A Whole Nother Story

This is a review of the audio book.

Author: Dr. Cuthbert Soup

Reader: Dick Hill

Producer: Brilliance Audio

Production Year: 2010

Most of the listeners will be: 3rd through 9th grade boys and girls.

Listener's Advisory: For another narrator with personality, listen to Simon Bloom: The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman.

Summary: 

Mr. Cheeseman and his three children are running from the "Coats," various government and private agents who are after Mr. Cheeseman's time machine. The LVR was built by Ethan Cheeseman and his wife Olivia, who created a code for the computer that would prevent the Coats from using it. Olivia has died and Ethan only has half the code. He and the children expect to use the LVR to reunite them with Olivia, but will they be able to outrun the Coats long enough to get the time machine up and running?

My favorite passage:

The narrator runs the National Center for Unsolicited Advice and occasionally breaks up the narrative with advice on one thing or another. During one of these digressions he talks about patents. He advises that if you invent something you ought to get a patent so that no one else can steal your idea. He says that back when the wheel was invented there were no patents yet because there were no lawyers, so the idea was promptly stolen. But there were lawyers soon after that when the first person was run over by a wheel. 

What I really think:

The story is hilarious, weird, and exciting. There were a few things I worried about - for example, I can be picky about time travel, but that ended up not being an issue. (They don't actually use the LVR during the book. Or at least, we don't see where or when they end up.) 

I also wondered about the children changing their names during every move. But what about documentation supporting these name changes? Why doesn't Ethan Cheeseman change his name? I was able to let go of these issues and just enjoy the story. 

My favorite bad guy is Pavel. He is kind of loveably bad with his monkey and the monkey's goldfish and his, "very good and also not bad."

The Cheesemans meet many interesting people in their travels, but all of them seem to have a purpose, or at least the story loops back around to them. The cowboy who writes poetry later wins a contest (because of their coaching). Captain Jibby and his crew make a second appearance. Even the ghost at the bed and breakfast turns out to be prophetic. This isn't one of those books where a bunch of weird things just happen. Those books can be fun, but I like a plot arc. And as an added bonus, most people seem to be better off after meeting the Cheesemans!

The reading is excellent. I enjoyed the variety of voices for the characters. My only criticism would be that Captain Jibby sounds like he is supposed to be Scottish, but the accent goes in and out. Then we find out that Jibby, is of Viking descent. He still could be Scottish, but why do Scottish when it is a challenge? Maybe he was just supposed to sound like a pirate...

I highly recommend the book and am delighted to see that it is the first in a series! 

The Red Pyramid

This is a review of the audio book.

Author: Rick Riordan

Reader: Kevin R. Free and Katherine Kellgren

Producer: Brilliance Audio

Production Year: 2010

Most of the listeners will be: 5th through 8th grade boys and girls.

Listener's Advisory: For another great series opener about children helping to battle the forces of evil, listen to Over Sea and Under Stone by Susan Cooper. 

Summary: After their mother's death six years ago Carter and Sadie Kane were separated. Carter travels around with their father, a respected Egyptologist, and Sadie lives with their grandparents in England. They only see each other two days a year. Carter and his father arrive in England for their scheduled Christmas Eve visitation with Sadie and they are all admitted to the British Museum after hours. After Mr. Kane has his children lock the curator in his office, he uses the Rosetta Stone to attempt to summon one of the Egyptian gods. The firey man Sadie and Carter see imprison their father in a golden sarcophagus laughs that he tried to summon one, but got five. Which gods have been unleashed? What has happened to Carter and Sadie's father? And what will they do now?

My favorite passage:

Sadie's cat Muffin is really the goddess Bast and she is charged with protecting them. Not long after Muffin changes in to Bast the three of them are running through the streets of New York together when she pauses to demolish a large wrecking ball with her knives. Carter asks if the ball was really a threat, to which she replies "You never know." It is strongly implied that even a cat goddess can't resist playing with a ball. 

