The Adventures of Ook and Gluk + Scholastic Giveaway

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future by Dav Pilkey
published August 2010 by Scholastic
176 pages (hardcover), middle grade graphic novel
*copy received from publisher

Meet Ook and Gluk, best caveman friends who are always falling into adventures. They like playing the part of brave heroes, saving a dinosaur from sinking into quicksand, a cavewoman from an unappealing marriage to the Chief, and the whole of civilization from a man out to destroy the world to make a buck.

All I have to say is - kids are going to eat this book up. They'll rip it up, for sure. There are Flip-O-Rama pages in this book, which create seemingly animated scenes, that are destined to be torn to shreds. I'll be taping up those pages in advance.

As for the story, I have many mixed feelings. Obviously, the spelling irks me. Perhaps it's meant to be easy to read, to mimic kids' invented spellings, or whatever - I just don't think it has a place in published works. It gives students the idea that spelling really doesn't matter, and while I'd love to hop on that bandwagon, it's not exactly socially acceptable. But I digress.

What I absolutely loved about this book can be found in the following pages:

You see those arrows on page 9? I love them. Towards the beginning of the book, there were a few arrows to direct the reader to follow the story in the correct sequence. This is much appreciated because contrary to popular belief, not everyone just knows how to read comics.

I also liked the friendship between Ook and Gluk and their ease of making new friends. They had good hearts and wanted to help people, which is nice. But the violence! And the language! A bit too much name-calling for my taste - and I say this because I hear it every day in school, and I can't stand it. Another nasty habit I'd not like reinforced, thanks. The violence is minor, I suppose, but not really, because a kick or a punch is still violence, and again, I don't want to see it in school. But that's just my perspective. Maybe kids are just desensitized to it and won't even notice it the way I did (which I also think is sad, by the way), I don't know.

Anyhow, it seems like this book brought out a whole lot of social commentary in me, and I don't mean to sound so old and cranky. Know that kids will like it and will want more of it. And I do think there was a balance of what I liked and didn't like in it, so I'd certainly put it in one of my student's hands and hope for the best!

Three purple crayons from me - I suspect five from the kiddos. :)

SCHOLASTIC GIVEAWAY!
But that's not all! Along with sending me a shiny new copy of Ook & Gluk to review, they are also hosting a ginormous holiday giveaway. I'm sure you've seen these delectable prize packs among other kidlit blogs (I know I have!), so here I am offering you yet another chance to win this boatload of great holiday reads. Here's what Scholastic has to say about it:

Give the gift of reading to your child this holiday season! Scholastic books make the perfect stocking stuffer for any child on your list.

 

We have a HUGE prize pack filled with the most popular children’s books in the marketplace to offer one lucky reader! Titles include CAPTAIN SKY BLUE, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAVID, OOK and GLUK as well as TONY BALONEY, ODIOUS OGRE and I SPY CHRISTMAS A CHRISTMAS TREE!

 

Seriously, check out those books! To enter, you must have a U.S. mailing address. And that's about it. 

Fill out the form below for a chance to win! Contest ends Wednesday, December 8, 2010. 

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Kristi of The Story Siren is hosting the third annual 2011 Debut Author Challenge, which highlights new authors who write middle grade or young adult books. The challenge is simple - read 12 books by a debut author in 2011. Kristi has spreadsheets and lists a-plenty on her blog (and on Goodreads), so finding books and authors should be a cinch. The hard part is narrowing those choices down!

2011 Debut Author Challenge participant information:

• The objective of the DAC is to read at least twelve novels from Young Adult or Middle Grade Authors. While twelve is the minimum there is no maximum limit! I encourage readers who can read more than twelve to do so!
• Anyone can join. You don't have to be a blogger, and you don't have to live in the United States. 
• You do not have to have an blog written in English to participate. 
• You can join at anytime. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

I'm going to attempt this challenge this coming year because I was secretly jealous of those participating in it this year. I was afraid of the time commitment, but honestly, I bet I've read at least five 2010 debuts this year without even realizing it! With a little concerted effort, I know I can manage twelve. :) This will be a good way for me to stay on top of the YA scene too, since the bulk of my YA reading lately has been catching up on series or making sure I read the new one from [insert beloved author here]. As much as I love my K-5 kiddos, the time I spend with them and reading books for them leaves me wishing for and wanting more YA lit.

