Throwback Thursday - Review of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney

**Originally Posted on cj's bookshelf on September 9, 2011**

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Abrams Books
Publication Date: 2007
Reading Level: Can you remember middle school?  Are you enduring middle school? You can (and should) read this book.

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) –
It’s a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you’re ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.

In book one of this debut series, Greg is happy to have Rowley, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley’s star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend’s newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion.

Author/illustrator Jeff Kinney recalls the growing pains of school life and introduces a new kind of hero who epitomizes the challenges of being a kid. As Greg says in his diary, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear Diary’ that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things..

My Review:
I think I've annoyed everybody on Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr about this today, but what better place to sing my praises of a children's book that is (A) Genuinely funny and (B) Actually popular with the younger set - than at my book review blog?  My only regret is that it took me this long to pick this book up.  It was easily one of the most-requested books at the library when I did my practicum this summer - but I guess I just assumed it was one of those disgusting fart-joke type books for these poor kids who only have "Spongebob Squarepants" to watch on TV anymore (oh, I how pine for the days of "Doug" and "Hey Arnold!")  The only reason (and it pains me to say this) I picked it up was that I'm taking a Children's Library Services class this semester and this was on the required reading list.  Along with a bunch of Newbery Award books - some of which are, quite frankly, boring as watching paint dry.  But I'll talk about those another time.

If I could have one wish, it's that my years of middle school could be permanently expunged from my memory.  Not the lessons I learned and growth I endured, just the memory of it.  While "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" doesn't do that, it makes it easier to think on any of those memories.



Awkward school dances? This book addresses it.  Popular kids that were just plain mean and hateful?  Covered in a frankly hilarious way (Rowley was made to _ _ _ the diseased cheese left on the basketball court).  Rude and obnoxious older siblings? Dealt with (but not in a mean-spirited way).  Spoiled baby siblings who get EVERYTHING they way?  Greg's got one of those too (and I defy anyone not to laugh whenever little Manny graces the doodled pages).

Despite the summary at the top of the page, there really isn't a concise plotline through Greg's diary JOURNAL.  It's more or less a mishmash of things that happen to Greg, though some things that are introduced early on come into play as the story progresses.  I would have to say it's "Napoleon Dynamite" in book form - deadpan humor with just the right amount of real-life relevancy that appeals to adult and kids.

While I'm not One Of Those People who pickets outside the library because "Captain Underpants" is on the shelf, I'm also not a fan of the cheap and easy over-the-top bathroom humor that's aimed at kids these days (oh, what do I mean "these days"? - that crap was happening when I was a kid).  While "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" does utilize a little bit of bathroom humor, it's limited to things that are actually plausible and that kids just on the cusp of puberty would probably be dealing with (sitting next to the weird, stinky kid on the first day of school and then being informed that's your permanent assigned seat for the year or being self-conscious that you haven't hit your growth spurt while other kids in your grade have to shave five times a day, just to name a few).

Oh, and I have to talk about the cartoons - you can't just look at the cartoon drawings without reading the scrawly narration, nor can you do without the cartoons and just read the writing.  They both go together and add to the humor.  It's both visual and literary, which makes it a great combination.

The next person that says the only way you can get kids to read a book is if there is an abundance of over-the-top bathroom humor, I will insist they read this book.  Everyone who endured middle school should read these books because they will just make you feel better about life.

Throwback Thursday: Review of "Dragon Slippers" by Jessica Day George

**Originally Posted on cj's bookshelf on August 12, 2011**

Title: Dragon Slippers
Author: Jessica Day George
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: March 27, 2007
Reading Level: Age 7 and up
Series: First of a series, followed by Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) –

Many stories tell of damsels in distress, who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor, and swept off to live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, this is not one of those stories.

True, when Creel's aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that the knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it's Creel who talks her way out of the dragon's clutches. And it's Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king's city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession.

But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom…or destroy it.

