Hidden

Frost, Helen. 2011. HIDDEN. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux. ISBN 9780374382216 [Suggested Reading Levels 6-12]

REVIEW

When Wren was eight years old, she remained in the car while her mother went into the gas station to pay for gas and get a drink, not knowing that the station is being robbed. The robber flees by stealing the car with Wren in it and drives her to his house, not knowing she is hiding in the back. Once there, Wren is afraid to leave the safety of the car parked in the garage—until she hears him abusing his wife and daughter, a daughter who has discovered Wren and brought her food and water. Wren escapes and calls the police who arrest the man and send him to prison. Fast forward six years and Wren is at camp where she recognizes Darra, the abused daughter of her kidnapper. Wary of each other, eventually the two begin to talk about their shared experience and its repercussions. Helen Frost is a master of the verse novel and the alternating voices of the two girls are distinctive in their poetic styles. The twists and turns and secrets combined with the superb artistry makes this an appealing novel in verse.

CONNECTIONS

Use this book to introduce dialogue in poetry. Pair students, give them a situation and have them write a verse conversation in alternating voices.

RELATED BOOKS

Verse novels for middle grade readers:

Frost, Helen. DIAMOND WILLOW. ISBN 9780374317768

Grimes, Nicki. PLANET MIDDLE SCHOOL. ISBN 9781599902845

Howe, James. ABBIE ON THE INSIDE. ISBN 9781416913849

By Janet Hilbun

Into The Outdoors

Gal, Susan. 2011. INTO THE OUTDOORS. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0375869587 [Suggested Grade Levels K-5]

REVIEW

This simple picture book works on several levels. A family is taking a camping trip and hikes through the woods having an adventure together. At the same time, the animals of the forest are having their own parallel adventure. Add to all that, the cleverest use of prepositions to help tell the story as the family travels UP a mountain, OVER a bridge, and UNDER a canopy of trees.

Susan Gal is also the illustrator for this charming story and captures both the beauty of the natural world and the playful family time in lush scenes with engaging characters. Young readers will enjoy identifying the parallel (and intersecting) storylines and predicting what will happen next with each page turn.

CONNECTIONS

What a fun book to read and pore over multiple times as children join in on the rhythmic phrases that tell the story. They can act out the action verbs and prepositions (over, under, alongside)—a particularly useful exercise for those who are learning English as a new language. A fun follow up activity could focus on collaborating on a group book about a family’s walk through a city scene using prepositional phrases to describe the action.

RELATED BOOKS

Other picture books by Susan Gal:

NIGHT LIGHTS. ISBN 0375858628

PLEASE TAKE ME FOR A WALK. ISBN 978-0375858635

DAY BY DAY. ISBN 978-0375869594

By Sylvia M. Vardell

Planting The Wild Garden

Galbraith, Kathryn O. 2011. PLANTING THE WILD GARDEN. Ill. by Wendy Anderson Halperin. Atlanta: Peachtree. ISBN 9781561455638 [Suggested Grade Levels PreK-3]

REVIEW

This quiet, lyrical picture book introduces the many ways seeds are dispersed and planted through natural means in the wild. After an introduction to a farmer and her boy planting their own garden, the book follows seeds being moved and deposited by winds, birds, sun drying, water, animals, and humans. Onomatopoeia adds snap to the text, which also mentions the variety of ways different seeds are adapted to move.

Soft pencil and watercolor in muted colors tell their own story, adding details to the spare text. Illustrator Halperin uses a variety of squares and shapes to divide the art, accenting the seeds such as cockleburs and acorns in a row of boxes in different stages of development below the main art. The story follows a natural sequence through the seasons and weather. The final spread shows the results of the seed dispersal and the different elements and means of conveyance by which the seeds arrived and grew.

The book provides children an intimate peek into nature and the world of plants and animals often not seen in urban settings and opens the world of nature and adaptations by seeds.

CONNECTIONS

Bring in or take a nature walk to gather acorns and observe growing plants or grasses that might have seeds. Use other books to read and find out seed needs and then plant the acorns in small cups. Care for the seeds until they sprout and observe their growth.

