Balloons Over Broadway

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
by Melissa Sweet
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the biggest parades in the entire United States. Every year, one of the highlights of the parade are the giant balloon characters that fill up the New York City streets. But how did these giant balloons come to be? Who came up with the idea? The answer is Tony Sarg (rhymes with aargh!), a puppeteer and toy maker that Macy's first hired to do their Christmas windows and then to work on their Thanksgiving Day parade. Sarg loved puppets and marionettes from a very young age, so when Macy's asked for something spectacular to replace live animals in the parade, Sarg immediately turned to puppetry. His puppets so far had only been about 3 feet tall though, so he knew if he used those in the parade no one would be able to see them. How could they be bigger - much bigger? And if they were much bigger, where would the strings go? Soon Sarg was off and running with ideas and a parade legend was born!

Melissa Sweet tells the story of Sarg's life and accomplishments and accompanies it with illustrations that combine watercolors, paper scraps, bits of fabric, buttons and other small objects. You'll want to take your time over this picture book biography of a little-known, but fascinating, creative talent. Winner of the 2011 Sibert Award for best children's informational book.

 

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

by Phillip Hoose
In March 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks, 15 year old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She was dragged off the Montgomery, Ala. bus, arrested, and convicted. She, along with four other women, bravely fought a court case that declared that Montgomery's segregated bus system was unconstitutional. Claudette faced lack of support from her community, was considered overly emotional by her lawyers, and then faced disgrace when she became pregnant while still unmarried. The leaders of the Civil Rights movement chose Rosa Parks, another bus protestor to be their "poster" girl in the Montgomery bus boycott. Hoose presents detailed research, interviews with Colvin herself, as well as period photographs and newspaper articles to present a vivid picture of the times and of Colvin herself. She is portrayed as a determined, brave, yet flawed young woman who decided to fight for justice, and what she knew to be right. This book is a very interesting biography that sheds a new light on the Civil Rights movement.

Recommended for grades 5-8
Reviewed by Alexa Newman

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

by Grace Lin
Minli lives with her parents under the shadow of Fruitless Mountain. Minli loves the stories her father tells of dragons, Never-Ending Mountain, and the Old Man of the Moon. They are poor, and can barely survive day to day, so when Minli spends her family's only coin on a goldfish, her mother is sure disaster is soon to follow. Minli decides to set out to find the Old Man of the Moon to ask for help with her family's fortune. Along the way she meets all sorts of characters straight out of her father's tales: a talking fish, a dragon, a tiger, a boy with a buffalo, a king and a set of twins.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is about a girl on a quest - but it is set up in a group of smaller stories that are all interconnected and create one breathtaking story. This book is one of my favorite reads of the past several years. It is a magical story, with great illustrations, and looks at a style of tale that is refreshingly different.

Recommended for grades 3-8
Reviewed by Alexa Newman

The Dreamer

by Pam Munoz Ryan
Neftali knows what it is to be different. He is not strong like his older brother. He is not cheerful like his little sister. He doesn't like sports like the other boys at his school. No, Neftali is a dreamer. He is a boy who gets lost in observing the natural world around him, a boy who is absorbed in listening to the sounds that surround him every day, a boy who thrills to the fire for justice he sees in his newspaper-writing Uncle Orlando's verbal fights for the oppressed. Yes, Neftali knows what it is to be different - but Neftali's father - Neftali's father does not know what it is to be different and does not, will not, understand. Neftali dreads his father's footsteps and the dissatisfaction that always follows: "Do you want to be a skinny weakling forever and amount to nothing?" Every time Neftali's father tries to stamp out Neftali's hopes and dreams there is that chance that they will be gone forever. Every time Neftali has to find the courage and inner strength to be true to himself - sometimes with more success than others - but Neftali keeps trying, keeps working to figure out who he really is instead of just being what his father wants him to be and in the end, Neftali finds that who he is, is someone truly amazing.

The Dreamer is the fictionalized retelling of famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's childhood. Written in green ink, just as Neruda wrote his poetry, Pam Munoz Ryan's text is rich with details and imagery of the natural world that Neruda loved and Peter Sis's soft, pointallistic illustrations offer the perfect complement to this quiet coming-of-age tale.

Winner of the 2011 Pura Belpre Author Award

Recommended for grades 4-8
Reviewed by Jennifer Baker

Criss Cross

by Lynne Rae Perkins
An orchestrated tale from various different perspectives, this mature story is an amazing slice-of-life intersection of many artistic journeys.  It even includes fantastic drawings, photographs, and poetry that weave into the novel.