What I really think:

Even though I enjoyed The Lightening Thief, the only other of Riordan's books I've read, I didn't go into The Red Pyramid with the highest of expectations. I mean, the man publishes so many books. Can they all really be that good? And I'm into Greek and Roman mythology. Egyptian? Meh. And I actually only read it because one of my book clubs chose it. However, I immediately fell in love with this book to the point of mild obsession (I do also get more attached to audio books than print, I have found).

There is a lot going on - so many characters, settings, things to accomplish before Set takes over the world. But it is such a pleasure to read (or listen to) that I went right along with Carter and Sadie, only thinking later of how far we had come. All the characters (gods and mortals) are so well developed that even those that have a small part are rich and memorable. I mean Toth in Memphis, Tennessee? I really hope there is more of him later in the series!

The readers both did an excellent job. I was especially impressed that they coordinated the way they did voices for other characters - and each other! It must have been a difficult undertaking and having two narrators could have been jarring for the listener, but they worked together beautifully. 

Cursing the fact that my library doesn't have book 2 on CD. I need more Kanes and I really need to hear them. 

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities

Author: Mike Jung

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine

Publication Year: 2012

Most of the readers will be: 4th through 7th grade boys.

Reader's Advisory: Hero by Mike Lupica is a slightly more advanced book about a young super hero.

Summary:
Vincent, Max, and George are (the only) members of the Captain Stupendous Fan Club (not to be confused with the Official Captain Stupendous Fan Club). They actually know things about all of Captain Stupendous's past battles and signature moves, unlike the "Official" Fan Club, who are just a bunch of dumb fans. So, when Captain Stupendous starts acting strange, Vincent and his friends know that they have to get to the bottom of it, and help the super hero if they can. After all, if the Captain isn't himself, then who will protect the city from Professor Mayhem and his giant robot?

My favorite passage:

"Why do you know so much? he said, ignoring my question.
I'm a founding member of the Captain Stupendous Fan Club."
I puffed up my chest, which was a little hard since I'm not exactly Mr. Universe.
"You're one of those guys funded by the Corwin Foundation?"
Big sigh.
"No, that's the Official Captain Stupendous Fan Club," I said. "We're the Captain Stupendous Fan Club, period. Not official, not unofficial we're--"
"Okay, okay," Stupendous said. "How many members do you have?"
It always came down to membership. Oh, there are only three of you? And you hang out all the time even if you're not having club meetings? And your headquarters is in your mom's garage and you're really just a bunch of losers? Well, you're not a real club, are you? I guess it was predictable that the next person to shoot down our fan club would be the guy we formed the club to be fans of.
"Three."
I crossed my arms and waited for it--fake politeness, staring, or plain old laughter, I'd seen it all. But Stupendous didn't do any of that stuff. He rubbed his chin with one glove-covered hand. He stood up, and there must have been some nonfighting mojo in that superhero body, because he did it in one quick, slippery motion. It was like watching a dance move, only with more potential violence afterward. Then he said the last thing I expected him to say.
"Have you done...school reports about Captain Stupendous?"
I blinked. First of all, bizarre question. Second, Stupendous wasn't one of those heroes who liked to talk about himself in the third person.
"Yeah. About a hundred of 'em. How did you--"
He waved off my question. "What do you know about my secret identity?"
Aha, he was testing me. Bring it on, Captain Rubberpants.
"I don't know anything for sure, but all human superheroes get older and fatter and uglier, except you," I said.
"You look exactly the same as you did twenty-six years ago. I think this is your superhero form, but you also have a regular-person form when you're not saving the world."
DING! Oh. OH. Regular-person form.
"Something's happened to your regular body, hasn't it? It's like you forgot how to fight, or find out where you're needed, or use your powers. You don't brag and talk into the news cameras anymore."
I paused and sucked in a breath.
"What happened to you? I said "You're...different."
"Do you think?" he said with a sneer.
"What, do you have a new secret identity or something?" I was kind of joking when I said it, but I was actually on the right track!
"NO," Stupendous said, but he made it sound like "no" had three syllables, "Nuh-oh-wuh," and his voice got really high. It sounded like he was lying, in other words.
"Oh wow, you DO have a new secret identity, don't you?"
"Maybe."
Dude, something really crazy must have happened.
"There's this book, The Stupendous Paradigm," I said. "You should, you know, read it--it talks all about the popular theories about your secret identity."
Stupendous put his hands behind his head and walked in a circle, his cape swirling.
"Can I trust you?" he said.
My palms itched, and I felt something like an electrical shock start at my stomach and run up into my hair. Captain Stupendous was about to tell me his secret identity!
"Yes."
"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever done," he said. (pg 55-57)

What I really think:
This book is fun and definitely includes some unexpected twists, such as the secret identity of Captain Stupendous.

