TOP TEN BOOKS WE'VE READ THIS YEAR

For the last blog of the calendar year Mrs. Wilson and I reflect back over all the books we have read this year and try to pick our top ten. Each year limiting ourselves to just ten is very difficult and there usually is some overlap between our lists. This year was no exception. Between the 20 nominated books for the Caudill award and the great new fiction for Young Adults, plus some older books we've finally gotten around to reading, it has taken some time to bring our lists down to ten. So for the 2013 calendar year, here are our Top Ten. Please share your comments or list with us. Have a great holiday season.

Mrs. Wilson's List

1. The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen

2. Wonder, by PJ Palacio

3. Counting by 7's, by Holly Goldberg Sloan

4. I, Emma Freke, by E.J. Atkinson

5. Close to Famous, by Joan Bauer

6. The One and Only Ivan, by K.A. Applegate

7. Accomplice, by Eureann Corrigan

8. The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy

9. 13 Gifts, by Wendy Mass

10. Ways to Live Forever, by Sally Nichols

Miss Hagensee's List

1. Tomorrow Girls series, by Eva Gray

2. Cold Fury, by T.M. Goeglein

3. The Raft, by S.A. Bodeen

4. The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy

5. Eye of the Storm, by Kate Messner

6. Bird Lake Moon, by Kevin Henkes

7. London Calling, by Edward Bloor

8. A Tale Dark & Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz

9. The Water Wars, by Cameron Stracher

10. The Creature from the Seventh Grade, by Bob Balaban

NONFICTION ON THE 2014 CAUDILL LIST

This year there are three nonfiction books on the 2014 nominee list for the 2014 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award list. Blizzard of Glass, by Sally M. Walker, tells about a terrifying disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1917. Two ships, one going into and one coming out of the harbor collided. One of the ships was carrying flammable chemicals and bomb materials for the war in Europe. Those munitions caught fire and exploded destroying the ships and most of Halifax. The author Sally Walker introduces you to several families living in the area, describes the explosion, and then tells what happens to the families she has introduced.

 

Candy Bomber, by Michael O. Tunnell, is a post-World War II event that happened over West Berlin. Since Berlin was inside the Russian-controlled portion of Germany in 1949, the Russians made it difficult for Americans, British, and the French people to deliver supplies to West Berlin. Lt. Gail Halvorsen, while touring West Berlin after his airplane delivered supplies, noticed how sad the children looked. He developed a plan to drop small parachutes with candy attached to bright the children's spirits. He became known as the candy bomber and made many friends in West Berlin.

Finally, How They Croaked, by Georgia Bragg, is a collected biography about famous people throughout history. But this is not a book about their lives. It's a book about their deaths -- how they diesd where they died, why they died. Starting with King Tut and ending with Albert Einstein you will learn a lot about medicine, assassination plots, radiation poisoning, and other causes of death, some of which could have been prevented or cured today. This is a book you can dip into and read a chapter or two, but I think you will end up reading every amazing chapter!

TOMORROW GIRLS

This most unique series starts in Chicago in a future world were there is an on-going war. With an offer of safety at a distant boarding school, best friends Louisa and Maddie pretend they are sisters. When these girls and their roommates Rosie and Evelyn, figure out that the boarding school is secretly operated by their enemies in the war, the girls run away and try to get back to their families in Chicago. Traveling overland their survival depends their own skills and those of group of boys from a neighboring school. Even when they arrive back in Chicago, they have trouble contacting their parents and hide out in a deserted Wrigley Field. What makes this series unique is that each of the four books is told by a different one of the girls giving a different perspective on what's happening as their journey progresses. The four book titles are: Behind the Gates, Run for Cover, With the Enemy, and Set Me Free, all written by Eva Gray. These paperback books are currently available in the Blogged Books display.

A WORLD WITHOUT MEN

Epitaph Road by David Patneaude was a new book last year that I never got a chance to read until now, Set in the year 2097 the world has suffered a terrible virus that killed off almost all the men and boys. Women in various parts of the world have taken over the government, the businesses, and the education system to being back civilization. And they seem to have created a better, more peaceful world. However Kellan, a teenage boy about to take his trials to prepare for adult life, overhears his mother and Dr. Rebecca Mack, the local government leader, discussing some upcoming event that might threaten his father's life. When Kellan cannot get an answer from his mother, he tries to travel to where his father lives to warn him. Along the way Kellan begins to piece together information about this threat and realizes that some of the things he has been told about the virus of the past may not be true. This leads to a suspenseful adventure as Kellan searches for the truth and his father.

