -- are incredibly real and moving. Yes, there is not a strong story-arc and yet you don't feel like you'd put the book down -- you want it to go on for a long long time. You want to know what happens to the budding romance between Liyana (American/Arabic) and Omer (Jewish) in the city that divides them by ethnicities (Jerusalem). You want to know how Poppy's (Father) new found cause of making the country better and more peaceful develops. You want to watch Rafik (Liyana's cool nerd of a younger brother) grow up and see what kind of girlfriend he'll have.

A tender book about a violent time and place that is both important and more than well articulated. Nye's native skill as a poet adds sparkle and dimension to her story.

Lily Reads: Because of Winn-Dixie

Author: Kate DiCamillo
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd? - 5th

Pages: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Edition: Paperback, 2004 (2000)

Lily says, "The book is cute. I like how much friendship they show to each other."

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean

Author: Lauren Child
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd - 4th

Pages: 160
Publisher: Orchard Books
Edition: Hardcover, 2002

Lauren Child's child-like voice manages to be both super innocent and highly savvy. Clarice Bean is utterly a little gem and utterly charming, in an I-might-find-her-a-bit-annoying-in-real-life-for-a-friend-or-a-student-but-it-sure-is-fun-to-read-her-thoughts kind of way. I love the illustrations and the creative typesetting.

The only slight gripe I have is the "fake" story that Clarice Bean loves to read so much (Ruby Redford mysteries) within the book does not grab me, but distract me from Clarice's story. However, Lily is reading it now and she actually likes the Ruby Redford mysteries better than the main plot. Shows how tastes dictate!

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah

Author: Fiona Rosenbloom
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th - 8th

Pages: 190
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover, 2005

It's a fun and quick read. Stacy Friedman's voice is lively and funny. The story, although utterly unbelievable, is actually charming at moments. However, it is highly predictable and sugar-sweet: everything works out in the end so do not worry about having to feel sorry for anyone.

Be A Perfect Person in Just Three Days

Author: Stephen Manes
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st - 3rd

Pages: 76
Publisher: Yearling
Edition: Paperback, 1996 (1982)

Lily read it and found it mildly amusing. (I had to nudge her to finish it, though.)

Ramona Books

Author: Beverly Clearly
Rating:
Reading Level: K-3rd

Pages:
Publisher: William Morrow / Yearling / Dell
Edition: Mixed, 1955 onward

This has been a favorite bedtime story series for the last 3 months. I read it to Lily when we were in Taiwan and David has been reading it to her every night for the last 2 months. The titles in the series are

Beezus and Ramona (1955)
Ramona the Pest (1968)
Ramona the Brave (1975)
Ramona and Her Mother (1977)
Ramona and Her Father (1979)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1981)
Ramona Forver (1984)
Ramona's World (1999)

We have finished all but the last two. I'm constantly amazed and reminded of Cleary's uncanny talent at capturing the inner workings of a small child as I listen to David's affective reading and watch Lily's complete emotional involvement with the story.