George

George by Alex Gino

Four paw prints.  George has a huge problem.  George looks like a boy to everyone around her.  But George KNOWS she is a girl.  She feels uncomfortable in boy clothes, she loves to read teen girl magazines, and she really wants the lead in the school play.  But the 4th graders are doing the play Charlotte’s Web, and the lead is Charlotte the spider...  Charlotte the FEMALE spider.  George doesn’t know what to do.  She doesn’t know who to talk to and tell her concerns.  Her teacher won’t let her try out for Charlotte, her mother doesn’t want her reading magazines for girls, her brother is “all boy”, the boys in her class make fun of her of being too “girly”, and she’s afraid to say anything to her best friend Kelly out of the fear of losing her.  It’s getting harder for George to be someone she isn’t, but it might just be too hard to be who she really is.  I didn’t know what to expect when I first started this book.  I had never read a book about a transgender student aimed for younger students.  I was very worried that it wouldn’t be very good and it would be too mature for younger students.  My only concern is that it may still be a little too mature for those Grade 3-7 students the book is intended for.  I would have prefered everything in the book remain the same but put George in 6th grade instead of 4th grade.  Then I would prefer to see the book aimed for students in grades 5-8.  This way the book is still aimed at upper elementary students, but not the younger students.  I think students reading this book need to have a little more maturity before tackling this subject matter.  I know MOST though NOT ALL of the students I work with wouldn’t be ready for this book unless they were a little older.  But I’m happy to admit...I really loved this book and I had a hard time putting it down.  To learn more about the author Alex Gino and to find resources related to transgender issues, please visit http://www.alexgino.com/.  (Please be aware, this review is based on an uncorrected proof copy of George.  George is not expected to be released to the public until August 2015.  There may be some changes to the final book at this time.)

The Princess in Black

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Four paw prints.  Somewhere in a land far away from here there lives a girl named Princess Magnolia.  Like all princesses, Princess Magnolia wears nothing but pink, knows how to make hot chocolate and sweet scones, and of course, she own a lovely unicorn.  But, Princess Magnolia has a secret.  She is really The Princess in Black and when no one is looking she defends her kingdom from danger, especially big blue monsters that like to eat goats.  Unfortunately, Duchess Wigtower is determined to discover ALL of Princess Magnolia’s secrets.  So, will Duchess Wigtower discover the secret, will the blue monster eat all the goats, will the goat boy trust his instincts about the Princess in Black, will Princess Magnolia be able to hide her black socks?  This is the first book in a new series by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale of Rapunzel’s Revenge fame.  This is an especially nice book because it shows that girls (princesses) can be smart, clever, strong, AND pretty and polite at the same time.  Girls don't need to choose to be one type of person or the other.  I realize there are more and more books showing that girls can be anything, but I feel this is one of the better examples for younger students.  To learn more about The Princess in Black visit, http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/076366510X.art.1.PDF.

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Reviewed by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints.  It's winter break and Alice is taking her traditional family vacation in Florida to escape the cold in Wisconsin.  As luck would have it, Alice's birthday is always during break and this year should be extra special because she is tunring 10.  Double digits!  Every year Alice and her family stay in the same cottage and get to see all their Florida friends.  It's a wonderful time of year.  But this year is different.  Some of Alice's closest friends aren't able to visit and other people rent their cottages.  Nothing is going as planned.  This is a lovely and very gentle book.  There are no mysteries and no huge adventures, just a simple story about a girl and her family during a family trip.  Strangely enough, as gentle as this story is, I couldn't put the book down.  I had to read and finish this book as soon as possible.  There was just one very small thing I can't get out of my head, but if I told you, I might ruin part of the story.  I am happy to say I was one of the first people to receive a copy of this book.  The book was released the day I attended Book Expo in New York City.  To learn more about the author, visit http://www.kevinhenkes.com/.

Murder at Midnight by Avi

Posted by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints. Fabrizio has a problem. He is an orphan and this, of course, leads to other problems like where will he live, who will take care of him, what should he do when he is accused of helping a traitor to the king. Fabrizio is taken in by Mangus the Magician and his wife to help with small chores around the house. While he is there, Mangus is trying to teach Fabrizio how to read and to understand that there is no such thing as magic but it is possible for a person to create illusions to look like magic. Fabrizio and Mangus live in an Italian city where magic is against the law and everyone is surprized when Mangus is arrested for performing real magic and using magic to threaten the life of the king. Now Fabrizio has a real problem. Should he help the man who has given him a home or should he help the king and tell the king everything he knows. I really enjoyed this book. Even though I had an idea of how the magic was created I wasn't sure if I was right until the very end of the story. And, even though I figured out how the magic was made, I wasn't sure how Mangus would be able to escape the king since everyone, except Fabrizio, believed him to be guilty. If you like this book try reading the sequel Midnight Magic or visit http://www.avi-writer.com/ to find more great books by Avi. (This review was based on an uncorrected proof. The final edition was published on September 1, 2009.)

Fic Avi

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Yoko Tanaka

Posted by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints. A long time ago in an old city there lived a sad boy, Peter, who wanted nothing more than to learn what happened to the baby sister he was told died at birth. One day a gypsy tells the boy that an elephant will help him find his sister. But Peter has just one problem with the gypsy's story. There are no elephants in his city. (In other parts of the city there is a magician who can do great magic even though he only wants flowers, a police officer and his wife who have no children, a wealthy woman who must use a wheelchair, a beggar with a blind dog, a sculptor with a broken back, a woman with a house big enough to house an elephant, and a small girl in an orphanage who wishes she had a family.) On one hand this is a very lovely and simple book to understand. You meet all the characters at the beginning of the book and you think you know exactly what is going to happen. But you would be wrong. Nothing happens the way you expect, but the results are so wonderful that you won't care. If you want to learn more about the book then you should visit http://www.themagicianselephant.com/. (This review is based on the uncorrected proof. The final book was scheduled to be published on September 8, 2009.)

Fic DiC

Another letter to families from Mrs. Manore and Miss Dewey at Orenda

Dear Families,
Once a year the publishing industry holds a convention called Book Expo America. At this time people who work directly with books are able to talk with publishers, meet authors, and receive free books. These books are either recently published or they will be published by the end of the year. These soon to be published books are called "uncorrected proofs". Some of the books we have been reading this summer are uncorrected proofs. This means there is a chance there may be some changes with the book between the time we read it and when a student has the chance to borrow the book from the library. All of these books, whether recently published or uncorrected proof, will be labeled as BOOK EXPO AMERICA. When possible, the proposed publication date will be listed with the uncorrected proof book.