The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander's Site


10.5/10

Incredible Book!

Wow!  Wow!  Wow!

2015 Newbery Award Winner!




This is not a Mark Twain Nominee, but it is a must read for everyone!   Great use of poetry, language, vocabulary, connection, basketball, emotion, on and on and on!!

READ IT!

2016 Mark Twain Nominee Rankings and Predictions...

10  Rain Reign  by Ann M. Martin
9.9---Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson
9.6---All Four Stars by Tara Dairman
9.5---Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas
9---Space Case  by Stuart Gibbs
8.9---The Missing Pieces of Me by Jean Van Leeuwen
8.5---Junction of Sunshine and Lucky  by Holly Schindler
8.4---A Million Ways Home by Dianne Doris Winget
8.2---Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick
8---half a chance by Cynthia Lord
7.2---Loot by Jude Watson
7---Pack of Dorks by Beth Vrabel

Okay, I think Rain Reign is the best book, but will it win...It depends on the readers.  Pennyroyal Academy has a great chance especially if there are a lot of fantasy readers, really way better than I expected and I loved it!!  All Four Stars was also very good.  Space Case is another standout by Stuart Gibbs.  He really has creativity an d"tween" humor in the bag.  I loved his book Belly Up, a few years back. All of my 9's and above have a very good chance...Rain Reign, is just incredible from so many different angles.

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

The Website

       8/10

Text features in fiction twice in this book.  Both had to do with the same contest the character was entering.   This is not a common feature in fiction chapter books.

The book had a lot of themes going on in it, photography, friendship, dementia, conservation, etc.  They came together in the end.  A lot of the themes were highlighted in the contest categories.  I kept waiting for the title meaning to pop up in the book and it finally did on page 203.  After I finished reading it, I thought of several more ways that the title was relevant.  It was an enjoyable read, but not earth-shattering.

Did It Fit Our Overall Mark Twain Nominee Themes????

Lucy had a traditional family except for the fact that dad was a traveling photographer who spent a lot of time away.  They had just moved to a lake where most people only live during the summer and they were becoming year round residents, Lucy didn't have any real struggles, just the normal teenage stuff.

I made a video on youtube of me using this book to record ideas in my writer's notebook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etVe1Vy1U60&index=4&list=PLgUrnCDKMm0IFSQrIorDbanjbqHjVShZU

The Missing Pieces of Me by Jean Van Leeuwen

Jean Van Leeuwen's Site

8.9/10  almost a 9/10

I cried a lot when I got to certain points in this story.  It is hard to imagine living in a world where you feel you are not loved.  Ms. Leeuwen truly creates empathy for her character.  It is important to make readers feel something when they read.  That is what creates powerful stories that you want to finish.  You start to feel something for Weezie and you want her life to be better. In the end it is not sugar coated, it is a realistic ending, not a fairy tale ending, not a 100% satisfying ending, but maybe a lesson that happiness comes from knowing yourself and creating your own opportunities regardless of what others feel you need to be.

Writing that makes you feel or root for Weezie:

WORDS:
"Momma says I'm a bad girl."
"'Get out of my sight!'she barked. 'I can't stand to look at you.'"
"But Momma never did call me for supper."
"I said I would come to your art show.  Isn't that enough?  Really, Weezie, you don't  think of anyone but yourself."
"Momma didn't come, I keep thinking. She never came."
"My own momma hates me."

ACTIONS:
Momma only buys things for the two little ones.  
Momma only takes the two little ones with her on Saturdays to fairs and stores etc.
Momma always tells Weezie she is bad like her dad.
Momma leaves Weezie outside with Roy and Weezie outside and takes the two little ones in with her.
Momma doesn't go to the art show that Weezie has a picture in.
Momma treats Weezie like a servant instead of a daughter.

Theme:

Weezie lives with her mom and a sister and brother from two different dads from her own, she is on a quest to be a better person who is loved in a situation that makes that impossible.

Pack of Dorks by Beth Vrabel

Pack of Dorks Site

7/10

 Okay, I absolutely did not the beginning of the book. I don't think the actions are appropriate for upper elementary readers.  It is a lot like the book Loser by Jerri Spinelli.  The book redeems itself in the remaining chapters.  There is a definite transformation in the character and it is well written.  I do like the ending a lot.  