There are a couple things that seemed added to the novel, maybe because Jung thought he ought to include them, but something just wasn't seamless about them. For example, all three boys have gripes about their parents - divorce, parental dating, drinking, yelling... When this stuff comes up it seems kind of forced. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but only Vincent's relationship with his parents (well, and Polly's) is really important to the story. Max and George's issues with their parents are... I don't know. Something felt off when I was reading some of those parts.

Overall, I doubt most tweens will notice or care. Maybe they will even love that all the kids have parent issues and be all like, "Right on! That is so my life."

There is a little budding romance that I think is very well done. It is totally appropriate for this age group. Awkward, very innocent, and very sweet.

I would recommend this book to my students, but I am also looking for Jung to refine his style and write something even better in the future.

The Neddiad

Author: Daniel Pinkwater

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Publication Year: 2007

Most of the readers will be: 4th through 7th grade girls and boys.

Reader's Advisory: For another totally weird book in which a kid saves the world, please read The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. 

Summary: 

Neddie and his family move by train from Chicago to Los Angeles. On the way Neddie acquires a sacred turtle sculpture, gets separated from his family, meets a movie star and his son, meets a ghost, sees the Grand Canyon...and that's all before he even gets to LA. Soon he realizes there are people after his sacred turtle, and he must protect it. The fate of the world is in his hands. 

My favorite passage:

We also played Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Superman, and Captain Midnight, which were movies and radio programs. The thing about all these games was that they were all about adventure. They were all about people going off away from their familiar homes to do important stuff. And in the world outside the backyards, it was like that. People were going off to war, and moving to different parts of the country to do different jobs. And people were arriving from places far away. Some of the kids were refugees - that is, kids whose families had escaped from Europe. There was Jan the Dutch kid, who always wore this brown overcoat, and Helmut the German kid, who refused to play Nazis in the battle games, and Luigi, whose salami sandwiches smelled better than ours.
I expected, we all expected, to do exciting things, and be a hero, like Dart-Onion, or Hopalong Cassidy, or the Count of Monte Cristo. This is why going away on a big adventure all the way across the country seemed normal to me. It is also why, when I was taken to the Louis B. Nettelhorst Elementary School to begin first grade, I said I wanted to major in literature. (pg 15-16)

What I really think:

This book is so delightfully strange. Neddie does a number of things that any kid would love to do and he has this great kid enthusiasm about it. He rides on a train across the country, he finds neat shops in LA - one that sells jokes and one that has taxidermied animals and artifacts called "Stuffed Stuff and Stuff," he swims in an abandoned pool, he visits a circus training facility, and he loves the La Brea Tar Pits. The book could have been all anecdotes of cool things Neddie did and I probably wouldn't have gotten tired of reading it. 

But then there is the weird stuff: Melvin the shaman who keeps popping up and giving Neddie, first the turtle, and then cryptic advice. The sacred turtle itself. Billy the Phantom Bellboy - yup, he's a ghost. Alien police. And the whole threat of the resurgence of the ice age.

I don't know how anyone would ever even think to write a story like this, but I'm so glad he did, because I loved every page of it. 

Football Genius

This is a review of the audio book.

Author: Tim Green

Reader: Tim Green along with the "Full Cast Family"

Producer: Full Cast Audio

Production Year: 2008

Most of the listeners will be: 4th through 7th grade boys.

Listener's Advisory: If you like sports books, try Heat by Mike Lupica. 

Summary: 

Troy White is a football genius. He knows what plays a team is going to run before they happen. Troy would love to use his gift to help the Falcons get to the Super Bowl. When his mom, the Falcons' newest PR hire, gets him a field pass, Troy is tempted to approach one of the coaches with advice and he is removed from the game like a criminal. Is there any way for Troy to get these adults to give him a chance?