Here's a list of 2011 debuts that I'm contemplating reading. I'll update it throughout the year to reflect what I've actually read.

EDIT:
And what did I actually read? It's shameful, really. I only managed to read 3 debut novels this year. But many are still on my to-read list! The year flew by, what can I say?


I read...


XVI by Julia Karr (review)


Across the Universe by Beth Revis (review)


Divergent by Veronica Roth (review)




I think I'll join the challenge again in 2012 and make a concerted effort to read more than 3 debuts!

Happy Haul-idays!

Chronicle Books is hosting quite the fantastic contest for the holidays - they're giving away $500 worth of books to one lucky blogger and one lucky commenter. How absolutely wonderful!

So, of course I chose the books below for my library. A few of them I will most certainly purchase (like Chicken Big!) if I don't win, but the majority will just have to wait for another day and time when money grows on trees in library courtyards. :) It's a pleasant dream, isn't it? Wish me and my students luck!








ETA: After visiting some other blogs entering the contest, I noticed that there's a handy Wishlist on Chronicle Books' website that you can use. Not that I spent a ridiculous amount of time composing my bookboxes or anything. Or even more time going back to create a Wishlist. Okay, maybe I did. Here's my Wishlist, including 2 more books because I was a little under $500. Don't make my mistake! Create a Wishlist! Or if you're too lazy and actually like the books I chose, just comment here and you're entered.

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
published December 2008 by Walker & Co
368 pages (paperback), YA

We all know the story - good girl falls for bad boy. She's popular, rich and college-bound, the envy of all her friends. He's in a gang, living on the poor side of the tracks, and hoping to at least graduate high school. Inevitably, the two must spend their school days together as chemistry lab partners. On their first day, they're forced to introduce each other to the class:

"This is Alejandro Fuentes. When he wasn't hanging out on street corners and harassing innocent people this summer, he toured the inside of jails around the city, if you know what I mean. His secret desire is to go to college and become a chemistry teacher, like you, Mrs. Peterson."

Brittany flashes  me a triumphant smile, thinking she's won this round. Guess again, gringa.

"This is Brittany Ellis," I say, all eyes now focused on me. "This summer she went to the mall, bought new clothes so she could expand her wardrobe, and spent her daddy's money on plastic surgery to enhance her, ahem, assets. Her secret desire is to date a Mexicano before she graduates."

I don't read a whole lot of realistic fiction or romance for that matter, but I quite enjoyed this one. Perhaps it's because I saw Simone Elkeles speak at ISLMA last month, and she was just so bubbly and hilarious. Perhaps because the trailer for this book is genius and fall-off-your-chair funny. Or maybe because I read it over a long weekend traveling to visit a friend. It made for great airport and plane reading.



One thing Simone mentioned when she talked about her writing career is that she was never great at school and she never saw herself as a writer or even reader. But a trip to the public library and a handful of romances later changed her mind. She loves the happy ending that all romances promise and deliver, and that's what she tried to do with this book. Personally, I could have done without the happy ending, especially in a YA romance, but I liked the rest of the story enough to be okay with it. Brittany and Alex are three-dimensional characters, with complicated family stories and even more complicated friendships, with thoughts and feelings so at odds with each other that they're constantly fighting and trying to figure out what's right. Simone's passion and general emo qualities shine in this book. Honestly, that's what I love most about teens and books for teens - the raw emotion and incessant need to question everything.

So, four purple crayons for a fantastic if predictable story. I smiled and laughed and wanted to hug someone when I was finished reading it. :)

Help!

So, I sort of became an aunt last night. I say sort of because my sister surely didn't have a baby, but my cousin-in-law did - and our families are so close that I think aunt is a fitting title. Anyhow, I need help choosing books for this little one!

