Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, Shannon and Dean Hale.  Rapunzel’s Revenge. Illustrated by Nathan Hale. Bloombury, 2008. Paperback $15.99, ISBN 978-1599902883.

What’s it about?

In this graphic novel fractured fairy-tale, Rapunzel is not a dainty damsel in distress--she rescues herself with her whip-like braids. After her escape from the tower, Rapunzel teams up with the brave, impetuous Jack to free Rapunzel’s mother from the evil Mother Gothel’s mines.     

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Mother Gothel and Rapunzel live in luxury, in a 78 room villa. But Rapunzel becomes curious about the world outside.  When Rapunzel sneaks out on her twelfth birthday to see what lies beyond the great wall, she discovers that Mother Gothel is not her mother. In fact, she stole her from her mother, enslaved and starved in the mine that lies beyond the wall of the castle.  Rapunzel is briefly re-united with her mother and after she angrily confronts Mother Gothel, she is taken away and imprisoned in an enchanted tree, which towers impossibly high over the forest floor.  Rapunzel is trapped for years, having little to do but grow her hair and learn to use it as a lasso and a swing. Finally, her hair grows long enough to allow her escape, and she meets with a young man, Jack, who sees her use her braids as a weapons. He is impressed with her fighting abilities and they team up to fight against the evil Mother Gothel and her far-reaching influence, attempting to free Rapunzel’s mother from slavery.

Rapunzel’s Revenge is a fun fractured fairy tale set in the Wild West. Rapunzel is not helpless a traditional damsel in distress —she’s a strong, feisty heroine who can hold her own.  The Hales put a fun spin on Rapunzel’s story by introducing another fairy-tale character, Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk), who turns out to be Rapunzel’s romantic interest.  The energetic artwork of this graphic novel is colorful and funny—and sometimes frightening, as when Rapunzel is nearly eaten by an enormous rattlesnake. This is a well-paced, witty read that is perfect for reluctant readers, fairy-tale enthusiasts, and anyone who likes their adventure with a generous helping of adventure.

Genre: Fractured fairy-tale, Fantasy, Adventure, Humor

Reading level: 3^rd grade

Interest level: Grades 5 & up

Read-alikes:

Levine’s Ella Enchanted

Napoli’s Zel

McKinley’s Beauty

Awards:

ALA Notable Book for Children

On YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens list

Utah Book Award

Subjects: Fairy-tales, slavery, heroes, magic

Series information:

Calamity Jack 

Calvin and Hobbes

Watterson, Bill. Calvin and Hobbes. Andrews McNeel, 1987. Paperback $12.99, ISBN 978-0836220889.

What’s it about?

Calvin is a rowdy, wildly imaginative 6 year old boy who lives with his mother, father, and tiger Hobbes. To most people, Hobbes is a stuffed animal, but Calvin and Hobbes know better!

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Ever had an imaginary friend? Six-year-old Calvin does, but everyone only thinks he’s imaginary. Calvin’s best friend appears to be a large stuffed tiger, but Calvin knows he’s the real deal. Hobbes is the more practical and sage of the duo, although he’s prone to sass and sneak-pounce attacks on Calvin. Most strips focus on Calvin and Hobbes, although there are great secondary characters, like Calvin’s frazzled parents, Calvin’s goody-goody neighborhood nemesis Susie, and idiotic school bully Moe. In later collections, readers enjoy an increasing number of Calvin’s alter-egos. In this first collection, we’re introduced to Spaceman Spiff, whose life and death struggles parallel Calvin’s real-life adventures (such as tackling a playground slide).    

