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Middle Picks
Here are the staff picks for the middle ages (9-14yrs.).
Floors - By Patrick Carman Leo Fillmore is worried Mr. Merganzer D. Whippet has been missing for 100 days from the Whippet Hotel. Leo is the son of the hotel’s janitor and knows almost everything about the hotel, the very strange hotel. Where there is a room filled with robots, another like a great pinball machine and yet another filled with cupcakes…..and these are just the rooms Leo has seen, up until today. Today a strange box has been left on the duck elevator ( did I mention Mr. Whippet absolutely loves duck and has several in residence on the roof?). This box gives Leo instructions to a brand new room, and a clue to what is happening to the hotel now. Since it seems like things are starting to fall apart at the seams….
This book reminds me of Willy Wonka, however the characters are unique enough and the hotel so well imagined that this obvious influence never detracts from Floors. I really enjoyed reading about Leo’s adventures, narrow escapes and solutions. The fact that mallard ducks play a prominent roll in the book was also great fun! I would recommend this to any boy looking for a new and hilarious adventure.
This is the story of two kids, Ben and Rose. Each wishes that their lives were different, Ben after loosing his mother wished to be a part of his mysterious father’s life. While Rose dreams of a mysterious actress and escape. Their lives are fifty years apart yet they share a startling similarities, which narrow when both embark on the same journey to find what their lives are missing.
This is a really fascinating book, told both through pictures and writing. It is a great way to get reluctant readers into reading. You have to pay attention and interpret the details in the pictures, or you miss what is happening in Rose’s life. Just as Ben’s life, told through words, need similar attention since it is told in short bursts. It is a great book for both girls and boys since both points of view are strongly represented
Bethesda Fielding is now in 8th grade finds herself in the middle of a new mystery. The only trophy ever won by Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School has been stolen! And even worse than that the principle has cancelled all after school activities until the trophy is found. Including the weeklong field trip to Taproot Valley, something which the entire 8th grade class has been looking forward to since they were in the 7th grade! And another mystery a bit closer to home, Tenny is now back at school, but he seems different to Bethesda than he was last year…hhmmm…..
Just like The Secret Life of Mrs. Finkleman this book is funny and clever. With several small mysteries intertwined with the larger mystery there is never a dull moment in the book. I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend this book for girls or boys, since it is told from both perspectives.
A veena is a traditional Indian string instrument, used to play classical Indian music. The strings are plucked and pressure applied to the frets in order to change the notes when playing. It is part of the lute family of instruments.
Neela dreams of becoming a famous musician when she grows up. Playing for her audience on her special veena, the one her grandmother passed down to her--- the one with the dragon carved on it. This dream comes crashing down when her veena vanishes from a church Neela ducks into to escape a sudden storm. Neela becomes obsessed with finding her missing veena, following the clues, receiving a threatening note and discovering a curse. All of which lead her back to India and the store where her grandmother bought the veena originally.
This is an engaging mystery I enjoyed reading. It uses tools of investigation available to kids in believable ways, which is great to read. I also enjoyed the multicultural taste of the book, the author does a good job of adding both American and Indian cultures in a way which avoids stereotypes. As well as avoiding becoming heavy handed with the multicultural theme of the book.
I would recommend this book for girls (or open minded boy---there is a boy in this book, however it is told exclusively from Neela’s point of view), from ages 9-12 (It is too new to have the AR points yet, I will update this when they do!).
Shelby Jayne has hardly spoken to her mother for over a year. She left to take care of her sick mother who lived in the bayou and never came back. Now Shelby Jayne’s dad has to go out of town for work and she has to go live in the bayou with her mother. What’s worse is she has to change schools and everyone knows where she lives and teases and torments her. Until she meets a new friend who also lives in the Bayou, another girl who has secrets of her own…..
This is both a sad and happy story of a mother and daughter putting to rest ghosts from their past and memories between them. It was an enjoyable read filled humor and understated action. I also enjoyed the setting, a Louisiana bayou is not a place I normally read about and it was filled with great images and thing well I normally don’t have to worry about in my daily life, like alligators…I would recommend this to any girl who wants to read something a little different.
On the way to class Benjamin stops to help the school janitor who has broken his ankle, before the paramedics arrive he lets Benjamin in on a secret….. Hidden somewhere in the school is the information needed to stop real estate developers from bulldozing the school and erecting an amusement park. Because the school belongs to the children for them to learn and laugh, not for nefarious politicians to sell…. Little does Benjamin know this discovery is only the beginning of the adventure!
