School is out for many of our kids, already, and for the rest of us it is rapidly approaching. We want to keep our kids reading this summer, but sometimes it is hard to find a book that will keep their attention during the non-school months. Summertime is the perfect time to relax in the sun with a book – and sharpen those reading skills while they are at it!

In addition to our summer reading lists (for boys, teen girls, and tween girls), my child’s teacher asked me for a list of “old faithful” books for 4th and 5th graders, so I thought I’d share this list with you. These might not be the newest releases, but they are tried and true, and certain to be loved by the 9 and 10 year olds in your life.

I have read a bunch of books for the StorySnoops site with the same kind of a premise – a refreshingly modern day take on a classic fairy tale.  Sounds girly and perhaps a little corny but no! These books feature a Cinderella who is more about empowering herself than she is about marrying her prince; or a brave outcast who faces the Snow Queen in order to save her best friend, Jack; or cousins Jack and Jill who, while on a quest, have many creepy and dangerous encounters in a book which is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying!

If your tween is interested in the new spin on an old classic, the “modern fairy tale”, here are some titles to try:

This list will get you started. We have a similar list for teens coming soon!

Happy Reading

Shannon, StorySnoop

There are a lot of great boy books out there for middle graders. However, a parent recently commented to me that she is having a hard time finding good matches for her fifth grader, as he prefers realistic or historical fiction. There is a lot of fantasy and dystopian fiction out there, and although it’s very popular, it’s true that it’s not for everyone.  She mentioned that her son enjoyed the book Hatchet, likes historical fiction, and that as a family they have read The Hunger Games. With these clues, my mind got to working…

What is a boy such as this to read?  Since he liked Hatchet, he should definitely check out the companion book to called Brian’s Winter. And here are some additional suggestions:

As with any of the books that we recommend, please be sure to click on the cover and read the Scoop to make sure it’s the right fit for your child.  Let us know if you have a book match challenge. We’d be happy to make some suggestions for your reader.

Happy Reading!

-Shannon, StorySnoop

Helping out in the school library during my son’s weekly visit is such an eye opener.  Not much as changed in the twelve years I have been volunteering in there. The boys load up on war plane textbooks, graphic novels, and spooky story books, and the girls still love that Warriors series. Some of the books have changed, of course. I love that Wonder and My Life in Pink and Green now have waiting lists!

There is a very (very!) reluctant girl reader in this class who just has it in her mind she will not (or cannot? ) read. For months I have scrambled around, pulling books off the shelf with a ridiculous cheerfulness: (How about this? Or this?).  She would bring the books back the following week, and I suspect she probably never even cracked them open.

Then one day I handed her Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by good ole’ Judy Blume. An oldie but goodie if there ever was one. But there was a BOY on the front cover and she gave me a doubtful looked. She may have even rolled her eyes. But she took it.

This girl was the first one into the library the following Tuesday and exclaiming (I think as much to her surprise as mine) how much she loved it. Victory! When I told her that it was actually the first in a series, she could not believe her luck. She grabbed the next two books in the series and looked seriously conflicted when she came to check her book out.  You see, you can only check one book out at a time, and here she was with a stack of Fudge books she did not want to part with. What if someone checked it out and lost it? What if we put it on hold for her but accidentally gave it away? This poor fretful girl was literally petting her Judy Blume books. A book match was made. A reader was born. And a rule was broken – we let her check out BOTH books

-Happy Reading!

Shannon, StorySnoop

You gotta love those well-written graphic novels for middle schoolers. They are crowd-pleasers: attractive to those who don’t love to read, and gobbled up in one sitting by those who do.

Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, about growing up as an awkward adolescent with braces, was well-received by critics and readers alike. She now has a new book out called Drama, which also depicts the very real ups and downs of middle school. Like Smile, the writing is good, and it’s a darn good book.

However, I am disappointed in what I have been reading about it. Critics seem to like it (well, it IS a good book!), but others are not so open-minded. Bloggers and other reviewers have condemned this book because there is a gay character who is open about his orientation. No one in the fictional school has a problem with it. There are a few gay characters in the book’s theater production, but honestly – can you tell me a theater production that does not? Or for that matter, can you name a middle school that does not have gay students? This book is not about sex, it’s about young teens (gay and straight alike) figuring themselves out and accepting who they are. More importantly, it is about others accepting them (which is not a problem in this book as everyone is open and being gay is not a problem).

