Levi's Review of My Side of The Mountain

My Side of The Mountain

Reviewed by Levi Stewart, Author Jean Craighead George

My Side of The Mountain is a book about a boy named Sam Gribley who runs away from his city life to make a home in the wild. He builds a home in a tree and learns to find food, and even tames a falcon. There's more to the story, but I won't spoil it for you. I really like this story. I have always dreamed of doing the things Sam does, but I would never be able to leave the comforts of my home permanently. My Side of The Mountain is a great book that you can read over and over again (I know I have!).

The book is about 175 pages long, but has pretty small text. I would recommend  it for everyone, but especially ages 9-12. It will take some knowledge to understand what it's talking about, and there are some diagrams in cursive, but it's not difficult to grasp the general concept. I first read it when I was about 8, and have read it lots of times since. I just read it this summer. Overall, I really love this book. 10/10. I would love to read more books like this!
 

2017 Newbery Winner review: The Girl Who Drank The Moon

The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill

I hadn't heard much about this book until it won the Newbery award. (This just goes to show that I'm reading fewer middle grade novels and reading about fewer middle grade novels than I once was). I put it on hold as soon as I read the announcement of the award, and happily I found a copy on the library shelf before my hold even came in.

The basic premise of the story is this: Every year the citizens of our sad village leave a baby in the forest as a sacrifice to the witch. Every year the confused witch who lives in the forest helps the baby find a happy home in another village, and on the journey she feeds the baby starlight. But this year the witch forgets herself and doesn't check the sky properly, and ends up gathering moonlight for the baby as well. So our little Luna drinks the moonlight and becomes enmagicked.

The bog in the book is very nearly a character of its own. We live near one of Connecticut's few bogs,
and I had to snap this photo of it, frozen, in honor of the book.

I found myself wondering what was going to happen once Luna's magic manifested. I found myself wondering how Antain (from the village) was going to prove himself a hero. I found myself falling in love with several of the characters and surprised with how fleshed out the story and the characters became. There was a time (around page 80) when I was frustrated with the book and nearly quit it. I felt like I could predict what was going to happen, and I was disappointed in the witch Xan, who was pretty much our main character to that point. I'm really glad I kept going though. I feel like the book really busted out and became wonderful shortly after that. We started getting more perspectives and deepening other characters and that is what I loved about this one.

I heartily recommend The Girl Who Drank the Moon. And I heard it was good on audio, too, which I'm inclined to believe. I think it would make a very nice read-aloud.

A Modern Boy's Reading of The Babysitters Club

Benjamin has torn through the Babysitters Club books this past summer, and has continued to reread some of them this school year. When I tell people he's reading them, they're kind of incredulous. He is a seven-year-old boy, after all. Not the target audience. :) But they're good books and my mom brought me my whole collection when she came to help us move.  I thought my collection had been donated them to the library! So it was a pleasant surprise to see the books again.

I knew I had to keep them in easy reach for Benjamin for a couple of reasons:  Because I loved them at his age, and because if I suggested that he read them I knew he never would. The only way to get him to read them would be to have them in easy reach. They're so colorful and appealing, how could anyone resist? And I think they're books worth reading! I learned a lot about babysitting and childcare from reading them. And Ann M. Martin won the Newbery Honor you know, for her book A Corner of the Universe. She's a good writer. Sidenote: I got to see her speak once. I wrote a little about it here.

My point here is that I have had such a great time watching Benjamin read the books.The things he has said have made me laugh and really taken me back to my babysitters club days. Whether we were learning about the pop culture of the past or discussing the real-life issues the series talks about, we've had a great time.



1. "Stacy has diabeets." Hey, if I had never heard anyone pronounce the word diabetes, I might think that's how you said it.

2. "Logan is an associate member of the Babysitters Club. He doesn't have to go to meetings." Ah, I had forgotten that Logan was an associate member! Haha. Of course I had not forgotten about Logan. No, indeed. One of my first literary crushes.

3. "Dawn is a health food nut." Hahaha. And you are a Pokemon nut, son. I haven't heard anyone use the word nut like that in quite a while. :-D

4. "I want a peanut butter sandwich. Kristy and Mary Ann had peanut butter sandwiches at lunch and Dawn said, 'That's so Connecticut'." Order up! I would be happy to assist you in solidifying your identity as a resident of Connecticut by making  you a PB&J.

5. "What does it mean 'tie up your parents' line?" We had a great little dinner table conversation about how telephones used to work. You could see the light bulb come on over his head. "Oh! So that's why Claudia has a private line!"

6. One day I was doing my makeup in the bathroom. In pops Benjamin. "Bart wants to go steady with Kristy." "Does she want to go steady with him?" I ask, not wanting to give anything away. "We don't know!" he says. "She didn't answer him and then next book is not a Kristy book. So we probably won't know until the next Kristy book! Unless someone mentions it out loud..." Oh, the suspense.

