Review: When the Whistle Blows - Fran Slayton

When the Whistle Blows

by Fran Slayton

Ages 9-12

160 pages

Philomel, June 2009

Summary from Amazon:

Jimmy lives in Rowlesburg, West Virginia, during the 1940s. He does all the things boys do in the small mountain town: plays a mean game of football, pulls the unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in “the Platoon,” and promises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting season— no matter what. He also knows his father belongs to a secret society, and is determined to uncover the mysteries behind it! But it is a midnight encounter with a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is.

I was captivated by these vignettes of a rural railroad community in the 1940s. Rowlesburg is a West Virginia steam train town on the cusp of the diesel revolution.  Jimmy is twelve in the first chapter, which takes place on one day -- All Hallows' Eve, to be precise. Each chapter carries the reader one year later in Jimmy's life, with its consummate trials, tests and triumphs.

This short middle-grade novel is a winner. The voice of a growing adolescent is authentic and the historic setting springs to life on every page. Think Stand By Me.

It's funny, too. Here's a taste: "I spit hard onto the ground. The spit is good quality -- heavy and thick with no lumps -- and it comes out in a perfect, spinning wad that slaps itself onto the ground just like the way I'd like to slap Stubby upside the head."

On the other hand, I'm not sure if this will appeal to my typical middle grade boy readers. The content is all boy -- football, trains, gross practical jokes, dead bodies -- but the actual story mostly takes place in Jimmy's head. Although the pacing is fairly quick and the stories are engaging, I'm not sure if it has enough dialogue or action to carry the day.

In addition, it's rife with emotion. Jimmy deals with some pretty intense feelings through the course of seven years. I would like to think this will not put boys off, but the sexist cynic in me wonders. It reminds me of the kind of "I love you, man" melodrama that women writers think men feel, but men themselves scoff at. I guess in the end, being a girl reader myself, I will have to try this out on some boys-who-only-read-boy-books and see what they think.

I would give this to readers of Richard Peck and kids who liked Heart of a Shepherd (another excellent book, by the way).

Ratings

• Awesomeness: 7 - quietly unassuming, but packs a punch
  
• Wordsmithing: 6 - vocabulary is straightforward and does not demand much of the reader
  
• Personages: 7 - memorable characters are familiar but still three dimensional
  
• Mesmerizitude: 6 - chapters were short, just right to consume in small bites

Other Reviews - and wow, there are a lot of them!  I am assuming this is because Fran is herself a blogger.

• at Books, Books Everywhere!
• at Bookends and again
• at 100 Scope Notes
• at Everyday Reading
• at The Reading Zone
• at Jen Robinson's Book Page
• at Beckwith's Book Blog
• at Donna St. Cyr
• at Not Acting My Age
• at Frenetic Reader
• at Iron Inklings
• at Galleysmith
• at Booking Mama (with an author video)
• at Capricious Reader
• at Carrie's YA Bookshelf
• Author interviews here and here and here

Review: Love, Aubrey - Suzanne LaFleur

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur Ages 9+ 244 pages Wendy Lamb Books, June 2009

(spoilers)

Aubrey wakes to a world that has changed overnight -- again.  Her mother has run off, following the accidental death of Aubrey's father and little sister, leaving her alone in the house.  It's a haunting beginning to a story about healing and trust following a devastating experience.

Speaking as one who's recovered from major trauma, Suzanne LaFleur has hit the emotional and physical sensations right on the head.  Aubrey has persistent stomach pain and nausea when she remembers her family.  The way she deals with food is directly related to her inner peace, until at last she is able to accept the feeling of "food... heavy in my stomach" (p. 205) just as she is able to accept love from others, both Grandma and her friend Bridget.

The story steps carefully through Aubrey's healing and shows from the inside out how she begins to trust again.  Even greater than her pain is her need for a parent who loves her, and a family that belongs together.  It is remarkable how she manages to find both by the end of the book, but in different places and with different people.  There were several points at which the story could have been resolved, but LaFleur followed through and tied up all the loose ends, which made for an even more satisfying ending.

In other reviews, readers have named it as a teen novel, but I think it is very middle grade, even though the issues are heavy.  The things she is going through as an 11 year old girl will resonate with older readers, but there is nothing inappropriate about it for younger readers.  I can think of several fourth graders I'd recommend it to.  

Love, Aubrey is a first novel that does not read like a first novel.  I felt like I was reading a Patricia Reilly Giff -- familiar and expertly crafted, solidly paced, with characters that read like real people snipped right out of their lives and pasted onto the page.  Certain scenes, such as that in which Aubrey and her grandmother go roller skating, include every perfect detail to recreate the experience for the reader.  I am definitely looking forward to more from LaFleur.

Favorite quote: "Meatloaf is better left over."