Calvin and Hobbes is the first collection of Watterson’s popular comic strip. The premise is simple and delightful.  Ordinary events are exaggerated and comedic through the eyes of Calvin and his incredibly over-active imagination.  In one Sunday strip (which contains twice as many panels as a daily strip) Calvin’s fear of baths makes perfect sense: when Calvin sits down in the tub, the bubbles form a large, monstrous fiend that tries to drown Calvin. His only recourse is to drain the tub. The last panel features Calvin’s cross mother: “don’t tell me he’s letting the water out already!” Behind her, the wet, naked, Calvin scowls “believe it, lady.” Just as the characters in the Peanuts strip evolved, Calvin and Hobbes look slightly different and more developed in Watterson’s later strips. Nevertheless, his artwork is expressive and masterful.  

Genre: Humor, satire

Reading level: 4^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-Adult

Subjects: Imagination, Family, Misbehavior, Political & philosophical satire

Read-alikes:

Holm’s Babymouse

Spires’ Binky series

Shultz’s Peanuts

Ketcham’s Dennis the Menace

Awards:

2-time Reuben Award Winner “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year” (1986 & 1988, nominated in 1992)

Series information:

Something Under the Bed is Drooling (1988)

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes (1988)

The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book (1989)

Yukon Ho! (1989)

The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes (1990)

Weirdoes From Another Planet (1990)

The Revenge of the Baby-Sat (1991)

Scientific Progress Goes “Boink” (1991)

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons (1992)

The Indispensible Calvin and Hobbes (1992)

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat (1994)

The Days are Just Packed (1993)

The Calvin and Hobbes 10^th Anniversary Book (1995)

There’s Treasure Everywhere (1996)

It’s a Magical World (1996)

Fruits Basket (Anime)

Fruits Basket. Studio DEEN production, 2001. English version released by Funimation Entertainment, 2002.

What’s it about?

Tohru Honda meets the Sohma family, and discovers their secret. The Sohmas are cursed, turning into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac when hugged by a member of the opposite sex.

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Tohru Honda has had it rough—she was recently orphaned and is living in a tent, which, unbeknownst to her, is on the property of the Sohma family. Although Tohru is still in high school, she has been supporting herself by working night janitorial jobs. When classmate Yuki (a handsome boy known as “Prince Yuki” to hordes of sighing teen girl groupies) and his older cousin 27-year-old Shigure Sohma discover her living situation, they invite her to stay in their large home. Tohru also meets their cousin Kyo, an irascible boy who sees himself as Yuki’s rival. Tohru discovers the Sohma secret: many Sohmas are cursed, turning into animals from the Chinese Zodiac whenever they are touched by a member of the opposite sex. When Tohru sees which animals Kyo (the cat) and Yuki (the rat) transform into, Kyo’s rage toward Yuki makes more sense. In Chinese zodiac legend, God invited all the animals to a banquet. Rat was a trickster, and told Cat the banquet was the next day. All the other animals made it to the banquet while Cat slumbered, and the first 12 animals to arrive became the animals of the zodiac.  As the story unfolds, Tohru realizes that this curse is no laughing matter—there is a darkness and cruelty to this family, one that affected Yuki and Kyo deeply. The specifics will be revealed later in the series, and are only hinted at in the first four episodes.

Although Fruits Basket is a popular anime, and one that is tween and teen friendly, it has a few flaws. The pacing is slow in the first episodes, which is unfortunate, because this sets the tone for viewer, who might not give the anime a chance after the first episode, which largely consists of Tohru’s backstory. It picks up when more characters are introduced, particularly Shigure, Kyo, and Kagura. When new Sohmas are introduced, the viewer is just as curious as Tohru—what zodiac animal are they? There is plenty of comedy, but this shojo anime is overall a supernatural romance, and appeals largely to girls. 

Genre: Supernatural romance, Fantasy, Comedy

Interest level:  Grades 5 and up

Rating:  TV-PG

Subjects: Chinese Zodiac, family relationships, high school, romance

Dub or Sub?

In this anime, the dub is weaker, although it is not terrible. There are decent English language voice actors (Laura Bailey does a great job), but some voice actors drove me nuts. If you don’t mind subtitles, watch this anime in Japanese.