My Review:

This first came to my attention after a 7-year-old girl came to the library looking for books about dragons. Well, I’m not much of a dragon aficionado, my experience being limited to the movie Pete’s Dragon and the Eragon series (punch me in the face, those books are horrible) and that one of the Four Gods in Fushigi Yugi is a dragon (that show is actually pretty good – but I have a branch of anime-nerd in my geek pedigree. I refuse to be called an otaku, however). I know there’s an Anne-somebody-or-something that writes novels about dragons, but I didn’t think those appropriate for a young child of seven. So, one of the actual, proper librarians that isn’t an intern came to my rescue and suggested that I direct the girl to Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. Not being one to recommend things without reading them (though I do trust this librarian’s advice), I decided to give this a shot.

And my goodness, was this a fun little story! (Yes, it merits an exclamation point!)

One of the things I love about this is how snarky the dragons are. There’s an exchange early in the book between Creel and Shardas about how the legends of the dragons as these mean, terrible and destructive creatures that keep defenseless maidens captive is a load of bunk and that dragons are more or less content to be left alone to hoard random objects in peace (one dragon collects shoes, another collects live dogs and even takes care of them. Take that, ASPCA!)

Special mention also must go to the character of Princess Amalia. Spoiled rotten and you just want to smack her upside the head – I was grateful that her guardian, the sensible and disciplined Duchess of Mordel, was also in many of the same scenes as Amalia just to balance out Amalia’s abrasiveness. That made Amalia bearable as Creel’s antagonist and also makes what she does later in the book not that surprising at all. Some terrible things do happen in this book as a result of Amalia’s greed (don’t want to spoil it for you – just give a heads-up), but nothing an astute 7-year-old couldn't handle.

Creel’s relationship with the dragons is especially endearing. Even though her aim is to open up her own dress shop, most of the time I just want her to run off and stay with the dragons. But she gets along well with many of the human characters as well, so it makes a good enough balance and a satisfying read. I did enjoy her interaction with Prince Luka and his mute bodyguard Tobin.

This is categorized as juvenile fiction, but I enjoyed it better than I have most juvenile fantasy lately. I even enjoyed it more than some YA or adult fantasy I've read. This would be great for a third grader – or even advanced second grade reader – to enjoy by themselves or with a parent (parents, if you want to hog it to yourself before you let the third grader in on the action, I would totally understand). But it’s refreshing to see juvenile fiction trust kids enough to deal with some of the serious things that happen in this book.

Bottom Line: Fun, fluffy read that is nevertheless satisfying and enjoyable.

Bonus Features: Shardas describes his lair as “bigger on the inside than on the outside.” That tickled my geek-senses.

Throwback Thursday - Yes Virginia, You Can Have Character Focus in Dystopian Fiction

*Originally posted on cj's bookshelf on June 24, 2011*

Title: The Roar
Author: Emma Clayton
Publisher: The Chicken House
Publication Date: April 1, 2009
Reading Level: Age 12 and up

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) - 
Mika and Ellie live in a future behind a wall: Solid concrete topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of Ghengis Borgs, it was built to keep out the animals, because animals carry the plague. At least that's what Ellie, who was kidnapped as a child, has always been taught.

But when she comes to suspect the truth behind her captivity, she's ready to risk exposure to the elements and answer the call of the wild. Listen. Can you hear it? She's strapping on her headset, jumpstarting her Pod Fighter, and--with her capuchin monkey at her back--she's breaking out!

My Review: 
I have long since learned not to trust book summaries.  Either they will make a good story sound boring or an awful story sound intriguing.  Such is the case with "The Roar" - I would not have picked this one up had my supervisor not suggested it.

Also - speaking of unreliable summaries - this book is not about Ellie.  It's about her twin brother, Mika, who refuses to believe that Ellie is dead even though his parents, teachers and counselors tell him she is.  But Ellie comes up enough that this is not a deal-breaker for me.

(Suggestion to publishers - WRITE BETTER SUMMARIES!)