The changing of the times in the sixties is finally reaching this sleepy small town.  Come and explore the personality of drainage ditch/ravines, open mics, and the mound of dirt with pipes sticking out of it, through the experiences of mostly newbie teenagers.  Feel the romance as the string of lights at the town's used car lot drown out the summer dusk.

"Criss Cross" is the name of a profoundly parodying radio show that the young people listen to on Saturdays, hanging around the truck in the driveway to do so.  Some of the inspired characters even solve direly problematic situations.  They have a lot of spunk this balmy summer, with romance being just a by-product.

Recommended for grades 5-8
Reviewed by Joe Drinka

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

by Rodman Philbrick
This Civil War historical fiction takes place in the northeastern United States.

The title character is a scrappy back-woods orphan boy. His villainous guardian Uncle Squint illegally enlists Homer's older brother Harold, who is only seventeen years old, into the Union Army.

Homer runs away from home to rescue his older brother. He travels around in his search in various ways, such as by train, steam-ship, and even hot-air balloon.

Along the way, he runs into scalawags such as Stink and Smelt. Homer has adventures playing a pig-boy in a travelling circus, and also experiences the Underground Railroad.

Homer gets into and out of a lot of trouble with his habit of stretching the truth. The exciting story from rural Maine to the Battle of Gettysburg concludes with six pages of Civil War glossary and slang.

Newbery Honor 2010

Recommended for grades 3-6
Reviewed by Joe Drinka

Almost Astronauts

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
The True Story of the "Mercury 13" Women
by Tanya Lee Stone
You have probably heard of Sally Ride, Mae Jemison, and Christa McAuliffe, but have you ever heard of the "Mercury 13"?  Twenty years before the first women were let into NASA's astronaut program, a brave and determined group of 13 women tried to break down barriers and become astronauts.  At the time, the role of women in society was different than it is today.  Back in the 1960's, women weren't allowed to rent cars, take loans from banks, or play on professional sports teams.  And they certainly weren't invited to take the place of men on space missions, even though their lighter weight would have saved NASA a lot of money.  But those barriers didn't stop everyone. 

Jerrie Cobb had been flying airplanes since she was 12 years old.  She had broken altitude and speed records.  She had flown all over the world.  She was a perfect candidate for Randolph Lovelace's program to see if women were actually tough enough to be astronauts.  Cobb took all the same tests as the men in the space program, and not only did she pass the tests, she did better all the men.  With these encouraging results, Lovelace opened the testing to a larger group of women, many of whom also excelled.  However, politics, rules, and "social order" prevented these women from ever getting on a spacecraft.

The story of these women - the "Mercury 13" - outlines the history of doors of opportunity being forced open for women.  While none of the Mercury 13 ever made it to space, you can bet Sally Ride, Mae Jemison, and Christa McAuliffe are grateful that they dared to dream.

Winner of the 2010 Sibert Award for distinguished informational books

Recommended for grades 6 and up
Reviewed by Sara Murray

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead
Winner of the 2010 Newbery Award, When You Reach Me is both an engaging and unusual novel that is a multi-layered combination of mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and even historical fiction, with humorous references to what life was like in 1978 - minus cell phones and video games. If this assortment of genres were not enough, When You Reach Me also touches on the theme of sacrificing oneself for the benefit of others. The story begins with a mysterious event right off the bat. Miranda, a twelve-year-old who lives in New York City, is walking home with her best friend Sal, when, out of the blue, an eccentric classmate of theirs walks up to Sal. Without a word, Sal gets punched in the stomach and crumples over in pain. Immediately after this embarrassing episode, Sal all but completely cuts Miranda out of his life. Dealing with this blow, as well as helping her mother prepare to be a contestant on the 1970s television game show, "The 20,000 Pyramid," Miranda tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space. These notes are as cryptic as they are frightening. The first one reads, "I am coming to save your friend's life and my own." More notes and bizarre events follow until Miranda finally realizes what has been happening and why the tragic event that occurs was necessary, and is greatly moved by it. For those who allow themselves to be pulled into the plot, the reward of finishing this book will be a worthwhile endeavor that leaves the reader thinking about these memorable characters long after the book is set down.