Is it also a manga?

Fruits Basket is also a complete series of manga. There are 23 volumes, the last published in 2007. The manga is actually a bit better than the anime, which sometimes suffers pacing problems.  

Similar anime & manga titles:

Gakuen Alice

Vampire Knight

Fushigi Yugi

D.N. Angel

Ouran High School Host Club

Series information: 26 episodes in the anime 

The Higher Power of Lucky

Patron, Susan. The High Power of Lucky. Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. Tr. $16.95 ISBN 978-1-4169-0194-5.

What’s it about?

Ten-year-old Lucky Trimble of Hard Pan, California, population 43, is worried that her French guardian Brigitte is going to leave her and move back to France, so she runs away in a dangerous dust storm before she can be abandoned. 

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10-year-old Lucky Trimble lives in Hard Pan, California (population 43) with her guardian Brigitte, her absentee father’s first wife, a young Frenchwoman.   Lucky’s mother died two years ago when she was electrocuted after a storm, stepping on some downed power lines while barefoot. Lucky, who already lost a parent through abandonment, fears that Brigitte is going to leave her too. Brigitte misses her mother, misses France, and has taken out her suitcase and passport. Brigitte’s leaving is a foregone conclusion for the observant (and sometimes very mistaken) Lucky.  It’s time for Lucky to take control of her life and call on her “higher power,” something she’s learned a lot about from eavesdropping on 12-Step meeting. Lucky receives three signs that let her know it is the perfect day to run away. She takes her survival pack and her beloved dog HMS Beagle and heads off to the Mojave Desert during a dangerous dust storm.

The Higher Power of Lucky has a quirky and loveable cast of misfit characters. Patron does a wonderful job of showing who these people are through their words, actions, and Lucky’s observations. Despite the sadness in the story, there is plenty of quiet humor.  Although the story is Lucky-centric, the secondary characters are well-drawn, such as Brigitte, who obviously cares for Lucky, but can seem a bit impatient at times; Lucky’s friend Lincoln, the insightful knot-artist; and Miles, her clingy  five-year-old neighbor who is being raised by his grandmother because his mother is in prison for selling drugs.  

It’s nearly impossible to bring up this Newbery Medal winner without mentioning the ridiculous controversy over The Higher Power of Lucky. The controversy, of course, was due to a clinical term for a part of the male anatomy, which was used in describing Short Sammy’s dog’s rattlesnake bite. Over four years after Scrotumgate, people still associate The Higher Power of Lucky with the word scrotum. Not exactly the desired legacy for this little gem. At least the derisive comments are aimed at the small minds that made a big fuss about the clinical term Patron used to describe where the rattlesnake bit the poor dog. Many critics have mentioned that using an accurate term rather than a crude slang term is preferable. Patron herself defended her choice of words, saying that she’d use the word again, that the word was chosen carefully and deliberately, certainly not gratuitously. In fact, after Lucky finds out that Brigitte is going to adopt her and open up a restaurant in Hard Pan, she asks Brigitte what the word means. Brigitte answers her matter-of-factly, and then adds,”You know if anyone ever hurts you I would rip their heart out.” I’m not sure if kids will make the connection between the question Lucky asked and Brigitte’s protective response, but they will take away Brigitte’s deep love for Lucky.  

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 6^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-6

Subjects: Death of a parent, Abandonment, Small towns, Runaways

Awards:

Newbery Medal (2007)

Series information:

 Lucky Breaks (2009)

Lucky for Good (2011)

Read-Alikes:

Hannigan’s Ida B.

Wiles’ Love, Ruby Lavender

Character name/descriptions:

Lucky Trimble-a 10-year-old fearful of abandonment, who loves to listen in on 12-step meetings and tries to find her own “higher power”

Miles—a 5 year-old who loves cookies

Lincoln—Lucky’s friend, obsessed with knot-making

Brigitte—Lucky’s guardian, a parsley-loving Frenchwoman once married to Lucky’s father

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time

Yee, Lisa. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time. Scholastic, 2005. Paperback $5.99, ISBN-13 978-0-439-62248-6.