My daughter, also a seventh grade theater chick, read this book and really enjoyed it. We talked about the characters, gay, straight, bi – whatever. It was not shocking to her. She told me that it very accurately depicted her middle school life.  I applaud the middle school kids of today, really. They can read a book and say, “He’s gay, lots of kids are. So what?” Not so for many parents and other critics of this book. Why is that?

Let’s just stay focused on the positive. Finally we have a book that is perfect – PERFECT – for the young theater crowd. Those kids, male and female, who know all of the words to Les Miz, and say things like “Break A Leg!”, and “The Show Must Go On!”: here is a book just for you.

Happy Reading!

-Shannon, StorySnoop

The ALA will be announcing their awards on January 28^th, and we will soon learn who will win this year’s Newbery Award.

I have been hesitant to make predictions in the past becomes sometimes those winners come straight out of left field and I never could have guessed them! But where is the fun in that? There are some solid books from 2012 that most would agree deserve, if not the Newbery Medal, then perhaps a Newbery Honor award. These are just my opinions however, so don’t laugh at me if I completely miss the mark come January 28^th. With that disclaimer, I bring you my darlings for the 2013 Newbery Award.

WONDER– I loved this book, and maybe I am not supposed to say this, but it was my personal favorite. It was released a while ago, though, so I am hoping no one has forgotten about it. I love it because I know it is a book that not only moved me (a great deal) as an adult, but every kid I have given this book has loved it too. I’ve even seen it go home in the backpacks of reluctant readers. Could have something to do with that awesome cover, but the kids love it, and that is because it is just one awesome story. The strong anti-bullying message is one that all kids everywhere can benefit from, and I could go on and on…. It seems to me that Newbery tends to go to a historical fiction book (which this is not), but I am hoping this has a chance.

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN – Sweet, loveable, book that reminds me so much of a Charlotte’s Web. I also love this book for a classroom, and the story is just beautiful. Not sure if quite up to the Newbery, but a memorable story not to be missed.

LIAR AND SPY – Rebecca Stead’s last book, When You Reach Me, quite deservedly won the Newbery Award, so we know the lady can write. The writing in this book is great – hallmark Rebecca Stead. Very witty and smart with lots of twists and turns you can tell she plotted out ahead of time. The other great thing about Rebecca Stead is that she writes FOR kids, meaning she has the unique ability to write exactly what they want to read – very well. As much as I loved this book, I am not sure that it will win as it is sure to be compared to her last book, and it is not quite the masterpiece that When You Reach Me is, but I can hope, right?

SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS – Loved this book, loved the quirky characters, heartfelt moments and the fact that you had to suspend belief to get wrapped up in the story. I wonder about kids, though–not sure what they will think of this book. It might be one of those charming stories that we adults adore, but kids, not so much. I could be wrong, though…

STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY – This is the one I THINK just may win it. The companion book to the popular and acclaimed Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is just as lyrical and well told as its predecessor. Grace Lin is one of the truly excellent writers for children of our time. Her last work won a Newbery Honor,  and this one just may take home the big prize. Released late in the year, I think it knocked off a lot of its competition. It is just a flawless tale, and I think the award giving peeps will be smitten.

So those are my biased predictions. What are yours? Please share your them with us, and we can compare notes when the big announcement is made.

Looking forward to January 28th!

-Shannon, StorySnoop

Sometimes, you want a book recommendation from someone besides an adult.  You want to hear it from an actual kid–one in the trenches who is reading all of this stuff, and can give you an honest thumbs up or thumbs down, or even a few comments so you can judge whether your own kid will like a book.  For this reason, I ventured into my daughter’s room to check out her reading pile and asked her to tell me a bit about each book.