The way the author shows perceptions is really good.  She compares this group of students to a wolf pack that the character is researching.  Lucy starts with one perception, and ends with another.  She perceives her newborn sister differently from her parents and the general public.  Her perceptions change on her views of age, strength, popularity, athleticism, love, family, friendship, bullying, adults, and self.  She becomes a better person because of it.

Look at some of the dialogue tags this author used in this chapter book:

asked     called     whined     muttered     yelled       whispered    snapped blurted   glared    laughed    bellowed     nodded     repeated      bellowed cried       finished screamed 

Theme:
It takes place in a family where a Down's Syndrome baby girl has just been born.  It is in 1st person, the character struggles with many different perceptions in her journey from her own, to strangers, to friends, to social status'.

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman

9.6/10

Tara Dairman's SITE    

YUMMY!!  All Four Stars was deliciously surprising.  Really, I didn't realize what I was reading about until I started the book.  It is full of figurative language and cause/effect.  It is simply written, but effective!  Ms. Dairman has entwined the culinary world magnificently into the pages of this story.  Recipes at that back are a tempting treat.

Sensory Details

Loaded of course! It is an especially fantastic place for finding examples of smell and taste, duh?!  It is in 1st person, so Gladys takes us on a foodie journey.

Taste:  "Gladys took a bite of her brownie, and a slew of flavors flooded her tastebuds.  The sweet melty butterscotch offset the bitterness of the chocolate and the hint of nutmeg gave the whole thing a kick."
             "Gladys tasted the pancake and thought it was delicious---the perfect combination of fluffy and crunchy, sweet and savory."
             "It tasted like pesto, like fresh thin-crusted pizza straight our of the oven, like summer."
Touch:  "...following Sandy back down the hall, staggering under the weight of the huge cookbook."
Sight:  "In the casserole dish was a misshapen, gray lump of meat covered with a mound of pale, quivering gloop..."
Sound:  "The bell rang, and the conversation was replaced by rustling coats and clomping boots."
Smell:  "...to smell something fresh and grassy-not the bitterness of coffee."
            "...Gladys was momentarily sidetracked by the scrumptious scents rising from her mug."
            "The Sighs' house was filled with warm spicy aromas."


THEME???
     Regular parents, except for the fact that they are horrible cooks (microwaved meatloaf?) probably why they prefer fast food restaurants to fresh, home-cooked meals.  Gladys is out of place with her gifted pallet and odd sensibilities.  Her struggle, not a hurricane or detrimental odds...realizing her dream and passion to cook and critique culinary chef-d'oeuvre. ( I had to look that one up!)

Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson

          Pennyroyal Academy Website 

                      Author's Website

9.9/10

Okay, I have to admit, though I always love fantasy/sci-fi, I was skeptical about this bargain basement priced Scholastic Book Fair book.  Seriously, I paid $2.50 for it at a book fair!!!!  Sorry Ms. Fleming, you have to read this one!!!  You won't regret it! 

To my delight and surprise it was rich and wonderful, surprising an original.  It is one of the best princess books I have ever read!  It redefines princess.  It elevates princess.  This author's first book?  Incredible.  

FLAVORS ooze from this chapter book.  Advanced Vocabulary knows no bounds inside these pages.  Many surprise twists.  I want to read the sequel!  

Following the theme?  You tell me... environment-cave and princess academy, parents?- oh my, I can't give it away, you will just have to trust me on this one, very unique, and Evie definitely a heroine from the get go, surviving the odds...and there is a massive storm!!  It is written in 3rd person.

Advanced Vocabulary...

"...the girl didn't even notice the vertiginous cliffs..."

"...an enormous wooden bridge began to lower across the chasm."

"An ominous murmuring sound.

"...then befuddlement when their eyes landed on her.

This is on two consecutive pages.  It is loaded!!  Reminds me of Thornbirds.  (That is the book I used in my junior year of high school to find everyone of the teacher assigned advanced vocabulary words!!  LOL!)

A Million Ways Home by Dianne Doris Winget

Dianna's Website  8.4/10

I thought I was being a little harsh about Loot but I read this one in no time at all, and liked it a lot.  

I had many emotion while I read this story.  I knew what I thought was going to happen, but it still never prepared me for the outpouring of my own tears and feelings.  Ms. Winget does a phenomenal job of pulling the reader in to the story and making them feel. You know that Poppy is going to do something "impulsive" but you still root for her and understand why.  She actually doesn't realize how lucky she is, through all the tragedy.  The idiom and title, A Million Ways Home, becomes more and more applicable the further you read in the story, though the words are never used in the text.

