The first selection I would make is

The Brimstone Network by Thomas Sniegoski

August 2008

Criteria used:

Appropriate for recommended levels - recommended for reading ages 9 - 12 

Acceptable in literary style and technical quality - the literary quality, technical merit, physical arrangement, and aesthetic characteristics meet the criteria necessary for our students

Cost effective in terms of use - the price falls within allotted budget

Reivew

Anyone who loves action/fantasy stories with good guys, bad guys, cool powers, and kid-heroes will dig Brimstone. In the fight against evil, Elijah Stone was a force of good. He bravely led a group of sorcerers and warriors called The Brimstone Network. After an unexpected attack, the Network is almost all wiped out, and Elijah is among those who have fallen. His son, Bram, inherits the responsibility of leading the Network. Only thirteen years old, this young sorcerer has to quickly learn who to trust and how to channel his true nature as he assembles a new Network and gathers potential members - some of which are just as young and inexperienced as he, but each of which has a special supernatural ability.

Tom Sniegoski has created a very cool series here. The Brimstone Network is brimming with action, magic, and suspense. The ending of the first book was perfect: it satisfied the first big battle involving Bram and his new ragtag team, and it hinted at things to come. I really liked the book - as if you couldn't already tell! - and cannot wait for the next one. This is the start of a series, with Book Two: The Shroud of A'ranka coming out in December 2008 and Book Three: Specter Rising coming out in January 2009. I'm anxious to see what becomes of the new members of the Network, and I wonder what new and old villains will pop up.

The second seletion would be

Six Innings: A Game in the Life by James Preller

March 2008

Criteria used:

Appropriate for recommended levels - recommended reading age is 9 - 12

Acceptable in literary style and technical quality - the literary quality, technical merit, physical arrangement, and aesthetic characteristics meet the criteria necessary for our students

Cost effective in terms of use - the price falls within allotted budget

Review

Sam Reiser can’t play in the Little League championship game this year, so instead he’ll announce the game from the booth above home plate. It’s Earl Grubb’s Pool Supplies against Northeast Gas & Electric and it promises to be a tough game. Northeast has Nick Clemente on the mound. Nick is a big kid and the hardest thrower in the league. He’s big, loud and nasty. Pool Supplies, Sam’s team, has Dylan Van Zant. He doesn’t throw as hard as Nick, but he’s smart. It’s anybody’s game.

Six Innings isn’t just about baseball, although the pages are filled with the tension, action, fears and thoughts of the game and its players. It’s also about the team. It’s about Mike Tyree, Sam’s best friend, who must compete with his basketball superstar sister Candace for his parents’ attention. It’s about Patrick Wong who is too afraid to swing his bat or have a hit come to him in the field. It’s about Carter Harris whose policeman father was killed in the line of duty and who fears the same fate for his Uncle Jimmy. And it’s about Sam who lives baseball but can’t play.

Preller delves into the hearts and minds of Little League players; those who love the game and those who play for other reasons. While viewers see a game being played, they rarely know the thoughts of the players. Preller brings this into focus without sacrificing the excitement felt by everyone involved. There are amazing catches, exciting plays, powerful hits, strong pitching.

While Six Innings is primarily for baseball enthusiasts, people who like to get into the minds of characters will also enjoy the book. Try an inning and you’ll stay for the whole game.

The third selection would be

Owlboy #3: Tremble at the Terror of Zis-Boom-Bah by Thomas Sniegoski and Eric Powell

August 2008

Criteria used:

Appropriate for recommended levels - the recommended reading ages are 9 - 12 which encompasses our students

Acceptable in literary style and technical quality - the literary quality, technical merit, physical arrangement, and aesthetic characteristics meet the criteria necessary for our students

Cost effective in terms of use - the price falls within allotted budget

Review

Billy Hooten would rather hide out in his room, reading comic books (especially Owlboy), than deal with bullies. Then he dons the Owlboy costume and goes from supergeek to superhero! He travels to Monstros City, an underground town crawling with monsters both good and bad, and learns what responsibilities (and cool gadgets) come with being the new Owlboy.

In the third Owlboy adventure, Billy must protect and defend the residents of Monstros City from a large Godzilla-like monkey-fish-beast that's prowling around. Meanwhile, back in his regular life aboveground, he has to hang out with his elderly great-aunt. Old people scare him more than giant gorillas - that is, until he makes a new old friend and realizes that age is nothing but a number.

These books are perfect for the elementary school crowd: they aren't too scary, they are plenty silly, and they have lots of crazy creatures. Kids will giggle at Thomas E. Sniegoski's writing, dig Eric Powell's comic-like illustrations, and have fun on Billy's adventures. I highly recommend the Owlboy books to kids and even adults, especially those who like superheroes, comic books, and funny stories.

The fourth selection would be

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

February 2008

Criteria used:

Appropriate for recommended levels - the recommended reading ages are 9 - 12 which encompasses our students

Acceptable in literary style and technical quality - the literary quality, technical merit, physical arrangement, and aesthetic characteristics meet the criteria necessary for our students

Cost effective in terms of use - the price falls within allotted budget

Review

Greg Heffley’s middle school and family woes continue in this sequel to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The combination of prose and drawings tells the humorous story of how Greg’s brother, Rodrick, seems to always get the better of him, how Greg’s good intentions always turn against him and how his less than good intentions are worse than intended. Back are Greg’s oblivious mother and his best friend, the gullible Rowley.

One chapter discusses Greg’s attempt to dog sit his neighbor’s dog while they are on vacation. The dog would never do his stuff while he was being walked, but then proceeded to poop in the house. After a few days of cleaning up the mess, Greg decides to let it pile up and clean it the day the neighbors are due home. But….they came home a day early. You get the picture, and it’s not pretty.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the sequel, Rodrick Rules, are two of the funniest books I’ve read recently. The stories are funny and the drawings just add to the humor. Readers will relate to Greg and feel sorry for him at the same time. He’s just a guy waiting for trouble to happen. We all know someone just like him. For a fun time, read both books.

The last selection I would make is

See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House by Susan E. Goodman and Elwood H. Smith

May 2008

Criteria used:

Appropriate for recommended levels - the reading level is ages 9 - 12 which encompasses our students

Free of bias and stereotype

Cost effective in terms of use - the price falls within allotted budget

Review

To state the obvious, it's an election year -- and voters are more involved than ever. But, what does it all mean? What is the mysterious "Electoral College"? Who pays for campaigning presidential hopefuls? What is a new president's very first assignment? What is a third party? Why is voting important, and when did it first start?

In this book, entertainingly laid out with hilarious cartoons and fascinating sidebars, you'll find out all these things, and much more. There is something here to enthrall everyone.

If you love celebrity gossip, check out the (pretty immature) competition between some of the founding fathers of our country. Find out about George Washington's cash-flow problems (he was always in debt). Learn how a mule named Boston Curtis was voted into an official office in 1938, and a cat named Smudge le Plume was elected mayor of Guffey, Colorado (alas, Mayor le Plume was assassinated by an owl).

If you've got a yen for history -- not dull, dry you-gotta-memorize-'em facts, but thrilling stories about the past -- this book is packed with great tales, including the reason we see donkeys and elephants associated with the Democratic and Republican parties.

After you've learned all about elections and voting, go out and change history. The authors tell you exactly how one person can make a difference, even if that person can't yet vote.

Highly recommended for readers of any age, who are guaranteed to learn a ton about the election process in the most enjoyable fashion.