TOP TEN BOOKS WE'VE READ THIS YEAR

It's time for Mrs. Wilson and myself to name the top ten books we have read this year. While it is difficult to choose just ten, some books always stand out. You will also find books that appear on both of our lists. We would love to see your top ten so please share it with us. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Mrs. Wilson's List

1. Anything But Typical , by Nora Raleigh Baskin

2. Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper

3. Dark Life, by Kat Falls

4. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

5. One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia

6. Blood Wounds, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

7. Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

8. Three Black Swans, by Caroline B. Cooney

9. Bounce, by Natasha Friend

10. How to Survive Middle School, by Donna Gephart

Miss Hagensee's List

1. Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

2. The Always War, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

3. How to Survive Middle School, by Donna Gephart

4. Bamboo People, by Mitali Perkins

5. Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi

6. Mindblind, by Jennifer Rozines Roy

7. Anything But Typical , by Nora Raleigh Baskin

8. Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck

9. Climbing the Stairs, by Padma Venkatraman

10. Blood Wounds, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

BASEBALL IN THE DESERT

During World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to internment camps in the desert. In Kathryn Fitzmaurice's book A Diamond in the Desert, she looks at one of these camps, Gila River, and the efforts of a group of boys to organize an baseball team and create a baseball diamond in the middle of the desert. Tetsu, a star first baseman at home in California, is one of these boys. With his father shipped off to North Dakota for questioning and his sister very ill, life in the camp is difficult. Now there is a baseball team and the chance to leave the camp to compete against teams from other camps. But Tetsu is worried about his family. Should he play baseball or not? Based on a true story this book gives a vivid peek into the Japanese internment camps of World War II.

AS EASY AS PIE

Well, maybe not. In Sarah Weeks's new book PIE, a world-famous pie crust recipe may be lost. When Alice's Aunt Polly, the Pie Queen of Ipswitch, dies, she leaves the her recipe to her cat Lardo who is placed in Alice's care. Everyone in town is trying to figure out the recipe and take over the Pie Queen title. It may be up to Alice and her friend Charlie to piece together and discover what Aunt Polly really meant by her strange will. What I really enjoyed about this book is that each chapter starts with a real pie recipe, the favorite of that chapter's featured character. Yummmmm!

JOURNEYS THROUGH SPACE AND TIME

Gordon Korman has a new series of fiction books about the Titanic. Book 1 Unsinkable introduces us to four children aboard this famous ship - two passengers, a young steward, and a stowaway who learn a terrifying secret. And the secret is not that the ship is going to sink! In Book 2 Collision Course these four young people find themselves in a tangle of mysteries while the Titanic is nearing its fateful crash with an iceberg. These two books are currently available. Book 3 S.O.S. will be added to our collection very soon.

In Across the Universe by Beth Revis, Amy and her parents are frozen and place aboard a space ship bound for a new world to be awakened when the ship arrives. But Amy is wakened, not because the ship has arrived at is destination, but because someone is trying to murder her! As Amy explores the world of the ship with the help of Elder, she realizes that something has gone terribly wrong with the original mission. The ship is under the control of a tyrant and may not be headed to the new planet at all.

The books are displayed next to the Blogged Books sign on top of the Reference shelves. There are many other new books in the New Book Display by the windows.

SOMETHING OLD AND NEW

I recently finished reading Countdown by Deborah Wiiles. There has been a copy of this book in the IMC since June of 2011, but now it is one of the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Book Award nominees. Since 6th graders will participate in voting for this award, the IMC will be getting new, multiple copies. Set in 1962, Fanny Chapman tells the story of her family living outside Washington DC and the story of United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Franny worries with the rest of the country if there will be nuclear war while dealing with family problems such as a shell-shocked uncle who starts digging a bomb shelter in the front lawn, an older sister who disappears for days, a very anxious younger brother, and a father on active duty. In between chapters there are pictures and excerpts from speeches or news articles about the greater crisis facing the world. Somehow Franny's world and the larger world around her survive this frightening year.

PATRICK CARMAN

Last fall when I had the incredible opportunity to sit and chat with author Patrick Carman, he talked about two new books -- Floors and 3:15, Things That Go Bump in the Night. I already know about his series books -- Land of Elyon, Skeleton Creek, Trackers, Atherton, and his participation in the 39 Clues series. I immediately purchased 3:15 because I thought it would make a great Halloween book. 3:15 is a short story collection where you listen, read, and watch. For each story there is a short audio introduction online, then you read the story in the book, then you watch the video conclusion online. I had great fun giving chills to the 6th grade Language arts classes on Halloween with that book.