What’s it about?

Stanford Wong, star basketball player, in danger of failing the sixth grade and being off the team, must miss basketball camp, take summer school and endure the humiliation of his nemesis Millicent Min tutoring him.  

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Stanford Wong is looking forward to going to a highly reputable basketball camp and being the only seventh grader to be on the A-team at school.  He feels that his life is over when his English teacher, Mr. Glick, tells him he will fail sixth grade if he doesn’t take English in summer school. As if this isn’t bad enough, Stanford must miss basketball camp to take summer school. He may even be off the basketball team if he doesn’t pass. Plus, his parents are fighting, his work-a-holic father is perpetually disappointed in him, and his beloved grandmother Yin-Yin is sent to a depressing nursing home. Could things be worse? Yes—Stanford must also suffer the indignity of being tutored by Millicent Min, a snotty eleven-year-old genius who is already taking college courses. He fears losing his friends and new girlfriend, Millicent’s friend Emily Ebers if they find out he is taking summer school. He and Millicent craft a lie that protects Stanford’s secret (that he struggle in school) and Millie’s secret (that she is a genius), but threatens their friendships with Emily.  

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time is an accessible and funny book about a likeable under-achiever. It is not necessary to have read Millicent Min, Girl Genius to enjoy Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, but it is hilarious to see how different the same events look to these very different protagonists. Stanford comes across as a bit of a jerk in from Millicent’s perspective, but he is far more sensitive than she imagines. He certainly doesn’t see himself as the handsome, popular big-shot he is portrayed as. Instead, Stanford always feels on edge about his social status, which wasn’t always good. He is secret stress-knitter. He watches Sesame Street with his taciturn friend Stretch (who is so self-conscious about his voice change that he never speaks.) At the same time, Stanford is a very talented athlete with a tight-knit group of friends (and a frenemy, the mean-spirited and trouble Digger).  This book may appeal more to boys, with its fart jokes and guy humor, but its humor and sensitive portrayal of Stanford will also appeal to girls.

Genre: Humor, Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Friendship Fiction

Reading level: 4^th grade 

Interest level: Grades 4-7

Subjects: School, Grades, Basketball, Family, Friends, Parental disapproval, Self-esteem, Popularity

Read-alikes:

Korman’s No More Dead Dogs

Series information:   

Millicent Min, Girl Genius

So Totally Emily Ebers 

Anastasia Krupnik

Lowry, Lois. Anastasia Krupnik. Houghton Mifflin, 1979. Tr. $13.95, ISBN 0-395-28629-8.

What’s it about?

Meet Anastasia Krupnik, a smart, quirky aspiring poet who documents the important things that happen during her tenth year, which is destined to be momentous.  

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Sensitive, quirky ten-year-old Anastasia Krupnik, daughter of a published poet and college professor and an artist, both slightly eccentric as well, keeps a list of the most important things that happened the year she was ten, and an ever-changing list of things she loves and things she hates. She is determined that the arrival of her baby brother will be terrible, and places babies in the “Things I Hate” column. Some things she goes back and forth on—her crush Washburn Cummings and her parents for instance—and she decides she has a mercurial temperament.  One thing she has always hated was her name. When she find out that Catholics get to choose a Saint’s name at confirmation, she decides she will become a Catholic—until she finds out that Catholics must confess their sins (even secret bad thoughts).  When she discovers that her mother is pregnant, she feels betrayed and decides to give her new brother the worst name ever.