7. "Dawn has two holes in each ear, but Claudia has one in one ear and two in the other..." Oh man. Now I know why I was so obsessed with ear piercings when I was in elementary school! I remember that I couldn't wait to get my ears pierced (my parents made me wait until I was eight) and that pretty soon I was dying for a second piercing (never happened). I had not realized the ear piercing discussions in The Babysitters Club were influencing me all along. If you can get a 7-year-old boy excited about how many holes 12-year-old girls have in their ears, you know that's persuasive writing.

8. "Claudia reads Nancy Drew mysteries but she hides them because her parents don't approve..." Ha! I had forgotten that. Nobody could forget that the Kishi's are a model of disapproving parents, but putting the kibosh on Nancy Drew? That's when you know they're supposed to be ridiculously disapproving.

9. "That's what Claire Pike calls everybody. She's the baby of the Pike family. She's 5 years old and she's in a silly stage." Oh kid. you're in a silly stage, too. :-D

10. "Who are the three stooges?" This of course led to some YouTube education.

11. "What if Watson Brewer came to our lemonade stand . . ." We were having a lemonade stand one Saturday, and received a generous donation. This let us to speculate about what Kristy's rich stepfather would do if he stopped by.

12. "I should have known!!!" This random exclamation near the end of one of the books caught me off guard. Benjamin went on to explain that now that he knew the twist, he could easily see the book's foreshadowing.

13. "It takes me about 7 minutes to read a chapter; and there are about 15 chapters in each book, so it takes me about two hours to read a Babysitters Club Book." Not only does Benjamin love reading, he loves math.

14. "What's The Monster Mash?" This one comes up in Kristy and the Secret of Susan, when autistic-savant Susan plays it on the piano. This led to a discussion about autism, and a monster mash dance party.



Which one of these made you smile? And what book or book series do you remember fondly from childhood? One person who comments will win a BSC postcard from me and Benjamin. Contest ends 3/31/16. Congratulations to commenter Cami! You have won!

Newbery and Caldecott winners 2016!

Newbery winner announced today! 

I know you rely on me for your bookish news...maybe.

The book is Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson. It's a picture book!!!

I'm not sure if a picture book has ever won the Newbery Medal before, though I know a picture book has got a Newbery Honor.

I was watching the livestream of the announcement ("This is how you know you're into children's literature," said Jacob) so of course I immediately clicked over to put the book on hold at my library. Bad news: issues with the system mean no new holds this week! Even worse: my city library doesn't own a copy of the book yet! I called to tell the librarians this, at 9:24 a.m. but the library doesn't open till 9:30.

Leave it to librarians to have their biggest awards ceremony -- their Oscars, their Grammys -- before work on a Monday morning. hahaha. :D

Other interesting facts: Last Stop on Market Street is the first book by a Latino to win the Newbery. Last Stop on Market Street was also recognized as a Caldecott Honor book (different committees select each award, and aren't allowed to communicate), and a Coretta Scott King Honor book. The Coretta Scott King award went to the illustrator, because that award is made for "recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books from children and young adults."

Newbery Honor books:

The War That Saved My Life, which I have not read yet. It's audiobook also won the Odessey Award today, so that's promising! I love a good audiobook.

Roller Girl, which I just read and loved, and is a contender in the Cybils graphic novel category. It was remarkably fun.

Echo, which I know nothing about!

That's it for the Newbery Awards, now on to Caldecott!

Caldecott winner was Finding Winnie, which looks excellent, especially since I enjoyed Sophie Blackall's work in A Fine Dessert. The kids and I even made the dessert.

Caldecott honors went to Trombone Shorty, Waiting, Voice of Freedom, and of course Last Stop on Market Street. I look forward to reading all of these!

The one I have already reviewed that was recognized today is Symphony for the City of the Dead, which was recognized as a finalist in the YALSA Award for Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults. Full review of that one here.

I'll put in cover images that are Amazon links so you can go read reviews about these and "look inside" and shop for them etc. When you buy anything through my links I earn a small commission, just fyi.

Full list of winners can be seen here, at the American Library Association website.

Do you like knowing what the new Newbery books are? What do you remember about the Newberys and Caldecotts from your childhood?

18 Classics to Read with Kids

Today's question comes from Debra:

"Have you ever done a post about your favorite classics for kids? I have been thinking about starting some classics with Kolt over the summer but all the ones I can think of off the top of my head are either way too heavy, or I don't think he would really be into them. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is not really up his alley for example." 

Well, I'm glad you asked! Because it gives me a great excuse to list my favorite classics of children's literature. For those who don't know, Kolt is a nine year old boy, and a very strong reader. I'm making this book list with him in mind. I'm going to stick affiliate links in here, in the form of cover images, just in case you are interested in any of these but can't find them at your local library.

Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White -- As I've been thinking about this list, I keep thinking about The Trumpet of the Swan. I know that Charlotte's Web is the most talked-about of E.B. White's books, but The Trumpet of the Swan has a special place in my heart from my childhood. It follows a swan who can't make a trumpeting noise, so he learns to play the trumpet. What he has to sacrifice in order to communicate and what he is able to do . . . it's just a book I'm never going to forget. Great one to read together and discuss.