Now we are adding Floors to the collection. Floors takes place in the Whippet Hotel, a most usually designed place where each floor has its own wacky design and wacky secrets. Leo and his father take care of the hotel and its residents who are as unusual as the hotel itself. One day four mysterious boxes are left for Leo. If he can solve the puzzles the boxes lead him to, perhaps he can prevent money-hungry Bernard Frescobaldi from taking over the hotel and tearing it down.

Patrick Carman is a strong believer that reading and the Internet go hand-in-hand. There is always an online connection to his books. Check out his website at http://www.patrickcarman.com/.

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY

Among the new books available for checkout this week is Ship Breaker by Paola Bacigalupi. Set in the near future when ocean levels have risen and drowned cities and quantities of some metals and fuels are extremely limited, we meet Nailer, a young boy who is a member of a scavenger team, a group that explores wrecked ships in the Gulf Coast area and collects copper wiring and other reusable materials. Surviving a powerful hurricane Nailer finds a beached clipper ship with a lone survivor -- a young girl of a wealthy family. Should Nailer strip the clipper ship for all it's worth or should he rescue the girl and perhaps, get a reward leading to a better life.

Buried on our bookshelves you may have missed Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. The author likes to blend classic fairy tales and fantasy elements in her books. The title of this book makes me think of Hansel and Gretel. Like that classic fairy tale there is a boy Jack and a girl Hazel. They are not brother and sister, but as next door neighbors they have a very strong, close friendship. One day when Jack suddenly disappears, Hazel decides she must rescue him. On her journey to find Jack, Hazel meets people and animals from several fairy tales who try to help or prevent her. Blended with all the fantasy is the realistic story about Hazel and Jack having problems at school and at home.

COMING SOON

One of the new books we are working to get ready for checkout is Marissa Meyer's Cinder. Yes, this is the fairy tale Cinderella but it takes place in the future when Earth is overcrowded, the people living on the Moon are enemies wanting war, and a plague ravages the people of Earth. Cinder is a gifted mechanic and a cyborg who helps handsome Prince Kai by repairing his old tutor android. All the usual elements of the Cinderella story are here -- the evil stepmother, the two stepsisters, even a fairy godmother, of sorts. Plus, there are the added elements of science fiction -- mind control, robots, biological research and experiments, and more. If you enjoyed Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine or Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix, you will want to read Cinder. Cinder should be ready for checkout by the end of next week so look for it on the New Book shelves by the windows.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

I have decided this year to use the theme "Something Old, Something New" to choose books for my weekly blog. This will give me an opportunity to catch up on some of the books already in the Lakeview IMC collection that I haven't read yet as well as talk about some of the new books we are working to get ready.

Starting with something old, I just finished reading Accomplice by Eureann Corrigan. This realistic fiction book poses the question "Have you ever done something that seemed so simple, but became so complicated?" Two New Jersey high school girls, Finn and Chloe, learn from the school counselor that it is very difficult to be accepted by east coast colleges unless there is something extraordinary about you. The girls decide that they will fake Chloe's disappearance and possible kidnapping and Finn will find and rescue her. While Chloe hides out in Finn's on-vacation grandmother's basement, Finn pretends to be upset by her best friend's disappearance. Finn finds the charade harder and harder as time goes on and the disappearance case becomes national news. Even being interviewed for a TV show doesn't make Finn's job any easier. When a fellow student is questioned by the police as a person of interest, Finn is ready to confess all. Chloe keeps Finn on the original plan, but can the girls continue on their timetable and complete the rescue?

JUST A REMINDER

All paperbacks that were checked out for the summer are due on Tuesday, September 4th. Also due September 4th are completed Summer Reading Logs. Since you get a prize just for turning in a Reading Log, it's not too late to do so. The Reading Log form is linked to the Lakeview Library webpage. Soooo print a copy, think back to the books and magazines you read this summer, and bring a completed form to the IMC on Tuesday. I will meet with students who have handed in Reading Logs over the next few weeks to award prizes and raffle tickets for our Grand Prizes.

Reviews of books will begin next week.

SUMMER PAPERBACK CHECK-OUT BEGINS

Starting Tuesday, May 29th students in grades 5, 6, and 7 will have the opportunity to check out 5 paperback books for the entire summer. Those books will not be due until the day after Labor Day, September 4th. This is a great opportunity for students to keep reading over the summer. In addition we have a Summer Reading Program which begins June 1st. This year's program is called Reading Safari. All students have to do is keep a Reading Log (which we provide) of everything they read from June 1st to August 31st. Everyone who turns in a Reading Log(s) is eligible for prizes. Details of the Summer Paperback Checkout and Summer Reading Program will be on the Lakeview Library Webpage next week. Also next Friday I will start my Summer Blog where I review the books I read over the summer. I have some really good choices saved up. I can't wait to get started!