Shortlisted for the Waterstone Children's Book Prize,

Ratings

• Awesomeness: 7 - a very fine story!
  
• Wordsmithing: 7 - read like a straightforward realistic fiction novel, with food metaphors that packed a punch
  
• Personages: 7 - I cheered for Aubrey and felt the realism in every flashback she had with her family
  
• Mesmerizitude: 7 - I was surprised by its length when I was done -- it didn't feel like 250 pages

Other Reviews

• at Persnickety Snark
• at Vulpes Libres
• at Becky's Book Reviews
• at The Well-Read Child
• at Semicolon
• at Book Nut
• at Jen Robinson's Book Page
• at Garden of Books (For Teens)
• at Readingjunky's Reading Roost
• at Peaceful Reader

Review: The Unfinished Angel - Sharon Creech

The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech Ages 9-12 164 pages Joanna Cotlen Books, September 2009 978-0061430954

To me, Sharon Creech fits in that select group of authors one would recommend to older elementary students using the words, "This is an author you do not want to miss."  In fact, I did that very thing twice last week, in my annual pre-Newbery Power Point presentation to my two fifth grade classes.  So I don't mind saying I have high expectations for any book with Sharon Creech's name on it.

The Unfinished Angel is different from any other Creech book I've seen yet.  It has her same short chapters, same thoughtful, humorous inner monologue.  But the main character in this book is a mystery, and I had no more answers at the end of the story than I had at the beginning.  The angel has no name; it has no gender.  It simply thinks it's an angel.

What works about this story is the angel's bewilderment and frustration at dealing with "peoples."  It's easy to hear the angel complaining (in my head, in an Italian accent).  It doesn't quite have human vocabulary down, which leads to amusing wordplay and clever, invented words like "adulterinos" and "fidgetated."  It's like Junie B. Jones with four syllable words.  It is touching to note how, even in moments of great confusion, the angel cares for its humans with a sweet, grumbly sort of love.

What I think works against the story is the wandering plot and frequent deviations from the main story.  I found myself re-reading several passages, uncertain about where things were going, and still confused by the end.  I feel a little dense.

Final verdict?  I'm not sure I will recommend this to my students.  This is not as weak an offering as Castle Corona (which I thought blundered and doddered to an uninspired conclusion), but I'm not convinced kids will find their way through the slow story and strange words to appreciate the clever writing.  In the meantime, I'll continue to suggest The Wanderer, Bloomability and Walk Two Moons to anyone who will listen.

Ratings
Awesomeness: 4 - clever and touching, but slow and confusing
Wordsmithing: 6 - funny speech patterns
Personages: 4 - I just didn't care enough for Zola or the angel, but the kids were cute
Mesmerizitude: 5 - the story lagged a bit at times, but the good writing helped keep it going

Other Reviews
• at The Reading Tub
• at Becky's Book Reviews
• at Charlotte's Library

This was posted at Saturday Reviews on January 16, 2010.

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon and Happy Birthday Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

Summaries from Amazon: "It’s not easy for Danny Dragonbreath to be the sole mythical creature in a school for reptiles and amphibians—especially because he can’t breathe fire like other dragons (as the school bully loves to remind him). But having a unique family comes in handy sometimes, like when his sea-serpent cousin takes Danny and his best iguana friend on a mindboggling underwater tour, complete with vomiting sea cucumbers and giant squid. It sure beats reading the encyclopedia to research his ocean report . . .Using a hybrid of comic-book panels and text, Ursula Vernon introduces an irresistible set of characters with a penchant for getting themselves into sticky situations. It’s perfect for both the classroom and the Wimpy Kid set."

"It's Bad Kitty's birthday, and you're invited! Bad Kitty's second illustrated novel is packed with deadpan humor, rich tidbits of cat information -- and even some suspense! Who took Kitty's presents? Why are Kitty's friends so bizzare? Readers will laugh out loud at Kitty's feline mood swings, and they'll be touched by the heartwarming visit from a surprise guest."

I can just see my third graders: "And I learned something, too!"  Both of these hybrid novels include lots of facts about their subject matter (ocean life and cats, respectively).  They're also both pretty funny, even to this jaded curmudgeon.  

Bad Kitty's format of the offscreen narrator having a conversation with BK was perfect for those reaction shots that kids love, complete with tongue hanging out of mouth and sproing-ing tail.  The book also contains plenty of gross smelly humor. There is truly inspired, footnoted commentary from Chatty Kitty.  And, BK manages to get through his entire birthday without once being nice to anyone... well, maybe one cat.  Add some facts on top, and you have a perfect reluctant reader sandwich.  

Dragonbreath is heavier on the text, with perhaps 1/3 of the story told in graphics and the rest in prose.  I think this book would have been equally successful as an illustrated chapter book, but of course I love the graphic novel components.  I really like the character interplay between Wendell and Danny; Wendell has the best one-liners.  I will enjoy seeing this one fly off the shelves as well.