Sensory detail is a great writer's craft to bring out in this book. Dianna uses them exactly how they work best, to show how they bring us memories and keep us grounded.  She use senses that are harder for us to write about...smell and taste.  Learn from her great examples:

Sound:  The social worker is always connected with the sound of her shoes..."I opened them again when the familiar tap-tap-tap came close to the car."
"I could tell when she reached the elevator, because the tapping stopped."

Taste:"Goey sweetness filled my mouth and made me feel better, but not for long."
"But I chewed slowly, savoring each greasy bite."
"It was creamy and sweet and triggered a bright memory."


Smell:  " I coughed my way through the diesel fumes and over to the sidewalk."
"I took a breath of the cool, pine-scented air and tried not to panic."
"I thought of the man's weird eyes and the awful smell of his breath and felt another wave of nausea."

An entire paragraph dedicated to smell:
    "The bag from Miss Austin still sat by the door.  I went over and pulled out my flannel blanket.  I pressed it to my nosse, longing for the sweet smell of lavender drops Grandma Bet always added to the washing machine.  But it didn't smell like lavender anymore, it didn't smell like home at all.  It smelled like the center, and it made me want to cry again."

THEME TIME!!!

As usual, a theme is beginning to arise in these nominees... Alternative types of homes, heroic actions by young main characters, and missing parents??  Poppy in this book is being raised by Grandma Beth  and moved into a new living situation when Grandma has a stroke, August of The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky,  lives with Grandpa Gus in a poor part of town that is being targeted, and decorates with "trash,"  Zane's dad dies and he goes to Louisiana to meet Great Grandma Trissy, and then survives Hurricane Katrina, Marches father dies in Loot, travels with his newly found sister and new friends to find missing jewels and save them all,  in Red Berries..., Tomi's father is taken away and they live in a relocation camp and she helps her family remain sane,  Rose, who suffers from Asperger's in Rain, Reign, makes sense of her odd world, while living with a father who does not understand her compulsions and survives many emotional challenges including a hurricane, and in Space Case, although Dashiell, lives with a traditional family, he lives, on the moon and solves a murder mystery.  I will be looking for these three connections in the last five books I have left.  :-)  It is written in 1st person.

LOOT by Jude Watson

7.2/10

An original story, good writing, twists, mystery, and more...but not as captivating as the previous reads.  It took me a while to get through it.  However, she seems to be a Star Wars nut.  :-)

Jude Watson Website

Really don't like the idea of idolizing thieves...  I am so old fashioned.  Maybe that was my hang up!! I am sure students will like it a lot better that I did.  Rick Riordan liked it!!

Great book to look at if you are working on dialogue rules!  First one of the batch I have read that is in 3rd person.

ZANE AND THE HURRICANE: A STORY OF KATRINA By Rodman Philbrick

8.2/10

Zane and The Hurricane Link

   

What can I say about this author?  I have read two other books by Mr. Philbrick:  The Young Man and the Sea, and Freak the Mighty. Both of those books won my heart!  I had extremely high expectations for this book, which probably skewed my view.  It is great, but it is not as tremendous as I expected.  Read the other two books and you will understand what I mean.  That being said, this book had a lot of great story to it and a lot of writers' craft.

If you want to look at informal register dialogue, this is the book! What an incredible job using and explaining the dialect and culture of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. 

Language Register- Formal, Informal, and Neutral:

"They come into my care after their momma pass.  This you daddy," she says..."

"Della keep a nice kitchen," he says.  "We ain't gonna starve."

"Get you up, dawlin'," he says, voice going soft. "Fair don't figure.  What's done is done."

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler

Youtube Trailer          Author's Website

8.5/10

Wonderful story written in first person.  5th graders are the main characters and there is a Man vs. society conflict.  A great story of actions speak louder than words, positive thought and the little guy come out on top, and it takes place in Missouri!!  This is also where Holly Schindler was born and raised.  And....

This book is incredibly full of writers' craft!!

Great leads:
"Old Glory shimmies like she's dancing the jitterbug." Chapter 1
"My head buzzes like the beetle traps in Harold's yard..." Chapter 9
"'Forget the secret ingredient,' Gus announces as he shrugs into his coat."  Chapter 36

Starts and ends the same:
"The cab's completely packed--my best friend Lexie's here with me, along with my neighbor Irma Jean."
"'You all are making more racket than a bunch of skeletons break dancing on a tin roof,'  Gus teases."
"We tumble out of the cab, (at McGunn's) and Gus steers Old Glory toward a yellow piece of machinery--it almost ..." 