I have a hard enough time finding books for kindergartners that I am just completely clueless when it comes to baby books. I know that board books are in, especially textured ones. Simple pictures. Not a lot of text. I guess? I really don't know.

Please offer your suggestions of favorite books for babies!

Zoey Zeta and the Sisters of Power by Robert Simon

Zoey Zeta and the Sisters of Power: Family Secrets written by Robert Simon, illustrated by Tomomi Sarafov
published April 2010 by Zeta Comics
unpaged (paperback), children's graphic novel
*received from publisher

In this first story of Zoey Zeta and the Sisters of Power, Zoey the scientific genius, middle sister Ella the indestructible, and youngest sister Lexi the supersonic are getting ready for an activity-filled summer vacation when evil villain Dr. Impossible thwarts their plans and puts the country-most importantly kids and their parents-on lockdown. But these girls are superheroes; well, they will be, at least, once they come up with a name and a plan to stop Dr. Impossible.

I quite enjoyed this full-color graphic novel aimed at elementary girls who like superheroes too. The dialogue is smart, as shown by one of my favorite lines, "Parents are cautioned not to weep openly or uncontrollably in front of their children," (in reference to Dr. Impossible taking control of the media world). Because it's aimed at a young audience, I was afraid that the text may be too difficult for my students especially, but I don't think that's the case. Where the language is a bit more sophisticated, the illustrations clearly support it so that the story is not lost. The panels are easy to navigate and the colors just pop right off the page. I'm intrigued by the story, but I'm disappointed that it's separated into three parts. It was over before I really got into it.

Here's a part of the letter I received from the author/publisher about the creation of this comic:

I created Zeta Comics to address the lack of science fiction for young girls. You see, fairies are great but they're not cool. Not unless they're packing molecular disintegrators. Girls need more imaginative, science and engineering based fiction and fun. That's where Zeta Comics is positioning its stories and characters. Get ready for an action-packed adventure starring three powerful little girls with big powers, big attitudes and big adventures.

I'm just going to pretend he didn't bad-mouth fairies there. Because you all know my fascination and love for fairies. Mmhmm.

Anyhow, I plan on sharing this book with my students, and we'll see how it goes! From me, it gets three purple crayons. Solid but too short.

October Reading Recap

Goal-Making
Did I read more for myself? Yep, I think so. Could always read more, though. Especially since the bedside stack has now split into two for fear of falling over. Oy. Public library, how I appreciate your 4-week loan period and generous renewals. I pretty much decide what I'm going to read based on what book cannot be renewed because it's requested by someone else. Tonight's selection is Blameless because it's due on Wednesday!

What I Read and Why 

Because reading for me makes me happy 

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
To the Nines by Janet Evanovich

The Body at the Tower (The Agency #2) by Y.S. Lee

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

Because the public library buys EVERYTHING

What is Money, Anyway? by Jennifer Larson

A Fairy-Tale Fall by Apple Jordan

The Leaves Fall Around by Steve Mack

Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin

The Earth Book by Todd Parr

Flora's Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall

Thanks a Lot, Emily Post! by Jennifer Larue Huget

 

Because Halloween has so much read-aloud potential

The Scariest Monster in the World by Lee Weatherly

Pumpkin Town! by Katie McTy

Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligot

The Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijo

Hallowilloween by Calef Brown

The Monster Princess by D.J. MacHale

 Because they're nominated for the Monarch Award

Oh, Theodore! by Susan Katz

Help Me, Mr. Mutt! by Janet Stevens

Abe's Honest Words by Doreen Rappaport

Dog and Bear by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

 

 Because I bought them for my library

Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra

Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra

Lots of Spots by Lois Ehlert

AlphaOops! H is for Halloween by Alethea Kontis

Big Babies, Little Babies by DK Publishing

Mentionables

Did I really only blog three times in October? I need to get better at blogging quicker. These entries take me hours on end. Anyhow...