DANGEROUS HORSES, DANGEROUS HORSE RACE

Maggie Steifvater's book, The Scorpio Races, tells a story of desperate need, of overcoming terrible obstacles, and of blossoming love. On the island of Thisby, somewhere near Great Britain, every November there is the running of the Scorpio Race. From the waters off the coast of this island come a species of man-eating horses known as the capaill uisce which emerge from the water and are captured and somewhat tamed by local race enthusiasts to compete for a sizable monetary prize. Since the race is not limited to the capaill uisce, Puck Connelly decides to enter her horse and win the prize to save her family's home. Sean Kendrick as returning champion offers to help Puck train to keep her alive. Told in alternating chapters from Puck and Sean, the excitement and the terror of this life-and-death story builds to the climatic day of the race and its aftermath.

KEEP MOVING TO SURVIVE

That's what Stephen's grandfather and father tell him in Jeff Hirsch's book The Eleventh Plague. A terrible war and disease have devastated America turning it into a huge wasteland. Stephen, his father, and grandfather constantly move around looking for materials to trade for supplies. After his grandfather dies and his father is injured in an attack by Slavers, Stephen is lucky enough to find help from the community of Settler's Landing. It seems like Stephen has found a place to finally settle down. Unfortunately a prank that Stephen is participates in, leads the people of Settler's Landing into a battle with a neighboring community. Will this battle lead to the end of Stephen's safe haven?

The Eleventh Plague is currently in the New Book Display area.

SURVIVAL ON A RAFT

In S. A. Bodeen's book The Raft, Robie finds herself in a terrifying survival situation. Robie often travels from the small Pacific island where her parents live and work to Honolulu to stay with her aunt and enjoy the big-city life. On one of these trips Robie makes a quick decision to return to her parents on a cargo pane without telling anyone her plans. During the flight a storm comes up and causes the plane to crash. The pilot is killed and Robie is pulled into a life raft by the copilot Max. The raft has no water. There is a bag of Skittles as the only food. And there are sharks. With no sign of help on the way, Robie is really scared.

The Raft is available in the New Book section now.

BULLETIN BOARD DISPLAYS

A great way to find interesting books to read is to take a look at the bulletin board displays at the back of the IMC. Each year I pick a theme for each board and rotate displays throughout the year. This year the board nearest the Exit Only door is entitled Read Across the U.S. A. Each month a different section of the United States will be displayed with books about that region. To kick off this display I have chosen our home state of Illinois. Books, fiction and nonfiction, are on display. You might find a book by Richard Peck like A Long Way from Chicago about shotgun-toting Grandma Dowdel OR the intriguing art thief mystery Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett OR an new book, Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein, about a girl on the run from the Mafia hiding in Chicago.

The bulletin board behind my desk is entitled Fiction Based on.... Each quarter I will choose a different concept to highlight. For first quarter the books are based on fairy tales. They might be retellings of favorite tales like Donna Jo Napoli's Beast (based on Beauty and the Beast). Or they might be sequels or follow-up stories like Gary D. Schmidt's Straw into Gold (based on Rumpelstiltskin). Or they might be a story fairy tales are woven into the story like Penny Blubaugh's Serendipity Market (where fairy tales told by side characters can save the world) OR Michael Buckley's The Fairy Tale Detectives (where fairy tale characters help to solve a crime).

Keep your eyes on these changing displays for new ideas of books to read.

SUMMER PAPERBACK CHECKOUT

All students in grades 5, 6, and 7 were invited this week to participate in the Lakeview IMC's Summer Paperback Checkout. Each student was allowed to checkout up to 5 paperback books for the entire summer. Books are not due back in the Lakeview IMC until Tuesday, September 3rd. Students who would like to return books early are welcome to place their books in the special Summer Book Return Box in between the main doors at Lakeview. Many students took advantage of this program and picked out some fine books for their summer reading.

