Friday, November 16, 2007

War-time Danger


1945 was a scary time, especially if your father was a scientist working on a secret government project. In Paul Zindel's book The Gadget, Stephen joins his father at Los Alamos, New Mexico, when London, England, where his mother is, becomes too dangerous due to the German blitz. Stephen makes friend with Alexei, an older boy whose family takes care of the guard dogs for the Los Alamos project. Soon Stephen is caught up in a web of secrecy and intrigue about this special project. Even his own life may be in danger!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Always in Trouble


That's how Tyler views his life - a lemon! And he's always apologizing for something! To make matters worse, Tyler and his friend, Lymie, sneak out late one night and head to the forbidden quarry for a midnight swim. While enjoying the first burst of cold when he dives in, his hand touches something -- a dead body. When Tyler quickly gets out of the water, he sees a red car speed off from the other side of the quarry. Tyler wants to go to the police but Lymie convinces him to make an anonymous phone call instead. The dead body is a custodian from their high school and Tyler is sure he knows the identity of the murderers. But there is no proof. How can Tyler bring justice to the dead and stop the nightmares that torture his nights? Chcek out the new book The Trouble with Lemons, by Daniel Hayes and find out!

Friday, November 2, 2007

World War II Action


One of the books nominated for the 2008 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award is Joseph Bruchac's Code Talker. Like the Nicholas Cage film Windtalkers (2002), this books tells the story of young Navaho men who joined the US Army and were used as communicators and translaters for the Navaho code that was never broken by the Germans. As I read the book I could see flashes from the movie illustrating of the many scenes. The plight of the Navaho people starts the book off as young Navahos taught in special white schools are told that their language is forbidden. Then World War II comes and the Navaho language now has a special place in the war effort. After the Navaho men are trained for the army and sent to the war front, the author gives us a real taste of battle conditions for whites and native Americans both.