This is a really fun story filled with action and intrigue which draws the reader in. I enjoyed reading it, as well as the pen and ink drawing which are uniquely placed throughout the text (they add and expand the story rather than being distracting as some illustrations can be). It does also impart information about sailing as well, without becoming too technical (or gasp, make it seem like you might learn something!). This story doesn’t ever drag or seem cliché, which is a great feature in a kid's book!
I would recommend this for a boy (or an open-minded girl, Ben has a great female character he confides in, and helps him. However the story is told exclusively from Ben’s point of view), from ages 7-11. It is worth 3 AR points. The new installment to this series is out! Fear Itself (Athenaeum hc, $14.99).
Gilda Joyce is trying to learn how to become a psychic from her handbook The Master Psychic’s Handbook: A Guide to Psychic Principles and Methods by Balthazar Frobenius. When Gilda believes she gets a psychic vibration that her cousin (to whom she has never spoken to or seen and her mother barely knows) needs her, she invites herself to stay with them, in San Francisco, for the summer to try and get to the bottom of the mystery she uncovers upon arriving!
This is a really funny and touching story. Dealing with loss and grief in very constructive and non-gloomy way which furthers the story and adds to it without ever becoming distracting. The humor made me laugh out loud several times, Gilda is an over-the-top teen who uses creative ways to find the truth of things. This is a really great book I would highly recommend this series. The second book in the series, Gilda Joyce : The Ladies of the Lake was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2007! Gilda has a new adventure, The Bones of the Holy (Dutton hc, $16.99), released in June!
I would recommend this series for girls 9-14. This book is worth 10 AR points (the rest of the series varies from 10-12 AR points)
This is the first book in The Missing series. Jonah and Chip are best friends and ordinary middle schoolers whose only conundrum is whether or not to try out for the basketball team until the two receive a cryptic message through the mail: “You are one on the missing." This plunges Chip and Jonah and his sister Katherine into a mystery filled with intrigue, conspiracies and wild theories surrounding both their adoptions thirteen years ago.
Griff Carver is the only member of the Hallway Patrol ever to have been expelled from school and kicked off the force. While in the end his records were expunged, his Old Lady (aka Mom) transferred him to a new school, Rampart Middle School. Where the same kind of kids inhabit the hallways; cool kids, bandies, student govies, hair girls and those up to no good. That is where the thin line of the hallway patrol and Griff sit between chaos and the student body.
And when Griff gets wind of a counterfeit ring specializing in forged hallway passes, nothing will keep him away from busting it wide open. No matter the cost.
This is a fantastic story for girls (and perhaps open mnded boys) from 9-11. It is the story of Miss Penelope Lumley a fifteen year old governess who has just graduated from Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females. Her first post is in Ashton Place where her pupils are three very unusual children, Alexander, Beowuolf and Casseopia Incorrigable. Three children Lord Ashton found on his estate and has decided to take possession of, "Finders Keepers", the three children appear to have been raised by wolves and other animals in the forest. Penelope has her work cut out for her, she must quwell the children's desire to stalk squires, howl and and gnaw on their shoes for starters. All in hopes they will be able to attend the Christmas party, a very formal affair, without embarissing Lady Ashton.....
If you have a kid who is in need of a book for a book report, this is the story for you. The main charecter Penelope is one filled with common sense and great catch phrases. I also enjoyed the fact the mysteries contained within the book don't hit you over the head, you have to reason, observe and ask questions. Such as where did the Incorrigables come from? Who are Charlotte's parents? Why did Lord Ashton really keep the children? And who set the squirrel loose on the ballroom floor?
9 Accelerated Reader
The Second book in the series sees Miss Penelope Lumley the governess her three incorrigible students (Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia) and the Ashtons' relocating to London while repairs are made to the house after the disastrous holiday ball. While Penelope is excited at the opportunities presented by the great city, there are challenges as well pigeons, bear skin hats are prime examples of what drive the Incorrigibles crazy. However during their explorations of London, peculiar things begin to spring up about he children's and Penelope's mysterious pasts.
I would recommend this for girls 9-12.
Sequels Coming Soon!
Here are a few sequels I am looking forward to reading, since I loved the first ones so much!
-Amber
Mysterious Benedict Society Series:
The sequel to Floors:
From the 39 Clues Series:
#3 in the Time Riders Series:
#3 in the Secret Zoo Series:
The Next Wilma Tenderfoot:
Extra's
Exploring Stars & Sign Language
Thieves Dictionary
Fun Stuff From a Fun Author
Found Video Tra
Trailer
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
Click picture for games!
The Cahill Web
