Book Review: Spirit Week Showdown

SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN by Crystal Allen is the first book in the new Magnificent Mya Tibbs series for middle grade readers.

Mya and her best friend Naomi plan to win the Spirit Week partners competition. However when Mya is reluctantly paired with Mean Connie Tate, her hopes for winning VIP tickets to the Fall Festival quickly disappear. This authentic, endearing story explores many kinds of friendships and what it means to be a friend.

Librarians will find this charming and often humorous book to be a hit with fans of the classic Ramona books as well as more recent series such as Ivy and Bean. What makes this book timely is the way it handles the topic of diversity. Rather than being a focus of the story, Mya just happens to be a black girl in a diverse cast of characters living in Texas.

Middle grade readers will be clamoring for the next book in what is sure to be a popular friends and family series.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.crystalallenbooks.com/.

Published by Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins on January 26, 2016. ARC courtesy for the publisher.

App Review: Choose Your Path

CHOOSE YOUR PATH from the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is an engaging app focusing on bullying prevention. This interactive learning experience was designed as part of the museum’s Power of Children exhibit.

Youth choose from three settings: online, playground, or classroom. Before getting started, users have the option of setting up their own name and avatar, a friend, and an adult. Users are then faced with a dilemma that’s shown on the screen and also read aloud. The audio aspect can be turned on or off. Participants are given four choices and instructed to drag their choice into a box. The user is then provided informative feedback about their selection. After the challenge, users are asked whether they’d like to choose a different path within the same challenge or select another challenge area.

Because the app only contains three dilemmas, it won’t take long for youth to complete the activity. However, the experience is an fun and effective way to review at the completion of a lesson on bullying prevention.

To download this free app, go to https://itunes.apple.com/…/childrens-museums-ch…/id920112377.

Book Review: Kissing in America

KISSING IN AMERICA by Margo Rabb takes an honest look at family, friends, and the world of romance for young adults.

Eva has read 118 romance novels, but real life is much more complicated. After her boyfriend moves to California, she decides to make a cross-country trip to surprise him. This coming-of-age, road-trip adventure explores a wide range of issues from family grief to self-discovery… and a bit of romance.

Readers will easily overlook the silly premise and enjoy Eva’s quest. Rabb has an excellent handle on contemporary issues and teen humor making the happiness and heartbreak feel authentic.

This book is difficult to pigeonhole. Librarians need to keep in mind that despite the title, it’s not solely a romance. Much of the book deals with Eva’s ability to deal with the death of her father and frustrations with her mother. The novel also contains lots of literary connections that could be distracting for youth without a background in literature. However for young adults who enjoy realistic fiction, this book has it all.

To learn more about the author, go to http://margorabb.com/.

Published by HarperCollins, May 26, 2015

Book Review: We Are All Made of Molecules

WE ARE ALL MADE OF MOLECULES by Susin Nielsen is an authentic work of realistic fiction examining an emerging, 21st century blended family.

Thirteen-year-old Stewart and fourteen-year-old Ashley are thrown together when their parents decide to move in together. Their story is told through alternating chapters that feature nerdy Stewart and bitchy Ashley describing their frustrations dealing with this new arrangement and their encounters with family and friends. Along the way, the story incorporates timely characters including a gay father, a complex bully, and multifaceted friends.

Nielsen’s well-written story combines humor with realistic situations to create a convincing, positive tale for today’s teens. She’s successful at making her story uplifting without becoming preachy.

Librarians will find a broad audience for this funny, yet moving young adult novel. Nielsen’s work is a welcome relief to the many heavy YA realistic fiction books published this year. Add it to your list of lighter summer reads.

Learn more about the author at http://susinnielsen.com/.

Published by Wendy Lamb Books and Random House Teens on May 12, 2015.

Book Review: Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

UNUSUAL CHICKENS FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL POULTRY FARMER by Kelly Jones is a charming and fun fantasy about a twelve-year-old girl who moves to a farm and stumbles upon chickens with superpowers.

With the help of family and friends Sophie becomes a poultry farmer, but faces the challenge of dealing with a chicken thief who’ll do anything to steal her special chickens.

The story unfolds in letters written by Sophie to her deceased great-uncle and grandmother. Sophie also communicates with the owner of a poultry supply company who helps her learn about raising chickens.

The author does an outstanding job seamlessly weaving in topics related to diversity without making it the focus of the story. From Sophie’s brown skin to a passing reference to Jane’s girlfriend, readers are exposed to authentic situations, relationships, and reactions. There’s even a great recipe for migas.

Katie Kath’s whimsical illustrations add to the appeal of the story and also visualize the diversity represented in the book.

Librarians will be happy to see Sophie riding her bike to the library and interacting with a caring librarian. Many readers will particularly enjoy the informational pages describing the breeds and care of chickens.

Children who enjoy farm settings, humorous stories, and animal books will be delighted to find a novel that combines all three into an engaging, fast-paced fantasy.

To learn more about the author, go to http://curiosityjones.net/.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf (Random House) on May 12, 2015.