My favorite passage:

Troy and his friend Tate show up at the home of Seth Halloway, a Falcons player who knows what Troy can do. He had thought that Troy had cracked under the pressure when he had tried to show off Troy's skills to one of the coaches, but Troy thought it was something else and wanted another chance to talk to Seth. When they get to his house, Seth is reluctant to let them in, but Tate kicks him and then demands hospitality while they watch a game on TV with other players that are hanging out with Seth. She says that when you are a girl you have to stick up for yourself.

What I really think:

Good things about this book - Boys will love it, especially football players. There are a lot of details about how games are played and what happens behind the scenes at the Falcon's stadium. The relationships are pretty strong. Troy and his friends. Troy and his mom. Seth and Troy. Seth and Troy's mom. 

Not as good things - The storyline is kind of predictable and ties up too neatly at the end. You don't always end up getting everything you want. 

And there was one conversation between Troy and his mother near the end that especially bothered me. She was worried about going on a vacation with Seth because Troy is everything to her. Without him she has nothing. 

I think this was supposed to be sweet, the mom putting her son before her dating life. But, whoa. If your child is your "everything" that is robbing them of being something for themselves. Think about it. I'm not saying she should run off to Bermuda and leave her kid behind, but she should totally have a social life that does not revolve around her son. It is better for everyone. This is just a little nitpicky thing I noticed and probably wouldn't bother most other people. 

Overall, I have to admit that the only reason I listened to this book is because of one of the 5th grade book clubs that I lead. They chose it. And even though I am not so very interested in reading books about sports, I enjoyed it. If that isn't a good review, I don't know what is. 

The narration was fine. It took me a little while to get used to the full cast experience - a different reader for each character, but it certainly results in effective voice differentiation. I kind of questioned some of the accents. I mean, if you only have to do one voice you should be able to get it spot on. But since Atlanta has a lot of transplants, I'll hope the non-regional accents were intentional. (After all, I live here and I don't sound Southern.)

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

This is a review of the audio book.

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Reader: Levar Burton

Producer: Listening Library

Production Year: 2005

Most of the listeners will be: 4th through 7th grade boys and girls.

Listener's Advisory: Another book I have loved recently that deals with race issues is The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles.

Summary:

Kenny lives in Flint, Michigan with his parents, older (juvenile delinquent) brother Byron, and younger sister Joetta. Life in Flint seems hard sometimes. In the winter it is so cold his Momma believes folks could just suddenly freeze up, so she bundles Kenny and Joetta in multiple layers of clothes. Kenny gets teased for being smart and having a lazy eye. And Byron has been caught playing with matches so many times, Momma is threatening to burn him to teach him a lesson. Well, the lesson comes not in the form of burning, but in the form of a trip to Birmingham, Momma's hometown. She loves her home, but things are different for African Americans in the South in 1963. Byron and the whole family will learn that their lives in Flint are not so bad. 

My favorite passage:

Kenny remembers a time in second grade when his teacher would take him around to other classrooms to show off his reading skills. She would have him read poetry by Langston Hughes. The teacher told the other students they should be trying to make something of themselves, like Kenny. When he visited Byron's fifth grade class he was terrified that Byron was going to make him miserable. But, after school that day, all Byron said was, "They should at least pay you if they are going to parade you around like that." Byron was secretly proud of Kenny. 

What I really think:

This was exactly what I needed after the disappointment that was Swiss Family Robinson.  I have to admit that historical fiction tends to be the most difficult genera for me to get in to. That is probably the reason I haven't read this book before. But I'm so glad I picked it up. It is awesome. 

First of all, The Watsons go to Birmingham is very funny. The parents like to cut up and joke with the children. Byron's mischief is naughty, but hilarious - like burning Nazi parachutes (made of toilet paper) as they drop into the toilet, and telling his siblings a garbage truck picks up all the folks who freeze solid on the streets during the Michigan winter

This book is real. There are some criticisms on Amazon because of allusions to cursing and rude hand gestures and kids looking at nekkid lady pictures. Kids do those things. This book admits that. I am unmoved by any claims that this is inappropriate. (Especially in context. In the book it makes sense.)