Recommended for grades 6 and up
Reviewed by Rozanne Porter

The Thief

by Megan Whalen Turner
Somewhere between the lands of Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia there is a treasure - Hamiathes's Gift - that will give the bearer power and the right to rule, but the treasure has been hidden for centuries and only a skilled thief can steal it away once the hiding place is located.  The magus, the scholar to the king of Sounis, believes he knows where to find this treasure, and chooses Gen, a thief in the king's prison, to be the one to steal it away.  If he is successful, he will be rewarded, but if he fails, he will die.  Together with two young men and a guard, the group makes a dangerous and difficult journey across harsh landscapes and unmarked trails to find this long lost gift of the gods.  To pass the time along the way, they share with each other the mythological stories of the old gods and goddesses and how the Gift came to be.

Readers who enjoyed the mythology and adventure of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series might also enjoy this series, even though the gods and goddesses are the creation of the author.  The series continues with The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia.  The fourth in the series, A Conspiracy of Kings, is due to be released in April.

Newbery Honor Book 1997

Recommended for grades 5-9
Reviewed by Sara Murray

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

by Kate DiCamillo
Edward Tulane is a very handsome china rabbit, but Edward knows that he is very handsome - which is not good for the soul. Ten-year-old Abilene is Edward's mistress who loves him very much and Edward knows that too, but doesn't think much of it. Shortly after Abilene's eleventh birthday, disaster strikes. On an ocean voyage, Edward is accidently thrown overboard by some very rude little boys, and so Edward's miraculous journey begins. Before his journey ends, Edward will have seen pain and sorrow and injustice, but also great love. He will have acquired many different names, changed clothes numerous times, and seen all sorts of different places, but most importantly Edward himself will find he has changed in ways he didn't even think possible. Join Edward on his journey and you may find yourself changed as well.

Recommended for grades 4-8
Reviewed by Jennifer Baker

Al Capone Does My Shirts

by Gennifer Choldenko
The year is 1935. The place is Alcatraz Island--an island that just happens to be a prison housing some of the country's worst criminals. So what's twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan doing there? Moose's father has just started a new job at the prison and his family has to live there. In fact, Moose is just one of 24 children who live on the island because their parents work there. But that doesn't exactly make him happy about it. First of all there's the fact that he's moved away from his friends. Then there are prisoners to consider. His first night on the island Moose sleeps with his shoes on and a baseball bat under the covers, and that's before he's even heard about Al Capone. But the hardest part for Moose isn't the adjustment to a new home. It's dealing with his sister Natalie and her "condition," known as Autism, which causes the most stress and exhaustion for his family. If she isn't able to get into the Esther P. Marinoff School for special children it will push his mother to the breaking point and may even get his father fired. When it seems that there is no other option, Moose reaches out to his last hope, a prisoner named Onion 105. What, if anything, can a prisoner behind the walls of Alcatraz do for him? Moose doesn't know for sure, but he is willing to take a chance. Watch for the sequel, Al Capone Shines My Shoes, coming this September to a library near you!

Recommended for grades 5-8
Reviewed by Tara Olson

Out of the Dust

by Karen Hesse
Dust. It's 1934 in Oklahoma and dust is everywhere. Billie Jo can't escape it. Dust is out in the fields killing the crops. Dust is in the house covering the floors, covering the table, covering the piano. Dust is in the food; regular milk looks like chocolate milk, everything seems to have pepper on it, but it's not pepper, it's dust. And ever since the accident that took so much away from Billie Jo, the dust is inside her too. All she wants is out. Out of the dust. Maybe the poems that she writes will help, but how can you escape something inside you? Using free-verse poetry, Karen Hesse tells the unforgettable story of two years in Billie Jo's life and how she finds her way out of the dust.

Recommended for grades 5-10
Reviewed by Jennifer Baker

Rules

by Cynthia Lord
Everything is complicated for 12-year-old Catherine. She loves her younger brother David, but he's autistic which means he just doesn't understand some things and he's always embarrassing Catherine somehow. The new girl should be the perfect next-door friend Catherine's always wanted (next door means David doesn't have to come too), but Catherine seems to have so much more in common with Jason, a wheelchair-bound boy she met at her brother's therapy clinic, who can only communicate by pointing at speech cards. While Catherine understands that her parents struggle to keep up with David's needs, she needs them too, but how can she ask them to spend time with her, when she knows David needs them so much more? To help both herself and David figure out some of these confusing things, Catherine keeps track of rules. Some are the rules that David lives by like, "If you don't have the words you need, borrow someone else's. If you need to borrow words, Arnold Lobel wrote some good ones.” Some are Catherine's rules for things David can't figure out on his own like, "Keep you pants on! Unless Mom, Dad or the doctor tells you to take them off." But some are just Catherine's rules for herself like, "Pantless brothers are not my problem." The story of Catherine's summer is funny, heartbreaking, thought-provoking and one you'll never forget.