The world Emma Clayton has created for her characters is both fascinating and terrifying.  It is a world where everyone has to take what the government says at face value because there simply isn't any other source.  They are told that they must stay behind The Wall surrounding the country because of a devastating Animal Plague that nearly wiped out all of humanity.  The poor people are packed into tiny fold-out apartments and are given glorified mold to eat.  The children are given "Fit Mix," which they are told will give them the necessary nutrition, but it actually turns out to be something more sinister.  Mika's the only one who questions anything this government tells him, to his detriment, but he also succeeds at the beating the government at its own game (and I'm not talking about the arcade game that gets the whole plot in motion).  The moment when Mika discovers the government's BIG SECRET is so satisfying that I didn't care that I had pretty much called it at the start of the book.

This is one book I actually don't want to spoil too much, though it isn't hard to guess where it's going to end up. That doesn't necessarily make it an inferior story.  Far from it, actually.  "The Roar" is a fast-paced, in-the-moment, intriguing and enjoyable read.  The main thing about this was that it was so focused on the characters and how they responded to their situation and didn't focus so much on the situation came to be (which is how dystopian fiction ought to be - I'm lookin' at you "Uglies").

Lessons in Unity and Friendship - Review of "The Year of the Book" by Andrea Cheng

Title: The Year of the Book
Author: Andrea Cheng
Illustrator: Abigail Halpin
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 2012
Recommended for Ages: 8 and up

Synopsis (from Goodreads) -
In Chinese, peng you means friend. But in any language, all Anna knows for certain is that friendship is complicated. When Anna needs company, she turns to her books. Whether traveling through A Wrinkle in Time, or peering over My Side of the Mountain, books provide what real life cannot—constant companionship and insight into her changing world. Books, however, can’t tell Anna how to find a true friend. She’ll have to discover that on her own. In the tradition of classics like Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books and Eleanor Estes’ One Hundred Dresses, this novel subtly explores what it takes to make friends and what it means to be one.

My Review:
This is my second year as a reader/reviewer for the Beehive Book Awards (sponsored by the Children's Literature Association of Utah - must plug) and when I got the long list of books the committee was considering for next year's nominees, I was sort of... underwhelmed. Mostly because I was only familiar with one, maybe two, books on that list. But I figured this would be a great chance to discover some new titles and, who knows, I might fall in love with a few. Enough to write about them on my blog perhaps?

Well, I've finished a fair few already. Some have impressed me, some not so much. But none (so far - it hasn't even been a month) have enchanted me like The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng.

Most of the time, when I've read multicultural literature, I've felt very excluded.  Like, because I'm white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, I'm not supposed to relate or even care about these characters. At best, I'm supposed to be indifferent to these people. At worst, I am supposed to be a racist jerk. This "world" is not for me, nor am I supposed to feel like I want to gain entry. These worlds have been built up for a specific group of people and I am not part of that group, no matter how well-meaning or interested I may be - The fact remains that I am part of this arbitrary "majority," thus I am an unwelcome outsider for reasons outside of my personal control.

Quite frankly, it's insulting. Particularly because I've never had a racist tendency in my entire life, nor was I raised to be that way. But because of that feeling I've gotten from books in this genre, I've tended to shy away from multicultural literature. I got the message, people. You don't want me reading it. It's not for me or people who look like me. I'll just take my ball and go home, okay? (I am side-eyeing you so hard right now, The House on Mango Street).

But every so often, a book comes along that is considered "multicultural," but is also inclusive of everybody. A book that doesn't hide a main character's ethnicity, but also doesn't exclude the arbitrary "other" that our society has built-up to keep our little groups apart. A book aimed at children, but teaches everybody that you don't have to look or act or speak like the main character in a story in order to relate to them.

