Earthquake in the Third Grade by Laurie Myers

Here's another of the Byars family's beginning chapter books. 

I guess I could say it has all the qualities one would want from a chapter book, were one a typical third grader: it's short (around 60 pages), familiar territory (school/home), pleasantly multicultural (the main character is portrayed in the pictures as Asian-American, though this is never mentioned in the text), boy-heavy (2 boys : 1 girl and she's obnoxious -- can we say Hermione syndrome?) and all the metaphor is completely transparent and spelled out (the class is experiencing an "earthquake" in the form of their teacher moving, paralleled by a similar earthquake experienced by David's ant farm).  

Of course, there's the argument put forth by Richard Peck that children don't want to read about kids their age -- "they want to read about the people they wish to be."  My limited experience has taught me that this may be true for kids -- once they can read full sentences without struggling to decode words longer than two syllables.  Most 3rd graders are still becoming familiar with comprehension and basic plot elements.  They don't want to wrestle with big issues.  They are happy to see themselves in books, even if it's not the most flattering picture.

My only regret is the pictures are hopelessly 80s and thus would probably not sell with my kids.  I just started reading The SOS Files to one third grade and they already love it... I can't help but feel the love would not flow as freely were the illustrations not hip and cartoony.  Ditto with Surviving Brick Johnson.  Publishers, if you're reading this (ha!), take note: would you please reprint all of the Byars/Duffey/Myers clan books with trendy 21st century illustrations?  Thanks so much!

Awesomeness: 4/10

Personages: 4/10

Wordsmithing: 3/10

Mesmerizitude: 5/10

Illustrations: 3/10

I read this as part of the Spring Reading Thing.

My Dog, My Hero by Betsy Byars et al

I didn't realize that Laurie Myers, one of the other co-authors of this book, was Betsy Byars' daughter until I read Surviving Brick Johnson, which Myers wrote on her own.  

I can't imagine why I missed this title.  It fills that all-important middle reader category, children who are beyond Junie B. and Magic Tree House series books, but aren't quite ready to jump into the ambitious middle grade pool of books.  Most kids hit this point somewhere in the third grade.  This one is cool enough to appeal to fourth graders, too, which is great.  

The illustrations are lovely, but totally not necessary to paint a picture of the characters, neither dog nor human -- the words are descriptive enough, quite a feat in less than six pages per chapter.  

I suspect this book will fly off my shelves... and I'm looking forward to testing my theory!

Booklist said: "Drama, humor, excitement, and love fuel these short, well-written stories that are certain to be relished by dog lovers. The selections can also provide students in English classes with excellent examples of point of view, characterization, and plot construction."

Awesomeness: 5/10

Wordsmithing: 3/10

Personages: 6/10

Mesmerizitude: 6/10

I read this for the Spring Reading Thing.

Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold

This is the UK cover, which I like way more than the US cover.  I always imagined Miles being played by Robert Sean Leonard (Dr. James Wilson from House, MD), which is wonderfully supported by this illustration. Hee!

This is the 12th of the Vorkosigan Saga, not counting Falling Free or Ethan of Athos, but the first of the Miles In Love trilogy, in which (spoiler, but duh) he meets his future wife.  He stumbles all over himself doing it, though, which is really the fun of reading Miles.  That, and learning along with him all the stuff one learns along the course of a lifetime, with the added bonus of not having to actually be Miles and suffer the hardships therein. 

Komarr is primarily a character portrait of Miles and Ekaterin, with a mystery subplot and some interesting description of Komarr along the way.   It does not stand alone as well as some of the earlier books, mostly because of all the spoilers Bujold throws in to make the plot make sense, but one could begin with the short story "Labyrinth," then just read this trilogy (A Civil Campaign and "Wintergifts") and have a relatively meaningful sequence.  I really resonated with the Ekaterin character description and her difficulty with her husband -- Bujold, as always, totally nails her as an archetype while simultaneously creating a fresh, three-dimensional character.  Miles is mostly pining and moping for his forbidden love.  My biggest complaint is the lack of witty dialogue, as a good portion of the book takes place in the two main character's heads.

I am continuing reading this on my iPhone using Stanza, and loving it.  

Awesomeness: 6/10

Wordsmithing: 5/10

Personages: 7/10

This is part of my reading list for the Spring Reading Thing.

The Christmas Dolls (Girls of the Good Day Orphanage series) by Carol Beach York

This came off of someone's Top Ten Books list, and as I am also a fan of the young girl orphan genre, I thought I'd give it a look.  These girls are considerably better treated than Sara Crewe of Miss Minchin's was.  The girls are not the focus of the book -- the dolls, and their uncertain fate, are -- but there is still plenty of attention paid to details of interest to little girls, such as the contents of their Christmas stockings.

Now, I thought the book was very sweet, succinctly written with characters as interesting as any doll characters in children's chapter books may be.  But I couldn't stop thinking I'd seen these characters before.  I even recognize the illustration style, though not the illustrations themselves.  Tatty... Little Anne... what book had they appeared in originally?  It's just on the tip of my tongue.  I wish I had an answer.  Perhaps I will dream it tonight.

Awesomeness: 3/10

Wordsmithing: 5/10

Personages: 6/10

Spring Reading Thing 2009

Well, I've been wondering what I might use this blog for, so I think I'm going to attempt to join (late) the Spring Reading Thing. My initial list is just going to consist of the pile o' books I picked up at the library the other day, plus my to-read shelf.

Paul Fleischman:
- Seedfolks
- Lost! A Story in String
- Sidewalk Circus
- Saturnalia
- The Borning Room
- Coming and Going Men
- The Animal Hedge
- The Birthday Tree
- I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices
- The Half-A-Moon Inn
- Shadow Play
- Weslandia
- Time Train

Laurie Myers (Betsy Byars' daughter):
- Surviving Brick Johnson
- Dog Diaries
- My Dog, My Hero
- Guinea Pigs Don't Talk
- Earthquake in the Third Grade

A few miscellaneous others, some of which have been sitting on my to-read shelf for months now, and I'd better get to them:
- Life as We Knew It (I read The Dead and the Gone and decided I had to read this one too)
- The Way a Door Closes (again, I read Keeping the Night Watch and had to read the prequel)
- Louisiana's Song (sequel to Gentle's Holler)

Also, I'll sprinkle in some adult SF I've been wanting to get to, including the remainder of the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold (I'm just starting Komarr, which I think is the fourth from the end) and Mark L. Van Name's books.

I usually post my reviews on GoodReads, so I'm not sure how this will go, but I'll try to follow up on at least these books here.