RELATED BOOKS

Other books for children about nature and seed dispersal:

Macken, Joann Early. FLIP, FLOAT, FLY: SEEDS ON THE MOVE. ISBN 9780823420438

Pascoe, Elaine. SEEDS TRAVEL (HOW & WHY). ISBN 9780836830125

By Shirley Duke

Dead End In Norvelt

Gantos, Jack. DEAD END IN NORVELT. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 978-0374379933 [Suggested Grade Levels 5-10]

REVIEW

Jack Gantos’s irrepressible and off-kilter sense of humor was never more in evidence than in this autobiographical story of his summer in small town Norvelt, Pennsylvania in 1962. Grounded and bored, he suffers from chronic nosebleeds that are a source of both delicious gore and total hilarity. To keep him out of trouble his mother loans him to an elderly neighbor lady who writes the obituaries for the local newspaper. This leads to an odd and unlikely friendship, learning a lot about people in this utopian town, and a bona fide mystery to be solved. The eccentric characters abound and the dry, sly humor makes it a terrific book to read aloud—even to older students. Dead End in Norvelt won the 2012 Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

CONNECTIONS

The author himself narrates the audiobook adaptation of this book and it is hilarious! Play excerpts and discuss how his reading conveys his autobiography. Locate the actual town of Norvelt on a map and research the philosophy behind this “created” town of the New Deal. Look for more activities on the Educator’s Guide at JackGantos.com.

RELATED BOOKS

Other humorous novels by Jack Gantos:

Look for the JOEY PIGZA books and the JACK HENRY adventures all by Gantos

Other novels about growing up in the 1960’s:

Schmidt, Gary. THE WEDNESAY WARS. ISBN 978-0545105620

Schmidt, Gary. OKAY FOR NOW. ISBN 978-0547152608

Wiles, Deborah. COUNTDOWN. ISBN 978-0545106054

By Sylvia M. Vardell

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems

George, Kristine O’Connell. EMMA DILEMMA: BIG SISTER POEMS. Ill. by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Clarion. ISBN 978-0618428427 [Suggested Grade Levels K-5]

REVIEW

Kristine O’Connell George gives us a tender story-in-poetry told through 34 beautiful poems about the tangled, but loving relationship between two young sisters. Jess, being the older sister is often frustrated by her younger sister Emma, but is faced with a “dilemma” as she wants to be the best big sister she can be. But when Emma breaks her arm in her attempt to follow her big sister up a tree, Jessica is torn with guilt. As each poem story unfolds, one glimpses the emotional bond of the sisters, as well as the warmth and closeness of the family unit. The poet draws upon her own experiences as a big sister to give an authentic voice to her characters.

Nancy Carpenter’s watercolor illustrations capture just the right amount of action and emotion in each scene. Together, the poems and art work together to tell a story, a mini “novel in verse” for the younger set. The free verse poems also stand alone and lend themselves to performance or discussion.

CONNECTIONS

This book would be ideal for launching discussions about the ups and downs of sibling relationships: “What does your sibling do that really bothers you?” Share the poem, “Trespass” from the book and discuss the difficulties. Then turn the tables and share fun experiences involving siblings: “What does your sibling do that really makes you happy?” Then share the final poem in the book.

RELATED BOOKS

Other poetry books by Kristine O’Connell George:

THE GREAT FROG RACE AND OTHER POEMS. ISBN 978-0618604784

OLD ELM SPEAKS: TREE POEMS. ISBN 978-0618752423

LITTLE DOG POEMS. ISBN 0395822661

TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. ISBN 978-0618045976

LITTLE DOG AND DUNCAN. ISBN 978-0618117581

HUMMINGBIRD NEST: A JOURNAL OF POEMS. ISBN 0152023259

By Sylvia M. Vardell

Ruby Red

Gier, Kerstin. 2011. RUBY RED. Translated by Anthea Bell. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 9780805092523 [Suggested Grade Levels 6-10]

REVIEW

It’s always been about Gwen’s perfect cousin Charlotte. She was the one who would inherit the family’s time-traveling gene and had been preparing her whole life. So when Gwen turns out to be the time-traveler, it is a complete shock to the whole family … most of all Gwen. She finds the idea of visiting the past terrifying: “There was always some horrible thing lurking there. Plus, everyone had fleas.” And there is a lot more to deal with than fleas-- a secret society, 18th century dresses, a mysterious chronograph, family secrets, ghosts, and Gideon, her know-it-all, but incredibly handsome traveling companion. Readers are catapulted right along with Gwen into this suspenseful, exciting world, and all are in for a rollicking ride.

Originally published to great acclaim in Germany, RUBY RED is a fast-paced, entertaining adventure. The gems of the story are the eccentric characters, particularly the plucky heroine Gwen. Gier creates a distinct voice for this “normal” and hilarious teen that is pulled from a life of texts and telly and plunged into time travel. A few mysteries are left unsolved leaving the reader eager for the upcoming sequels.

CONNECTIONS

Readers can research the historical figures mentioned such as Sir Isaac Newton, Anne Boleyn, and Jack the Ripper. They can also look up the London sites such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Temple Church, and Selfridges. Readers can design their own time machines or they can look up the twelve gemstones and illustrate their own Circle of Twelve.

RELATED BOOKS

More books about heroines thrust into unexpected circumstances:

Carson, Rae. THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS. 9780062026484

O’Neal, Eilis. THE FALSE PRINCESS. 9781606840795

By Jill Bellomy