Anna Wang is a nine-year-old girl who wants to make friends. But she's shy and would much rather read a book than anything (oh gee - where have I heard that before? *points to self at nine years old*). Her mother, Mary (who's from China), works as a cleaning lady in an apartment building, while she studies to be a nurse. Her father (who's of Chinese descent, but from San Francisco) is a store manager. Anna goes to Chinese School as well as everyday public school, even though she has only been to China once and that was when she was too young to remember. Her mother speaks very accented Chinese and struggles to learn English, which sometimes embarrasses Anna.

This story is so different from any kind of "multicultural" novel I've read for the simple fact that Anna does not use her perceived differences as an excuse for her problems, nor does she use them to purposely exclude others. In her mind, there is no reason that she cannot be friends with the other girls in her class. In fact, it is her kindness toward another girl, Laura, that wins her the best friend she could possibly have. And Laura, whose parents are going through a heated separation, is only too glad to have a friend. Laura even asks Anna about Chinese culture and language and works to understand her new friend's background. There is zero prejudice here - real or imagined. It is childlike innocence and acceptance at it's finest and one only hopes that Anna and Laura stay friends throughout the years.

It's evident where Anna learns kindness from - her mother, Mary Wang, is one of the sweetest, most hard-working women in children's literature - probably in all kinds of literature as well.  Mary often takes Anna with her to work when she cleans the apartment building and one of the tenants in the building, Mr. Shepherd, is an elderly widower who needs help getting around, but still tries to be independent.  The first time we meet Mr. Shepherd, he has fallen out of his wheelchair and needs help to get up. And he only fell out in the first place because he was trying to get one of his late wife's dresses out of the closet because he thought Mary would like it. This first scene (and the brilliant illustration by Abigail Halpin) is such a touching moment - Anna and Mary helping the sweet, old Mr. Shepherd up and visiting with him because it's the right thing to do.  No distinctions made between American and Chinese - just human beings helping one another.

Mr. Shepherd isn't the only character who Anna is kind to. She laughs at Ray's, the crossing guard at her school, silly jokes.  She sends a card to Ms. Simmons', her teacher, ailing mother.  She befriends and helps Camille, a girl from Chinese School who transfers to Anna's school when Camille's parents discover that Camille has a learning disability and this other school is better equipped to help her. And she helps Laura, even though Laura was originally part of a group where the ringleader made it a point to ignore Anna - but then Laura ends up ostracized from the group as well. Anna remembers how it felt to be ignored and, rather than snub Laura for whatever part she played in that, Anna becomes her friend. Which ends up being so very crucial when Laura's parents split up and Laura ends up staying with Anna's family for a little while. There are hints that a lot more going on behind the scenes with Laura's parents that don't even enter into Anna's young mind, but as an adult reading this book, I was quite scared for Laura. But the narrative handles that situation so beautifully for a young audience - all kids need to know is Laura needs a friend and Anna is going to be that friend and I really appreciated how much talent it takes to write something like that. For that plot aspect alone, I have nothing but high praise for Andrea Cheng.

I haven't even really talked about Anna's books yet! The books Anna reads are integrated into the story so beautifully, it's almost impossible to have this story work without them.  So many of the key events in this story are tied to the books Anna is reading at the time (or she is reminded of books that's she's read before).  During Thanksgiving, she reads My Louisiana Sky, which helps her deal with the fact that her mother is still learning how to drive and doesn't speak perfect English - she likens Tiger Ann's struggle with her mother's disability to her own wishes for a "perfect" mother.  I love the paragraph Anna writes about the book:

I never thought of what it would be like if your mother was mentally retarded. At first, the girl wished she had a normal mother, but then she realized that she loved her mother the way she was. (Cheng, 69)

I totally love how many books Anna reads and how she relates them to herself.  Even Little Blue and Little Yellow becomes a Halloween costume for her and Laura (they paint a yellow circle and a blue circle on two pieces of posterboard that they loop around their necks) - even though people think that they're supposed to be a Visa card (which is hilarious to me, because that's MasterCard they're thinking of - which is red and yellow), Anna and Laura just have fun with it.