Recommended for grades 4-8
Reviewed by Jennifer Baker

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman
For those ghost lovers and Harry Potter fans, this spooky and suspenseful novel is based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic, The Jungle Book. The story begins in a frightening way, as a family is killed by a menacing stranger named Jack. However, the youngest child of the family, a toddler, fortuitously escapes the fate of the rest of his family by literally toddling out the front door while Jack is in another room. He crawls to a nearby graveyard, and gets discovered by two long-time inhabitants of the cemetery. Not knowing his true identity, the orphaned boy is renamed Nobody - Bod for short. Over the years, he is lovingly raised by the kind, eccentric ghosts in the cemetery until the day comes where he must return to "his own kind." In the meantime, Bod, whose life skills are suited more toward the dead than the living, must learn to go to school with his peers and learn things that only the living can teach. But there is great danger in taking this step. Surprisingly, Jack has not forgotten about him over time. He is still looking for Bod. He came to do a job that tragic evening long ago, and it has yet to be completed. He needs to finish what he started. Why does Jack need to destroy Bod? Can Bod's ghostly family protect him from the cruel world by continuing to isolate him? Will Bod ever have a home other than the cemetery? Gaiman writes a suspenseful yarn, at times funny, other times touching, that will leave readers wanting to turn the pages to find out who Jack is, as well as what becomes of Bod and his ethereal family.

Winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal

Recommended for grades 5 and up
Reviewed by Rozanne Porter

Elijah of Buxton

by Christopher Paul Curtis
It's 1860 and Elijah is the first free-born child in the settlement of Buxton, Canada and as such you would think he'd get a little respect! Instead everyone tells him how fragile he is and boy do they love to tell the story of how he threw up on Mr. Frederick Douglass even though Elijah was just a baby when it happened. Elijah enjoys his life - he has a best friend, Cooter, to get in trouble with, he gets to go rock fishing on his favorite mule, Old Flapjack, and he gets to work with Mr. Leroy helping to clear a neighbor's land. Now that he's almost 12, Elijah thinks it's about time people realize he's pretty much grown up even if some things are still pretty confusing. For one thing, his Ma tells him he "has to respect what growned folks say" one minute and the next she's telling him "not to believe some of the things growned folks tell" you. How's a boy to know which things are which? As the year goes on and Elijah learns more about the world outside of Buxton - especially about slavery, he starts to see that being grown up is much more complicated than he thought.

Recommended for grades 4-8
Reviewed by Jennifer Baker

Good Masters, Sweet Ladies

Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Imagine living in a grim time. Death often came early in the middle ages, and even their time on earth was brutish.

Schlitz presents a raw picture of being a child during medieval times. Using over twenty carefully-researched, distinct voices, the text showcases a varied and interesting world. Meet realistic people from all walks of life, including Jack, the half-wit; Simon, the knight's son; and Pask, the runaway. Find out what a "sniggler" does, while poring over this meticulously illuminated volume.

Even though the book is on the slimmer side, it is very funny and entertaining. Each medieval character breathes authenticity like an annoying class clown in the back of your classroom. This title definitely deserved it when it received the Newbery Award.

Also includes descriptive sidebar notes, little backgrounds, and an extensive bibliography.

Recommended for grades 4-8
Reviewed by Joe Drinka

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

by Brian Selznick
It's Paris, 1931 and Hugo Cabret is all alone. His father is dead, his uncle is missing and he has no other friends or family. He lives inside the walls of the train station and keeps the clocks running there. He needs to steal food to survive and his situation is getting desperate. Hugo knows if he can fix the mechanical man that his father was working on before he died, it will give him the answer to his problems. When Hugo is caught stealing, he gets drawn into the lives and mysteries of the old toyseller and his goddaughter. Can he uncover the mysteries of the toyseller, fix the mechanical man and find a way to survive? This book looks a little intimidating because of its size, but it is a really quick read once you get going. Intricate pencil drawings are used to help portray the action of the book and help you to visualize Hugo's world. If you are looking for a different type of adventure pick this book up.

Recommended for grades 4-8
Reviewed by Alicia Parmele