Starting next week this blog will stop and my summer reading will be reported in my summer blog. Let me know what you are reading this summer and if you have read any of the books that I am.

All students are also invited to participate in the Lakeview Summer Reading Program. Read more about in the What's Happening blog.

JERRY SPINELLI

Spinelli's books are always popular with students. I had a chance to read one of his newer books Smiles To Go which starts with a scientific discovery and ends with a family discovery. Will Tuppence and his friends Mi-Su and B.T. play Monopoly every Saturday night following the same routine. For Will this is a perfect life until he sees B.T. and Mi-Su kissing one night at an Astronomy Star Party. Now Will has to take a look at his feelings for Mi-Su. Also Will has to deal with his five-year-old sister who is a pest, always trying to bother him. It takes a family tragedy for Will to understand that the world and life is always changing. And that's a good thing!

WHAT I'M READING

Currently I am reading several great books. My bedside book is the third Kane Chronicles book, The Serpent's Shadow, by Rick Riordan. Here Sadie and Carter enter their final match with Apophis in order to save the world. It has lots of fighting and lots of magic.

My table book is The Rise of Nine, by Pittacus Lore and the third book in the Lorien Legacies. This science fiction series which began with I Am Number Four seems to be leading to the reuniting of the teenage aliens as well as fierce training to prepare for a showdown with their enemies the Mogs.

My lunchtime book is already in the IMC collection -- Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. Evie, who is able to see through the glamours of vampires, werewolves, faeries and other magical creature, begins to question whether her ability makes her a paranormal, too.

Finally, my purse book (for waiting at railroad crossings or in doctors' offices) is Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner. It's also a science fiction book that takes place in the near future when the planet Earth is plagued by killer tornadoes and monster storms much more frequently than we are now. Unfortunately this book got a little wet during the storms of this past week, but that hasn't interfered with my enjoyment of the story.

Let me know what books you are currently enjoying.

SPRING BREAK

I'm looking forward to a long week of sleeping in (anything after 5 AM is great) and finishing several great books that I've started. I'm halfway through Rick Riordan's The Mark of Athena, the last book in the Lost Olympian series. I am al;o about halfway through Kat Falls's Rip Tide, the sequel to this year's Caudill nominee Dark Life. It's really exciting. I have just started a book from the Abraham Lincoln Award list - Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. It's a science fiction book about a teenage computer hacker who is detained by Homeland Security after the Bay Bridge in San Francisco is blow up by terrorists. I'll be able to tell you more about these books after spring break. I hope you will also find time to enjoy a great book over break. Let me know what you're reading.

HOLOCAUST BOOKS

As I am preparing for book talks next week to the 8th grade regular LA classes as part of their Diary of Anne Frank unit, I have realized how many excellent Holocaust books we have in our collection. Among the non-fiction books, I think my favorite is Barbara Rogasky's Smoke and Ashes; The Story of the Holocaust which is an overview beginning with the origins of Jewish persecution in the early years of Christianity and ending with the Nuremburg trials and justice.

In the fiction section the choice is more difficult. I really like Susan Campbell Bartoletti's The Boy Who Dared and Paul Dowswell's The Auslander. These books are about German boys who saw what was happening and worked to try and stop it. Michael Morpurgo's The Mozart Question and Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic give us stories about what it was like inside the concentration camps. Lois Lowry's Number the Stars tells how sympathetic families tried to protect Jews. Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed shows what life was like inside the Warsaw Ghetto. And finally, Joan M. Wolf's Someone Named Eva and Donna Jo Napoli's Stones in Water show how poorly people of Germany's allies and conquered countries were treated. The students next week will have many fine books to choose for their project.

SURVIVAL IN THE NEAR FUTURE

In Mike Mullin's new book Ashfall, the world is dramatically changed when the supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park erupts. The thick ash falls as far as Iowa and Illinois cutting off power and causing many buildings to collapse. Alex, alone for the weekend, has to deal with the changes by himself. He soon realizes that if he wants to see his family again, he will have to follow them if he can. Along his journey he finds people who want to kill him for his meager supplies and a few people who actually want to help him. This is a story of survival that could be in our future as there really is a volcano caldera under Yellowstone National Park and according to geologists, it is erupt at any time!