Another thing I love about Anna is that she's a far cry from being characterized the way many nine-year-old are in modern children's literature - she's not selfish or whiny or dominant. She loves her family and she's respectful of her parents, even though she sometimes wishes things were different. She tries hard to be kind to others, even when they are not kind back. She embraces her Chinese heritage and answers honest questions that people have about it (to their credit, the people in Anna's life are genuinely curious and politely ask Anna about Chinese culture and she is happy to share her knowledge). Anna is a remarkable role model for children to emulate - not just children who may be in "minority" group, but everybody.

This story made me feel like I wanted to be Anna's friend because of her kindness and intelligence and personality. And having a friend who could teach me Chinese would just be an added bonus. But beyond wanting to be Anna's friend - I actually feel like she would accept me as her friend. The tough issues were dealt with in a very age-appropriate manner, which I appreciated tremendously. But beyond that - this was a fantastic example of how kids don't see color or race or any of those boundaries that society has built up to keep everyone divided. Nobody needs to be a bully, nobody needs to be a victim. Friends are friends, people are people - and we need so many more stories to remind us of that. If you don't know where to start, The Year of the Book is a beautiful place to begin.

Navigating Childhood Without a Compass - "Okay For Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Title: Okay For Now
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Publisher: Clarion Books
Release Date: April 2011
Recommended for Ages: 12 and up

Synopsis (from Goodreads) -

Midwesterner Gary D. Schmidt won Newbery Honor awards for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boys and The Wednesday Wars, two coming-of-age novels about unlikely friends finding a bond. Okay For Now, his latest novel, explores another seemingly improbable alliance, this one between new outsider in town Doug Swieteck and Lil Spicer, the savvy spitfire daughter of his deli owner boss. With her challenging assistance, Doug discovers new sides of himself. Along the way, he also readjusts his relationship with his abusive father, his school peers, and his older brother, a newly returned war victim of Vietnam.

My Review:

I started this book yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.  I finished it yesterday evening before I went to bed.  Barring a few moments where I actually had to put down the book and take a deep breath because of certain scenes, I pretty much read the whole thing straight through.

The whole story is told more or less in a stream-of-consciousness, which I'm not usually a fan of.  But for some reason, Schmidt's thirteen-year-old protagonist, Doug, kept me riveted to the story.  It's almost like Doug is telling the story all in one breath (except that the story takes place over the course of a year - but I guess you can do that kind of stuff in prose).  What's remarkable about this book is how Doug basically treats events in his life like they're no big deal, but you know that they're a very big deal to him.  But he doesn't want to let on that they mean too much to him because he's use to disappointment and he doesn't want to act like he's gotten his hopes up.

In so many ways, Doug Swieteck reminds me of Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. Doug is just a kid trying to navigate his way through events that are so much bigger than him and he does it in a way that his young mind can understand. The main difference between Doug and Scout is that Doug doesn't have the Best Literary Dad Ever to help translate these events into his thought processes and he more or less has to figure it out on his own (though he does have plenty of people to guide him along the way). The reader knows what's going on, even if Doug doesn't or can't say it in so many words. I love stories that can take a kid's point of view and make it compelling and honest - like reminding you what it's like to be a kid and have to deal with adults' problems when you don't quite understand why the adults are doing the stupid things they're doing.

I think another reason I connected with this book so much is that it reminded me of some things that have happened in my own family - much that happened long before I was born, but also some that I have vague memories of from when I was very little. Not all of it was good, but it's also a reminder that you can still love your parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles despite all the stupid things they may have done (and remember that your kids and your nieces and nephews may think of the stupid things you've done years down the road). I just have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this book and very little of it's really about the technical aspects of the writing and it's all about relating to the characters and the time period and how you deal with the world and make sense of it all when you're a kid. And I'm still trying to make sense of the world at twenty-eight.

But as long as I can find books like Okay For Now to help me work it out, well that's a pretty good start.