The BFG by Roald Dahl -- This is my personal favorite of Dahl's books, and I'm sure you're aware of Dahl as and author, but I just had to list this one. Gotta love it when a little girl makes friends with a misfit giant.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster -- I honestly don't remember that much about this one except that I loved it! It is a very clever book, and just the sort of thing that a strong reader is going to like -- full of wordplay and complex ideas but completely devoid of questionable content. A boy takes a journey into a strange land.

Add these books to your reading list! The 2014 Cybils Winners

I'm always pleasantly surprised by the announcement of the Cybils winners. It comes every year on February 14th, but for some reason the Cybils announcement isn't my strongest association for that day...

Cybils Day is Valentines Day!
I dare you to try to take a good picture of yourself kissing someone.
It's somewhat difficult.

Anyway, the list of "books I must read" has just gotten longer. For your convenience I will stick some Amazon image links in here, as I list them. (If you're a Barnes & Noble shopper, we'll do those at the end.) If you frequent the library, I'm with ya there! But if you're shopping today and you shop through these links I can earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

On to the winners!

Winners I'll find...

I'm dying to read Feathers Not Just for Flying. and Okay Andy.

Also The Family Romanov because Anastasia was a beloved movie of my childhood, but prrrobably not securely rooted in fact. Also loved Candace Fleming's Aesop's Fables book.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to press The Luck Uglies into the hands of some of my favorite Brandon Mull fans and then ask for their opinion.

   

Winners I already love...

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Graphic Novel winners. In Real Life was amazing enough that I looked up all about it on the internet, and made Jacob read it also, and enjoy just opening it up sometimes. A beautiful book that makes ya think twice. And El Deafo. Oh, El Deafo, I thoroughly enjoyed you. El Deafo also got a Newbery Honor this year, you know.

I shall have to tell you more about this one, soon!

I also adore the Fiction Picture Book category winner: Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton. It's thrilling, it's funny, it's a visual treat. My kiddos made me read it over and over and quoted it for days. I'd love to own it.

Full list of winners is here: http://www.cybils.com/2015/02/the-2014-cybils-awards.html

The books that win the Cybils are always good ones. The Cybils criteria are 1) that the book has to be published within the year of the contest and 2) has to have both kid appeal and literary merit. The Cybils strike a nice balance between the Newbery (which is all about merit) and what you find at the book fair or on the bestseller lists (often heavier on kid appeal). Lists for past years can also be found on the Cybils site, I often reference them when making recommendations in a genre I don't read especially.

Here's the Barnes & Noble link I promised!

Do you have a favorite place to find book recommendations? Please share!

19 Awesome Quotes from Newbery-winning Authors!

Ok guys I got Story Club back from my editor this weekend! Yikes! Crazy times.

Also this weekend I found some notes I had taken back in 2012 that I've been saving all this time. They come from an event at Books of Wonder in NYC, which my brother and I attended right after KidLitCon 2012. This event was an awesome panel featuring Newbery authors Richard Peck, Avi, Rebecca Stead, Ann M. Martin, and Shannon Hale.

After you read these quotes, tell me which one is your favorite.

Photo by Alysa Stewart. L to R: Shannon Hale, Avi, Ann M. Martin, Richard Peck, Rebecca Stead at Books of Wonder.

These are their words as I recorded them, and I'm just going to let them speak for themselves. There are some real gems.

Richard Peck:

I love Grandma Dowdel in his book A Year Down Yonder.*

"I never wrote a line of fiction until I was 37."

"We learn the most from the experience we would have avoided."

"I turned in my attendance book, which was my first work of fiction, and went home to write or die."

"Before television we listened to radio and that is very much part of the narrative."

"For me, a book is a shot fired just over their heads. What language have we learned here? What book does this remind you of?"

 "I followed my readers into younger territory."

"Humor is anger that was sent to finishing school."

"If I could teach young people a lesson about fiction it would be this: Books are not real life with the names changed. Beatrix Potter was never a rabbit. They're more than entertainments."

"My best book is called The River Between Us."

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Avi:

My favorite Avi book is The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

Q: What is your favorite genre to write? Avi: "I prefer writing good books."

Q: What is your first name? Avi: "It's Rumpelstiltskin."

"Focus on the joys of reading."

____________________________________________

Rebecca Stead:

Thoroughly enjoyed her Newbery Winner: When You Reach Me.*

"This private space is created by my reading. What makes me want to write is reading."

"I can do anything I want and they're right there with me." - on why she loves writing for children.

"That was the age at which I fell head over heels for books."

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Ann M Martin:

The Baby-Sitters Club* books had a huge impact on young Alysa.

"My parents made reading and words fun for me. Now, the characters keep me going."

______________________________________________

Shannon Hale:

Y'all know I love Shannon Hale.

"You don't find many adults that read a book 25 times." - on why children's authors have to be so rigorous in writing well and double-checking for inconsistencies.

"It's easier to be a bad actor than a bad writer, I think."

"It's so exciting! It's absolutely thrilling that one of my books could be as important as Robin McKinley or Lloyd Alexander's books were to me."

_______________________________________________

Which of the above quotes is your favorite?

Tell me in the comments, below.

Me, my awesome brother, and Elephant and Piggie, after the event.

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*Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after visiting them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Which would be awesome!