LEARNING ABOUT OTHER CULTURES

The couple of books I've been reading are about young people in other countries. I find it fascinating to learn about the incredibly different ways people live. In fiction I traveled to Ecuador in Laura Resau's book The Queen of Water and followed the life of Virginia, an Andean native who was taken or given as a young child to be a servant for a mestizos, or Spanish-descended, family. Basically a slave, Virginia cooks, cleans, and cares for the children in this story based on a real person's experience. But Virginia has dreams of going to school, becoming a singing star, and living her own life, not as a servant or a poor Indian. Achieving her goal seems impossible, but she is very determined to make it happen.

In nonfiction I read a memoir by Ibtisam Barakat called Tasting the Sky, A Palestinian Childhood. Ibtisam remembers her family fleeing their home as the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War breaks out. As refugees survival was difficult, but when they went back to their home in an Israeli-occupied area, life was even more difficult. Tucked in among the hard times are family fun and the school experiences. The memoir ends with a poem by the author celebrating the symbol that keep her going through these times.

Now I have moved on to India in Padma Venkatraman's fiction book Climbing the Stairs. Vidya, a member of a free-thinking Brahmin family, lives in British-occupied India during World War II. Her father has joined a freedom fighter group for Indian independence, but hard times lie ahead. when Vidya and her brother are forced to move in with their more traditional relatives. The clash of tradition with modern ways, even in 1941, is very intriguing.

NEW FROM MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX

The author of the popular Shadow Children series (which begins with Among the Hidden) has a new stand-alone book called The Always War. In a possible future, Tessa's country has been at war for as long as anyone can remember. Everyone has made sacrifices to help the war effort. When a local boy, Gideon Thrall, is awarded a medal for courage, the whole town celebrates until Gideon refuses to accept the award. Gideon runs into Tessa and explains that he really didn't do anything worthy of a medal. In fact, he feels he did just the opposite. The two teens end up on a stolen airplane headed for enemy territory where they learn an incredible and terrifying truth about the war -- a truth that will change everyone's life! 

The Always War is available in the New Book Display.

TIGER, TIGER, BURNING BRIGHT

Are you ready for a book with adventure, romance, mystery, and just a touch of fantasy? Then take a look at Tiger's Curse by Collen Houck. The story starts with an ordinary girl looking for a summer job to help pay for college. By a twist of fate Kelsey gets a temporary job at a circus feeding the animals and cleaning up after performances. While at the circus Kelsey feels an attraction to a beautiful tiger who seems to understand her when she talks to it. Soon she learns that the tiger is really an East Indian prince under a curse and she may be the one to break the curse. Kelsey is now spending the rest of the summer in India working with the prince's guardian and experiencing unbelievable magical adventures to curse this 300-year-old curse. Tiger's Curse is the first book is a trilogy that will take you to exotic places and will challenge you to solve strange riddles. Coming soon -- Tiger's Quest.

IF YOU LIKED THE HUNGER GAMES...

Take a look at Neptune's Children by Bonnie Dobkin. Both books are part of a science fiction sub-genre called Dystopia. Dystopias are societies or cultures that are the opposite of uptopias (ideal worlds). In The Hunger Games, something has destroyed the United States that we know and replaced it with Capital City and the Districts. In Neptune's Children, a biological terrorist weapon is released killing all the adults and older children. For families that were visiting the Isles of Wonder Amusement Park, only young children and babies are left alive. How these children unite to survive is an amazing story filled with dangers and triumphs. But when mysterious things start happening inside and outside the park, many children begin to question the motives of the Core, the group of leaders who have been running this new society. Look for Neptune's Children on the New Book Shelves by the windows.

INSIGHTS INTO NAZI GERMANY

Even though this book won't be ready for check out until late next week, I have to tell you about The Auslander, by Paul Dowswell, which I just finished reading. Similar to Someone Named Eva, a 2010 Caudill nominee, this new book deals with a Nazi program that took Polish orphans who meet the Aryan physical standards (blond hair, physical measurements and proportions) and adopt them into Nazi-supporting families. Peter, whose parents were killed by a German tank, speaks perfect German and is anxious to leave the orphanage for a more exciting life in Berlin. However as the war continues Peter begins to notice that some of the Nazi policies are very unfair, especially to the Jews. He begins to wonder if he made the right choice just as British planes begin to bomb Berlin.

IF YOU LIKED POWERLESS, THE 2012 CAUDILL WINNER...