Clockwork Angel was by far my favorite. The first book in The Infernal Devices series, which is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments series, all books that I have loved. Tessa finds herself at the Institute in London after being imprisoned by demon sisters, with the new knowledge that she's a Downworlder with the unique talent of shape shifting. Woo! Need I say much more? :) 

Just read How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles this weekend because I went to one of her sessions at the Illinois School Library Media Association's annual conference on Friday. She was so full of spunk and spark that I immediately rushed to my mom's public library to get one of her books to read - this was the only one on the shelf. And I rather enjoyed it. I love her easy style - she absolutely writes how she speaks, and it works for her. Can't wait to read more from her!

Not much else to say that I haven't said here, here, or here. 

November Aspirations

Honestly, I'll be surprised if I get any reading done in November. So much to do! I said that I would revisit The Hunger Games and Catching Fire during Thanksgiving break so that I can finally read Mockingjay, but I don't know that I'll have much free time while visiting family. I do plan on reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because I just got it from the library after waiting months on their holds list. I'm not about to give it back without reading it! Also looking forward to Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld and The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima, both sequels to first books in a series. And I want to read everything Simone Elkeles has written because she's refreshingly honest, funny, a tad silly, and so full of life and emotion. OH! And Harry Potter 7, Part 1 comes out this month?! Goodness gracious, there's no way I'll have time to re-read it. Best I can hope for is to re-watch #6.

 

Nonfiction Monday: Big Babies, Little Babies

Big Babies, Little Babies
published April 2010 by DK Publishing
64 pages (hardcover), children's nonfiction

You and your kids will ooh and ahh and mostly aww your way through this book. I surely did! This collection of animal babies is all about the photographs. Each two-page spread features a different baby, including bears, dolphins, elephants, giraffes, penguins, monkeys, and much more. The photographs (a collection of stock images) drive the text in this book, with thought bubbles for the babies and captions that describe a small aspect of the baby's life.

The details in this book are what really sold me on it. And the organization. Each spread contains a large, bold, unique title with two or three sentences of description. The rest of the text is written in a smaller font size and serves as caption or thought bubble. Also, the spreads contain a dominant background color which is pulled from the images and also serves to outline the text and photo boxes. The page numbers wouldn't be complete without a paw print, webbed foot, or other stamp to match the  animal.

I have every intention of sharing this book with students in the library as a read-aloud. I probably won't read the whole book, or every single word on each page, but I will definitely hit some of the especially aww-worthy pages. This one might even work well using a document camera to project it on the board for enlarged images. Tie into teaching about how to read nonfiction text, what's a caption, text box, photograph, etc. Oh, the curricular connections are endless.

Check out more Nonfiction Monday posts at the round-up, hosted this week at Write About Now.

Monster picture books

The Scariest Monster in the World written by Lee Weatherly, illustrated by Algy Craig Hall
published September 2009 by Boxer

This monster would be hugely scary if he didn't have one little dilemma - he has the hiccups. And the poor thing just doesn't know what to do about it! He tries everything he can think of, but there's one cure that he can't try on his own - scare the hiccups away! Looks like he'll need some help with this one...

Big Scary Monster by Thomas Docherty
published July 2010 by Candlewick

Big Scary Monster loves to play BOO! at the top of the mountain where the animals are small and afraid. But they've learned to hide from the monster, so he wanders down the mountain to find other animals to scare. Trouble is, the animals at the bottom of the mountain are rather large and like to play BOO! too. Frightened away, the monster heads back up the mountain in search of someone to play with. Lucky for him, the animals are understanding and know that he just needs a friend.

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
published September 2005 by Hyperion

Is this everyone's favorite lovable monster book? It sure is mine! Leonardo is, you guessed it, a terrible monster. He's never been able to scare anyone. Until one day. He spies a weak-looking boy, and he finally works up the courage to do it. He scares the tuna salad right out of this boy! Success! But he's not feeling very good about himself. Indeed, he decides it might be better to befriend the boy instead of scare him.

Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott
published July 2010 by Walker & Co

This book has been making the blog rounds and for good reason. What a wonderful idea for a monster story! In a very matter-of-fact tone, we meet a boy who has inherited his father's profession, that of a barber. But the boy's shop is only open at nighttime, when the monsters come out, because, hey, monsters need haircuts too. The monsters are generally wary of humans but they know the boy well, so he's okay. Except that one night, it seems that a human stumbles in for a haircut... How will the monsters react?