This book is sweet. The whole family loves each other and you can really see it. You can see it in the way the parents talk to each other. You can see it in the small ways juvenile delinquent Byron sticks up for his siblings. You can see it in the way Joetta tries to protect Byron. You can see it in the way Kenny makes a new friend. 

Finally, this book deals with some serious race issues. There are small moments throughout the book that deal with race, but the church bombing at the end really drives it home. Race issues are complicated and unfair, but we all have to find a way to keep moving on. 

And then. AND THEN! As if all that wasn't enough. When I first started listening to the book I thought to myself, "That sounds like Levar Burton." It is! He is the reader. *Swoon*

He doesn't do drastically different voices for each character, but they are different enough so you can tell who is talking during any given conversation. I'm not sure I know what a Michigan accent sounds like, but the Watsons all sounded fine to me. His Southern accents are good.

I'm not sure I can put my finger on it exactly, but he is a pleasure to listen to. Loved this book. Loved the audio. Highly recommended. 

The Swiss Family Robinson

This is a review of the audio book.

(Not the Audible edition - although that is what is pictured)

Author: Johann Wyss

Reader: George Guidall

Producer: Recorded Books

Production Year: 1994

Most of the listeners will be: 5th-9th grade boys.

Listener's Advisory: For a more suspenseful book on wilderness survival try Gary Paulsen's Hatchet.

Summary:

The Robinson family, consisting of a father, mother, and four sons, ranging in age from 8 to 16 at the beginning of the book, are shipwrecked on their way to a New World colony. The rest of the crew abandons ship leaving the family without a lifeboat, but the wreckage is caught on rocks near an island. Once the weather improves, the family makes a raft from barrels and scrap wood and drifts to shore. 

With the help from supplies they slowly claim from the wreck, abundant naturalist knowledge possessed by the father an the older boys, and a can-do attitude, the family builds several dwellings within "their territory," which they name "New Switzerland." They grow crops and collect wild-growing edible plants and they also have both livestock and tamed native beasts. Their lives are good on the island, even luxurious considering their situation. If ever given the chance to return to civilization, will they take it?

My favorite passage:

The last time that the father and older sons go to the wreck to collect supplies, the father lights a fuse connected to two barrels of gun powder to blow up the ship. They watch it explode from shore, and the family is somewhat surprised because he hadn't warned them about his plan. I understood the father's thinking that if the wreck was gone they would not be tempted to visit it anymore. But I couldn't help but think that using up so much gunpowder was unwise, since for them it was a non-renewable resource (and they like their guns). I think what I do like about this passage is that blowing up a wrecked boat is a very "guy" thing to do. Boys must love this part of the book.

What I really think:

I listened to this book because Jon Scieszka mentions it in his autobiography Knucklehead. I almost turned it off. Probably this is a very good book and was even better during the time in which it was written. But as a woman of the 21st century, I had some issues. 

The gender roles are rigid and condescending. "The mother" is referred to by name maybe once. She almost never carries a weapon so at least one of the sons is always with her to protect her. She makes all their meals and washes, mends, and later makes all their clothes. 

Then there are the weapons. Although there is an abundance of food between everything they take off the ship, naturally growing edibles, and game, their approach to wildlife is "shoot first and ask questions later." They even kill penguins after they know that penguin meat doesn't taste good. And it is not that the wilderness is dangerous and they are shooting quickly to protect themselves. Sometimes they come upon a new thing slowly, identify it as best they can, and still decide to kill is, just because. 

Then there is all the wildlife itself. I am no naturalist, so perhaps an island like this exists. Or perhaps I was supposed to suspend my disbelief and accept this as a fanciful place. They meet a penguin early on, so I thought they were near South America. But then later in the book they encounter several African animals, including elephants and lions. Is there really a place where all of these things live together?

All that said, I can see why boys would probably like this book. They might not think twice about the gender roles and would love to run around with guns killing things. And they wouldn't be troubled with pesky questions about where in the ocean this island could be located.