You might want to try Michael Owen Carroll's Quantum Prophecy series. In the first book The Awakening, a prologue describes a battle between superheroes and super villains that occurred ten years before the action of this book. After the battle all superheroes disappeared. Now on the tenth anniversary of the disappearance, Colin Wagner discovers he has the power of super speed. Other children, friends of Colin, soon discover that they have super powers, too, and someone or some organization is after them. I just finished reading the second book, The Gathering, which further explains what happened to the superheroes, why these children have super powers, and what the future might be. I plan to order the third book next year to finish the series. Believe me, it's very exciting.

CAUDILL 2012 WINNER

We picked it! The winner for the 2012 Rebecca Caudill Book Award at Lakeview is the same as the official state winner. And the winner is...Powerless, by Matthew Cody. Powerless is the story of children in a small town who have superpowers but lose their powers when they turn 13. A new boy in town helps the children find out what happens to their powers.

Now the winner has been announced. Mrs. Wilson and I would like to reveal which books we would have voted for, if we were eligible to vote. (Only Illinois students in grades 4-8 are eligible.) It was a tough choice this year because all 20 books were great! Mrs. Wilson's choice is All the Broken Pieces, by Ann E. Burg. a novel in verse about a Vietnamese boy who escapes the war to live with an American family but has terrible nightmares about his past. My choice would be Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, a steampunk novel set in World War I where the British and their allies have developed living machines based on Darwin's principles and the Germans and their allies have mechanical machines. Steampunk is a new genre that blends science fiction with historical fiction often creating alternative histories.

Thank you to eveyone who purchased items at the P.T.O. Spring Book Fair. The P.T.O. has donated 17 wonderful books to the IMC. I will catalog the books over spring break and we will process them as soon as we get back. Books should be ready for student checkout after Easter.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You live across the lake from a small town in the Arctic circle. Your father has just died from freezing after falling through the ice on the lake coming home by dog sled. His frozen body lies on the table. Your stepmother and sister have gone for help. Now a big, hairy, frightening man named Wolf has invaded your cabin home demanding the gold that your father supposedly stole from him. You know that there is a gun kept in a box in the storeroom by the cabin door What would you do? This is the question posed in Marcus Sedgwick's book The Revolver. The story takes place in the early 1900s with several flashbacks to the Alaskan Gold Rush when Sig's father became an assayer to support the family. There are many tense moments as Wolf holds Sig at gun point demanding gold -- gold that Sig knows nothing about! If you find the flashbacks confusing, just keep reading. There are only a few of them that help explain why Wolf is terrorizing Sig. This award-winning book will keep you guessing as Sig must decide what to do to protect himself and his family.

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK

A number of books that I read and blogged this summer are In the New Book Display. It's worth taking another look at these great reads.

Lois Lowry's book Bless This Mouse is a sweet story about a community of church mice who try to keep a low profile so the parishioners won't demand the Great X (an exterminator) be called to rid the church of mice.

Storm Runners by Roland Smith is an exciting, dangerous adventure in Florida as a hurricane is approaching. Chase Masters and his father travel there to be ready to help people during and after the hurricane, but they each have their own survival story.

In the fantasy world of Serendipity Market by Penny Blubaugh when the world gets out of balance Mother Inez calls a group of storytellers together to tell their tales and restore the balance. These stories are from familiar folklore and fairy tales but with a different perspective. See if you can guess the tale as you read each one.

AND THE WINNER IS....

...well, not officially but the Caudill nominees that received the most votes here at Lakeview are:

Levianthan in Fourth Place with 10 votes
Every Soul a Star in Third Place with 11 votes
Knucklehead in Second Place with 12 votes
Powerless in First Place with 18 votes

Every nominee received at least one vote. And as Mrs. Wilson and I predicted, there was no runaway winner like Hunger Games last year. Now all of Lakeview's votes will be sent to the state Caudilll committee. In about two weeks we should know which book is the official 2012 winner of the Caudill award.

Each year Mrs. Wilson and I form a special Caudill club for anyone who has read all 20 of the Caudill nominees. So fa this year the 2012 Club has three members: Miss Hagensee, Mrs. Wilson, and one 6th grade student. Club membership remains open until the end of the school year. When you have read all 20 nominees for 2012, let me know so I can add your name to the club roster posted in the IMC.

By the way the 2013 nominee list is already available. It is linked th the Lakeview Library webpage.

A HAPPY FAMILY?

