Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots
Abby McDonald
Candlewick Press
978-0-7636-4382-9
Borrowed from library.

It's always nice when a character - and a book - find a balance. When we first meet Jenna, she is a die-hard leader of the Green Teens, loudly protesting her school's plans to sell off a field that may or may not contain a rare species of...grass. Her summer plans of interning with Earth Now go awry, and it looks like she will be stuck in a retirement community in Florida - but wait! Her hippie godmother Susie is rennovating a B&B up in Canada - surely she could use an extra pair of hands.

Canada! Lush forests, wildlife, cute boys in plaid: the perfect place for a young environmentalist. It goes without saying that everyone there will share her enthusiasm for protecting the environment at all costs, right?

Now, there's nothing wrong with dedicating yourself to a good cause, but...sometimes it's a good idea to have all the facts before you open your mouth. Jenna learns quickly - and painfully - that sometimes what you accuse your enemy of (like making decisions based on your own priorities without considering the faceless individuals they affect) becomes the exact thing you are doing yourself. Black and white becomes a little grey, first impressions have to be corrected on both sides, and Jenna is forced to examine which of her ideals are actually her own, and which she has just adopted out of a need to belong.

A fun read, with a little bit of thinking but not 'too much', we give it a

4 out of 5.

Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Peirce - or, Boys' Books to Ban

Tuesday we pointed out some books you wouldn't want your daughters to read, lest they start thinking they are as good as boys*. Today we have a series you will want to keep your sons away from.

* See Monday's post re: sarcasm.

Waaaaaaaaay back in May we had a long, convoluted discussion about the first book in this series, Big Nate in a Class by Himself. What were we thinking?! We actually recommended it for classrooms! This book should definitely not be anywhere near, say, upper elementary/middle school boys.

Yes, boys in that age group are notorious for being reluctant readers, and yes, these books would get them reading, and yes, we suppose they are well written and funny. Big Nate Strikes Again even slides in some information about a historical figure and makes him look cool and interesting (which he was). Wait, what was our objection?

Oh, yes! Who cares if they are both funny and educational, they have comics in them! Everyone knows reading books with comics doesn't really count as reading. There is also the matter of  the way the teachers are portrayed - basically, some have brains, some don't. Are we supposed to think that is realistic? They are teachers, that automatically means they are all smarter than the rest of us.

(Slight pause while Miss Ami, a former teacher, tries to control her indelicate snorting so she can resume typing.)

Last but not least, there is Nate himself. He places a much higher value on sports than on education, fails to appreciate the lovely and intelligent Gina, and doesn't like egg salad. Oh, and he gloats. Is this really the type of character we want our young men to identify with? Certainly not!

This book (reviewed from ARC provided by the publisher) is due on shelves October 19. We strongly urge you to run out and purchase a more suitable book, such as Little Lord Fauntleroy, so that you can surreptitiously put that in Big Nate's place should your local library make this sad purchase.



The Book That Eats People, by John Perry - reviewed by Squirt

What, did nobody take any time off during the holidays? We came back from just a few days of the library being closed and had a mountain of posts to read from non-slacking bloggers. To make matters worse, everyone had either posted some really great "best of the year" lists, or linked to the Cybils short lists, so we spent a couple days making order cards (in between the undecorating). We are unworthy as bloggers, but ready to get back into the swing of things with some really great books that have been waiting for our reviews.

Today, from Tricycle Press we have:



From the jacket cover:

WARNING! THIS IS NOT A BEDTIME STORY

Legend has it there exists a book that eats people.

This is that book!

Many readers have been unable to escape its perilous pages.
But this isn't that book.

Yes it is!
This is simply a story about that book.
Really. I mean, how could a book eat people?
So if you're just dying to know the history of this literary monster, all you have to do is turn the page...

Don't do it!

Unfortunately, that text is only on the jacket cover, so it gets lost if the jacket is removed. The inside cover has some great illustrations by Mark Fearing, though - a collage of sketches, stamps, and bloody warnings stapled and taped in. This style and hysterically macabre theme are carried on throughout the book. I mean, even Perry and fearing's NAMES become teeth on the front cover!

The first few pages remind you that "This is NOT a storybook. It is NOT a book of rhymes." It is also NOT a book to give to kids whose parents prefer fhem reading light, fluffy stories about puppies and princesses to their children. It IS a book to give to kids whose parents have a sense of humor. It is twisted and demented and I absolutely loved it!

What About the Boys? by Fegan

Humph - two days of books for girls, and nothing specifically for boys? Isn't that a little bit sexist?

People have a stereotype that boys don't read, but we know that's not true. Of course, some boys, BECAUSE of that stereotype, are a little reluctant to be seen with a book; so, here we are going to share both some books for reluctant readers, and some favorites of our male patrons. We would also like to share this link to Charlotte's Library, where she blogs about some of her son's favorite fantasy books.



Grown-ups have the silliest rules. They tell us not to pick our nose, when you know darn well they do it too, and how else are you supposed to get those stubborn ones out? When you try asking them why, they give really silly reasons. As it turns out, there are some really serious reasons for some of those rules, but they seem to think we can't handle the truth. Please! We're not the ones getting grossed out by a little natural bodily fluid! Read this (and its sequel) to get just a taste of what the adults don't want you to know.



Actually, anything by Andrew Clements is good, but Frindle is probably the most well known. Clements has a recurring theme of the kids sort of getting one over on the adults, but realizing along the way that adults aren't quite as unhuman as they may seem. Nothing preachy, though, don't worry, and definitely a lot of fun along the way!



Hysterical book where, again, the boy gets the best of the teacher - maybe - but that is far from the main plot point. Any kid who has ever felt unjustly accused (and what kid hasn't?) will identify with the main character. All the characters in this book get to be three-dimensional, and nobody turns out to be exactly as we first see them. Did I mention there are roller blades in the school and an explosion? Good stuff, all of it.







All three of these (and their sequels) offer enough tips and ideas to keep any boy occupied for hours...giving them something to do while they are grounded from trying some of these ideas at the, er, wrong place and time.



If your reader likes this first one, there is a whole series to follow up with - some may be out of print, but are easy to find used. A group of boys, each smart in his own way, get together to solve (and perhaps cause) a few local mysteries, and generally keep things exciting. When a lazy day on a boat is interrupted by a wayward military bomb, you know it's a touch more exciting than Encyclopedia Brown.



Definitely for a teen or a very mature reader. Cole is one of those kids most people would give up on - angry, nasty, without remorse or compassion, he is given the choice between prison or a year banished to a remote island. He picks the island, thinking it will be easier (and having no intention of actually staying there anyway). The next year will prove just about everyone wrong.



This is one of those rare series that just gets better as it goes - the last one is our favorite. (So far, that is - Paulsen said he was done before going on and writing that one, so we'll see if that's really it!) Each story line is original enough in itself to make for a good read, but I've also enjoyed seeing Brian grow and mature through the books.

As always, feel free to add your suggestions, I know I have just skimmed the surface - but at least we have a little to balance out the girly stuff!