The Monster Princess written by D.J. MacHale, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
published August 2010 by Simon & Schuster

Every little girl wishes she could be a princess, and monster little girls are no exception. Lala the gnome sets out for the castle and finds the princesses' room empty - oh, what luxury! She tries on dresses and jewels and stares at her pretty reflection in the mirror. But when the princesses discover a monster in their room, they are none too happy... until Lala shares how much she'd like to be a princess just like them. A sweet story with a "love yourself" message at the end.

Welcome to Monster Town by Ryan Heshka
published July 2010 by Henry Holt & Co

When the sun sets, it's time for the monster day to begin. Each page describes "a day in the life of..." - for example, "The ghost writers cover the news" and "King Kong climbs tall buildings as he makes them." Interesting premise and vivid illustrations, but I wished for more of a storyline.




Got any monster favorites of your own? Please share!

Read recently

Sometimes I just don't have the energy or thoughts enough to devote to one book, so this is a nice way to catch up on what I've been reading. For you and for me!

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway
published August 2010 by Razorbill
256 pages (hardcover), YA

I loved Benway's first novel, Audrey, Wait! so yes, I was a little disappointed with her second. April, May, and June are sisters, one year apart each in high school, and they are all recently discovering that they have special powers. April sees the future, May disappears, and June reads thoughts. While April and May are perfectly fine with blending in at school, the youngest sister June wants to be popular. So of course June uses her mind-reading abilities to turn the popular girl's friends against her so that she can get in her good graces instead. But April disapproves of the girls using their powers for selfish reasons and tries to be the responsible older sister by suggesting they use their talents for good and not evil.

Okay, I have to stop there because I'm getting bored just writing about it. Sigh. It wasn't a boring book, really. But it wasn't all that engaging either. The characters were bland, besides having special powers, and the plot either didn't go anywhere or went too many places - I can't decide which. Maybe I just had too high of hopes for this book, but it just didn't do anything for me.

The Body at the Tower (The Agency #2) by Y.S. Lee
published August 2010 by Candlewick
352 pages (hardcover), YA

I liked the first book in this series and saw endless possibilities of where it could go. This book went to a strange, unexpected place. I know that I say quite a bit that I'm all about the characters in a book and don't care much for plot. But I also can't read a book if the plot is so boring and distracting from the characters. And that's what I felt here.

Mary has a new case at the Agency. Dress as an apprenticing boy to gain access to the Big Ben worksite to solve the mystery of an unexplained death. Yeah, what else can I say? It certainly didn't grab me, but I read it anyway because I like Mary. We learn a little (itty bitty bit) about her past, and we also see potential changes in the Agency. That irritated me. I hardly know what the Agency is about, after only one book in the series, and now it's changing? But that's okay because I like Mary. And that's enough for me to read the potential third book in the series.

To the Nines by Janet Evanovich, read by C.J. Critt
published 2003 by Recorded Books
9 sound discs (10 hours, unabridged), adult pop lit

I love Stephanie Plum. These books are perfect for long drives because they're formulaic but most of all, they're hilarious. The situations are ridiculous, and Stephanie's decision-making skills are laughable. In this installment, Stephanie is looking for a man whose work visa is just about to expire. This case takes her in many different directions - with a trip to Vegas to boot! But who cares about the mystery? It's Stephanie's love life that keeps me reading, or rather, listening. She's back with Morelli, even living with him for now because her apartment is just too easy to break into. They're together but still not ready for marriage, even though Joe hints that he wouldn't mind if Stephanie was pregnant! Which she's not; her sister is. And Ranger? Well, he takes a backseat in this one, but I can't imagine that will last very long.

I also really like the narrator's voice, which I recognize from previous Plum novels. She uses different voices for Stephanie, Lula, Grandma Mazur, Ranger, Joe, and others, so it feels like there's a full cast. She reads well. :)