Her reading pile looks like this (you should see the rest of her room!):

Note that the book on the bottom of the pile is one I recommended long ago but keeps getting set aside.  I just know that Freak the Mighty is one of those books that she will love once she finally tries it.  Actually, she has read all of the books piled on top of it. A male friend recommended The Kill Order to her and they both loved it, so we can put that one on the list of crowd pleasers for both teen boys and girls. It’s the prequel to The Maze Runner series, and my daughter liked it even better than the other books. Interesting.

The Outsiders is also peeking out of the pile. Yeah, I made her read my old copy when she was starving for a book.  She “really liked it” but didn’t “love it.” Ahem. I guess we don’t have to see eye to eye on everything.

Monument 14 is a new dystopian novel with a very interesting premise. Six kids are trapped in a superstore during a kind of end-of-the-world apocalypse. Sort of reads like Lord of the Flies in a Target – she says it is her favorite that she has read in months.

Where Things Comes Back is another one I put in the pile. I loved this book, and it won so many awards last year. She liked it, and I think appreciated it for the quality book that it is. She said she’d recommend to “girl good readers.”

Yesterday. Now we are talking. She loved this dystopian thriller by C.K. Kelly Martin and would recommend it boys and girls.

Finally, she just bought the Ann Aguirre’s new novel, Outpost, and in her excitement to read it, is rereading the first book in the series, Enclave.  This should occupy her for about a week, if I’m lucky. To all of the YA lovers out there, let me know in the comments section what books I should add to the top of the pile!

-Shannon, StorySnoop

Hello everyone!

2012 was a great year for books, at least in the stack that I read! I always love these “Best of” lists – it’s like a cheat sheet for what to read – guaranteed to be great.

Here are my favorites from 2012:

Up first of my list is – of course – The Fault in our Stars. (Insert dramatic reverent sigh here.) When I read this last January, I knew it would be the best book I read all year, and I was right. My adult book club even read it, and they loved it, too. It’s a great book for your teen that you will value just as much.

Next up is Wonder, which is quite frankly, Wonder-ful. I adore this book and I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s my favorite middle grade book of the year. I hope it’s recognized as such come awards time.

The great Rebecca Stead never disappoints, and her new book, Liar & Spy, is clever and heartwarming. Middle school audiences are lucky to have this author writing just for them. I love an author who really hooks the reader from the beginning, but makes them really THINK the whole time they are reading.

And last by not least, the book that I think will become an instant children’s classic – The One and Only Ivan. This is a quiet, touching book for children and adults alike. Think Charlotte’s Web with zoo animals. It’s a gorgeous story that will touch your heart.

That’s my list. I could go on and on because there were so many amazing books in 2012.  Don’t miss The Best of 2012 Part 4 when Eden reveals her favorites!

One of our lovely users recently commented that while we had lists for tween girls who read “up”, we had no such list for boys. Although we hear about the tween girls reading beyond their level (and age-appropriate material), we rarely hear this about boys. (Scratch head here.) But – that doesn’t mean there are not super-reader boys out there in the same boat! In fact, there are probably LOTS of younger boys who read  “up”, too.

For these boys (and their parents), we Snoops have come up with a list of books that will challenge their minds while still being as close to age-appropriate as possible.

Parents, while browsing this list, don’t forget to read our Scoops to make sure these are a good fit for your child, and be sure to let us know if you have any titles to add  :-)

Happy Reading!

-Shannon, StorySnoop

Attention teachers and librarians! Looking for great addition to your elementary school library? Well, I have a fun recommendation for you.

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner is a smartly-written and really fun mystery/action/adventure book. The premise of the book is that four seventh graders, who have never previously met, are snowed in together at an airport in Washington D.C. When news comes that the actual famous flag that inspired the song “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been stolen, the kids have a sneaking suspicion that the culprits are right there in the airport, snowed in with them. So begins a fun, action-packed, mystery that will keep those pages turning to find out just whodunit!

Capture The Flag is wholesome while still being exciting. The characters are both male and female, and this book will appeal equally to either gender. This crowd-pleaser would be a fun read-aloud, addition to a classroom library, or just a great book to check out for 3rd-7th graders, depending on his or her reading level.

Happy Reading!

–Shannon, StorySnoop

P.S. Here are two other great middle grade titles by Kate Messner that we loved.