Both books are super follow-ups to Wimpy Kid.  Enjoy!

Audio: Alvin Ho #1 and #2 by Lenore Look

I was reading Heavy Medal back issues about last year's Mock Newbery, and I was captured by their review of Alvin Ho:

Funny. Multiculturalism/diversity doesn't stick out, it's just there. Funny. Episodic chapters--each one a complete narrative arc--serve a young audience that's still learning to read novels. Funny. Each chapter builds, realisitically if only slightly, on the theme of overcoming fears. Funny. Funny. Funny. Funny. Funny. Funny. 

These are books I've been pooh-poohing for months now, on the grounds that middle grade readers don't want to read about a kid who's 2-4 years younger than them.  Junie B. notwithstanding, this is something that is simply not done by 8-10 year olds.  And yet, here I sit reading review after review of how great these books are.  So I sigh, and put the audiobook on hold.  Maybe it'll be worth a look.

Good thing I wasn't taking any sips of water on my way to work this morning, or I suspect they would have been spewed all over my dashboard.  A students'-eye-view of me on my way into the building would have seen me literally falling all over myself laughing.  How often do I do this?  Hardly ever.  (For example, I was listening to Homer Price last night, and that merited scarcely a weak smile.)  Lenore Look presents Alvin's day at school and at home in these flighty little vignettes that left me shaking my head and giggling all morning.

I will admit that a good portion of my enjoyment came from the reader, eleven-year-old Everette Plen (what a great name).  He is funny funny funny.  And oh my gosh, doesn't he just look like his voice?  There is nothing like listening to young Mr. Plen cursing in Shakespearian English.

I don't think book two is quite as creative and wonderful as the first, but I'm kinda feeling it as a continuation of book one, so perhaps it doesn't matter.  I was definitely looking forward to more.

Lenore Look, you have another convert!  I will never again discount a book because of the age of its main character. 

Awesomeness: 8 - big kudos for a fabulous task accomplished - put on your to-read pile soon

Wordsmithing: 8 - quirky and funny

Personages: 8 - wow, a 2nd grader with a missing eye and a limp!  Awesome

Mesmerizitude: 8 - I could listen to Everette Plen chirp all day

Coming-and-Going Men: Four Tales by Paul Fleischman

Having spent nearly a decade now as a librarian, I have been confounded by the two Fleischman authors sitting side by side on my fiction shelves, Paul (son) and Sid (father).  Although I am constantly recommending both, I often get the two mixed up.  It's awkward to point out their dual spot and not know whether to say, "He's the guy who wrote The Whipping Boy," or "Remember that poetry book about bugs I booktalked in January?  That's him!"  

So I decided to answer the question once and for all.  I checked out a whole passel of books by each from our fantastically stocked public library and am working my way slowly through them.  

Paul Fleischman's prose is lush and nobbly.  I don't think it would be possible to read the book aloud without being, or at least affecting the voice of, an elderly white-haired man.  He has a great knack for clever imagery and metaphor: "A vast sickle of wind swept through the air, mowing down the crop of smoke rising from the chimney tops and attempting to harvest the long-limbed, stalklike figure of Mr. Snype himself."  Tasty.  The black-and-white illustrations complement the stories well.

I dislike plot summaries or spoilers in my reviews, but I'll just say that these four stories are all set in the same (fictional?) town, set at the turn of the 19th century, and tie together nicely.  I'll be interested to see if he uses the town again in any of his other books.  They are morality tales about honesty, and have a nice dark quality I imagine many of my older readers will enjoy in a few years.  Sadly, as it seems is the case with most of P. Fleischman's other novels, I think it's too advanced for most elementary students.  A quick read, this was an effective diversion from my sniffles and stuffy head.  

Awesomeness: 6

Wordsmithing: 8

Personages: 7 - characters are not well developed, as these are short stories, but pack a punch

Mesmerizitude: 7

I read this post for the Spring Reading Thing.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Spoiler Alert!

This one sat on my shelf for a long time between the time I picked it up (summer) and when I finally finished it (this morning).  I read, and fell in love with, The Wednesday Wars, and I thought Trouble was pretty fantastic too, so I anticipated loving this one as much... but it just didn't grab me.  The writing and imagery was beautiful, but I wasn't as attached to Turner in the same way as I'd been to Holling.  In addition, I was shocked at the death of Lizzie.   I guess I didn't anticipate such a move from a children's book author.  Also, the ending came too abruptly -- I needed more closure.

I won't give up on you, Gary D. Schmidt!  I look forward to the next one.  

Awesomeness: 4/10

Wordsmithing: 7/10

Personages: 4/10

I read this book for the Spring Reading Thing.