--1st pages of story

"We cram ourselves into the cab of Old Glory."
"'You girls are giggling louder than a whole zoo of hyena's'  Gus says as he steers us down Sunshine..."
"At McGunn's, the doors open and we tumble out."

--Last pages of story

Figurative Language Everywhere:
"The notes of our giggles are like the notes of a piano chord..."
"..her skin seems the same shade as imported chocolates."
"The brownie makes my mouth water like a hose with a hole in it."

Metaphors:
"...a big helping of his hearty pumpkin pie laugh."
"...brings her dandelion-seed head to the doorway."

Personification:
"...her word screeches into my brain."
(The truck)  "jiggles so much, she tickles my stomach."
"Excitement leaks out..."

Red Berries White Clouds Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas

Red Berries

White Clouds

Blue Sky 

9.5 out of 10  
Website

Beautiful story.  The author researched used culturally correct vocabulary and voice.  Of course my connection to the text is my ethnicity.  Many parts of the book were significant to me and I am sure my mom would enjoy this read also.  She was two years old in Hawaii when all of this was happening.  There were way too many Japanese Americans in Hawaii to inter.  My grandparents were Nisei.  Born in America, just like Tomi.  They changed their names to American names and burned their Japanese things.  I also have a friend in KC who lived in Honolulu during the Bombing.  She wrote a nonfiction book called Pearl Harbor Child about her experiences.

I also love that in the end, this book comes back to ...WRITING!    Won't give it away.  :-)

This author used a lot of formal and informal language to portray the culture, emotions, and the time period.

     "You Japs bombed Pearl Harbor," he said, then turned and went inside, closing the door.
     "Me and Tomi didn't bomb anybody," Hiro called through the glass, but Mr. Akron ignored him.

     "Shikata ga nai," Mom said.

     Pop shrugged.  "What kind of country puts people in jail for nothing?"  He repeated the word. "Nothing, they chard me with nothing."

RAIN REIGN by Ann M. Martin

10/10

Mrs. Zuber's favorite from 2016 list!

Rain Reign Website

Wow.  So simply written.  It is in 1st person from Rose's point of view.  Everything just works in this story.  It is centered around my favorite thing...Figurative Language.  :-)  Homonyms and Homophones.  What is the difference between homophones and homonyms?  

Ann Martin conveys emotions, thoughts, images, and more using such a personal voice.  I cried a lot as I became more and more a part of the story.  I felt something for the character Rose and began to feel her place in the world.  

This is a must read.  This book shows an authors' craft of how important character is to the story.  

Homophone List:                                  Homonym List:
rows, rose                                             tire
two, to, too                                          fall
their, they're, there                               arm
wear, where, ware                                even

space case by Stuart Gibbs

9/10

Here we are starting the Mark Twain Nominee "Lovefest 2016!"  My favorite one again this year!  Hats off to Lemoncello's Library!!!

Remember, we are reading like a writer here--so trying not to give away plots etc...

I like the originality of this story!  I also liked Mr. Gibbs other nominee a few years back---Belly Up. He has a very creative mind!  Great setting- moon base alpha in 2041.  Great lead character.  I had to try and figure them out.  I like to work for it.  Okay, it is written in first person from Dashiell's point of view.  It is a murder mystery.  

The author adds a lot of detail about what life might be like on the first moon base.  It is written almost like a diary, but not quite.  Great chapter titles and starts.  This author uses good leads.  In between each chapter, there are "excerpts" from "The Official Residents' Guide to Moon Base Alpha."  There is a great twist in the story that caught me by surprise, and that is not something that happens very often.

What kept this from being a 9 or 10.  Dashiell was from the Big Island of Hawaii.  Although the author did reference several locations correctly, Dashiell and his friends he talked to over the phone did not speak correctly.  Having lived on the Big Island for eleven years, so it was hard on me to be so excited about having a connection, but then the connection was slightly off.  I also did not enjoy the interruption of the guide between each chapter, though I couldn't help but read it every time.  I actually enjoyed the footnotes to them more.

Sentences with variety:

"Let's get something straight, right off the bat:  Everything the movies ever taught you about space travel is garbage." 
     -Three idioms! Starts off in second person.  Doesn't start with the, me, he, they, etc.

"Even though the moon base isn't big, there are still a lot of places I'm not allowed inside."

Space Case Website