Willa's family is a blended family in Susan Beth Pfeffer's book Blood Wounds. Willa and her Mom, Terri, joined Jack and his daughters Brooke and Alyssa when Jack and Terri married. Jack insisted that they were a "happy family." Certainly this new family was better than Jack and Val, Brooke and Alyssa's mother, who argued all the time, especially since Val was rich and spent lots of money giving everything to her girls. Terri had taken Willa when she was four and ran away from her abusive husband, Dwayne, and the poor, small Texas town of Pryor. But there are hidden problems that the blended family never talked about until the police came to protect Willa and Terri. Dwayne had killed his new family, a young wife and three little girls, and was now on his way to Terri and Willa. Dwayne's attempt to visit Terri makes Willa want to know more about her father and his new family and brings Willa to question her own happy family. This powerful new book is available in the New Book section of the IMC.

RUNAWAY TO ADVENTURE

If you have ever felt that your parents are overly protective and watching your every move, you will understand how Alvin fells in Donna Jo Napoli's book North. When his mother enlists a neighbor to walk him to and from school, Alvin decides he has to run away from his Washington D.C. home. Inspired by his hero Matthew Henson, the bold Arctic explorer, Alvin decides to follow in Henson's footsteps to the North Pole showing his mother that he can take care of himself. Traveling by passenger train, boxcar, small plane, dogsled, and finally on foot, Alvin makes his way north. This story carries you along with Alvin through his trials, his friendships, and those who help him along his way. It's an amazing adventure for a twelve-year-old and for you, the reader. North is available on the New Books shelf.

A SCIFI-MYSTERY

If you're a fan of the TV show Bones and a reader of Young Adult fiction, then you are also interest in Kathy Reichs's book Virals. Kathy Reichs is the author of the books that the TV show is based on and this is her first book for YA. She blends the mystery of a secret laboratory with the science fiction of an unusual strain of a canine virus that affects humans. Throw in some spine-tingling, dangerous adventures and, of course, some bones and you have Virals, the first book in a projected trilogy. Tory Brennan, niece of the female scientist on Bones, lives on a island where her scientist father works. With friends from school she rescues a wolfdog pup from a secret lab unknowingly exposing all of them to the virus. Now they start to have strange ailments and exhibit heighten senses and abilities. When they stumble upon a buried skeleton that strangely disappears, Tory and her friends have to get to the bottom of the mystery. Virals is available on the New Books shelf.

TWINS, MAYBE?

Have you ever felt that you have a twin out there in the world somewhere? That's the way Missy feels in Caroline Cooney's new book Three Black Swans. Her cousin Claire is so like her that they finish each other's sentences and practically read each other minds. Missy decides to create a video showing that Claire is her long-lost identical twin and posts it on You Tube. That posting leads to an unexpected result which completely changes the lives of both girls. Ms. Cooney has once again created an amazing story that feels like the truth or could be in the news headlines. Three Black Swans is on the New Book Shelf and ready for check-out.

A NEW GENRE - STEAMPUNK

Do you know what steampunk literature is? It's just the hottest new genre for young adults. It's a combination of science fiction or fantasy with historical fiction in some kind of alternate reality. Our world, the real world, is recognizable but often goes off in a different direction through the scifi/fantasy elements. On the 2012 Rebecca Caudill nominee list, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is a perfect example. I recently finished Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare which is another example. In Clockwork Angel Tessa Gray has left the Untied States to come to Victorian London, England to join her brother. She is met at the docks by two sisters who kidnap her and put her through terrible trials to awaken her special power. After she is rescued by Shadowhunters (demon hunters) from these sisters, who are really demons, she is introduced to an underground world full of supernatural creatures - vampires, demons, and more. Her brother has disappeared and the Shadowhunters agree to search for him. Along the way there are bloody battles, charming villains, and romantic relationships - enough to terrify a young girl from America. I found myself so involved in this world that when I heard a book two was published, I immediately bought. Look for the Clockwork Prince to also join our collection in the near future.

WOULD YOU SURVIVE...

...if you found yourself in a strange world with a group of boys, your memory wiped clean, living in a compound where the walls close at night to keep out the Grievers, weird monsters that are trying to kill (and eat) you? That's what happens to Thomas in James Dashner's book The Maze Runner. Thomas, Newt, Minho, Frypan, Chuck, and the other boys are trying to find an escape route through the maze outside the walls, but the paths change every night. Inside the walls, the boys have organized themselves to be self-sufficient with their own farm for growing fruits and vegetables and chickens, pigs, and goats for food. But they all want to leave. The Maze Runner is the first book in a trilogy. I'm currently reading the second book The Scorch Trials, and the series ends with The Death Cure. If you read The Maze Runner, you will want to finish the series and see if Thomas and his friends survive. Hunger Games fans, put this new trilogy on your reading list!