BOOKS I LOVE

That's the theme of one of the IMC bulletin boards this month. I have asked teachers and students to share their favorite books. On each suggested book the teacher 's or student's name is written in a heart attached to the book and then the book is added to the display. So far teachers have recommended these books:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Shexie Sherman

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick

Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, by Wendy Mass

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

Students have recommended these books:

Peak, by Roland Smith

The Ruins of Gorlan, by John Flanagan

The White Giraffe, by Lauren St. John

You, by Charles Benoit

There is still plenty of bulletin board space to add your favorite book to this excellent collection. See me before the end of the month with your book suggestion.

SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING NEW

This week I am reading two fascinating books. From the IMC collection I finally found time to read Joseph Bruchac's Dragon Castle. While Bruchac is known for his Native American novels, this book takes place in an unnamed Slovakian country and tells two stories. One story seems to take place in the Middle Ages where Prince Rasko's parents disappear and an enemy army appears at the castle's gates. In alternating chapters we read the story of Rashko's ancestor who escaped when a conquering army destroyed the castle and killed all the inhabitants except for Pavol. Pavol goes on to become a folk hero and he may have discovered the secret that Rashko needs to save his people in his time.

Brand new to the IMC collection is Annabel Monaghan's A Girl Named Digit. "Digit" is Farrah Higgins's nickname because she's good with numbers. No, she's great with numbers. She see patterns in numbers which drives her classmates nuts. One day while watching television with some friends she notices a series of numbers at the bottom of the TV screen. Similar numbers appear over the next two weeks leading Digit to analyze a possible meaning. Could these numbers be part of a terrorist plot and is Digit the only one who sees the danger? I can't wait to read more.

AMAZING!!!!

Students haven't yet voted for the 2013 Caudill Award and the 2014 list is available. Use the link on the Lakeview IMC webpage to check out the new nominees. The IMC is proud to announce that we already have 13 of the 20 nominated books. Three of those are not quite shelf-ready yet, but will be soon. I am proud to say that I have already read 5 of the nominees (try to guess which ones) and they were great! I can also tell you that at least 3 of the nominees are nonfiction. Congratulations to the Caudill committee for another wonderful list of nominees. 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You are in a life or death situation and your death seems about to happen! A mysterious stranger appears and offers to save you by taking his hand. In the book Time Riders by Alex Scarrow, three teens are in just this situation.  Liam, Maddy, and Sal all choose life, take the stranger's hand, and travel through time to 2001 where they find themselves the newest members of  TimeRiders, a group of time travelers who put time back on its course when others try to bend time to their own ideas. Their first assignment takes Liam and their android bodyguard Bob to Nazi Germany while the two girls monitor time changes in 2001. Before the teens can act, the future becomes a nuclear wasteland making their mission even harder.

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK

As we begin this new calendar year, the IMC repeats a special display of books recently added to the collection. While there is an ongoing display area for new books, often those books are pushed out by even newer books too soon for everyone to get a chance to see them. So the area on top of the middle fiction bookcase now shows a collection of new fiction and nonfiction that we would like you to another look at. Among the fiction books displayed are: The Auslander, by Paul Dowswell, a story from World War II Germany about Peter, an Polish orphan, who looks German and is taken for a special program where he is adopted by an important German family AND The Seer a Shadows, by Avi, a strange and spooky story about Enoch, a photographer's apprentice in 1872 New York City, who helps his master fake photographic portraits of recently deceased people until Enoch finds that he really can take photos of the dead AND Runaway Twin, by Peg Kehret, a story about an orphan Sunny who decides to try to find her long-lost twin in a cross-country adventure involving an abandoned dog, bullies, and a dangerous tornado.

Some of the no-fiction titles include: Secret Subway; the Fascinating Tale of an Amazing Feat of Engineering, by Martin W. Sandler AND Mighty Robots; Mechanical Marvels That Fascinate and Frighten, by David Jones AND The Prairie Builders; Reconstructong America's Lost Grasslands, by Sneed B. Collard III. Come to this special display and see what treasures you can find!