Anastasia is a very well-drawn, flawed and engaging character. The humor of this book is subtle and intelligent. Anastasia crafts a magnificent, modernist poem that conveys the sounds and look of creatures that live in tidepools after dark. Instead of being stunned by her gift and precociousness, Mrs. Westvessel gives her an F because the poem doesn’t rhyme or contain standard punctuation and capitalization.  In her class, directions must be followed, and she’d explained what she was expecting from the class. After Anastasia’s conversation with her father, the reader draws the conclusion that Mrs. Westvessel doesn’t understand everything she teaches. Although this book is largely light-hearted, Anastasia’s relationship and sadness about her frail and senile 92-year-old grandmother is very poignant and painful.  Anastasia also learns to recognize that she has misjudged some people in her life, including Mrs. Westvessel, who actually turns out to be very kind (albeit not the best teacher of poetry!). This is not one of Lowry’s best known works, but like everything she has written, it is a gem.  

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-6

Subjects: Family relationships, Siblings

Read-alikes:

Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy

Series information:

Anastasia Again (1981)

Anastasia at Your Service (1982)

Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst (1984)

Anastasia on Her Own (1985)

Anastasia Has the Answers (1986)

Anastasia’s Chosen Career (1987)

Anastasia at this Address (1991)

Anastasia Absolutely (1995)

Related series (features Anastasia’s younger brother Sam):

All About Sam (1988)

Attaboy, Sam! (1992)

See You Around, Sam! (1996)

Zooman Sam (1999)

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Konigsburg, E.L. From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Aladdin Paperbacks, 1972 (c. 1967). Paperback $5.50, ISBN 0-689-71181-6.

What’s it about?

Twelve-year-old Claudia and her younger brother Jamie run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they encounter a beautiful statue of an angel that may or may not have been sculpted by Michelangelo. Jamie and Claudia are determined to solve the mystery of the angel’s creator, and uncover more than they bargained for.

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Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid feels unappreciated and tired of her ordinary existence, and sets out to run away and teach her family a little lesson. She is a creature of comfort, however, so the place she runs away to must be beautiful and comfortable. The Metropolitan Museum of Art fits the bill. She needs money to pull this off successfully, and invites her nine-year-old, penny-pinching brother Jamie along. The two have fun evading the guards, finding places to sleep undiscovered, and blending in with school groups. When a gorgeous statue of an angel appears at the museum, enveloped in mystery, the Claudia decides that her new mission is to find out if the sculpture is indeed the work of Michelangelo. Their detective work eventually leads them to the doorstep of the uber-wealthy elderly Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the woman who sold the statue to the museum for a measly $225 dollars. The two uncover the secrets of the statue by telling the secret-loving woman their own secrets of how they managed to evade discovery at the museum.

Although this book is a light-hearted mystery, it is also a work of art. Konigsburg’ has crafted believable characters who behave believably in a rather implausible situation. This makes this story all the funnier. Jamie has the best lines: when he is nearly discovered by a guard when he’s hiding in the men’s room, the startled guard asks “Where did you come from?” Jamie responds: “Mother always said I came from Heaven.” This book is extremely funny, but it has a deeper undertone that sets it apart from other amusing adventure stories. Claudia’s deep need to escape the prosaic is not a typical reason that a child runs away. Mrs.Frankweiler is not a typical art collector, either. She treasures the secrets and stories behind each piece more than the monetary value. There are also some poignant moments. Mrs. Frankweiler, in exchange for the children’s secrets about their adventure, bequeaths Michelangelo’s signed sketch of the angel. On their ride home, the two children decide that Mrs. Frankweiler (who confesses to the children that she’d always wanted to be a mother) will be their secret grandmother.

There is an amazing twist to Konigsberg’s classic mystery. In 1995, a professor noticed a statue of a cupid in the courtyard of the French Embassy’s cultural services building, which is on Fifth Avenue. She became convinced that this was actually a Michelangelo sculpture.  She investigated the statue and announced that it was indeed an early work by Michelangelo. Konigsberg’s fans were stunned, and wondered if she’d known about this statue all along. She didn’t, but this story adds a new and special twist to this timeless novel.    

Genre: Mystery, Adventure, Humor

Reading Level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-6

Read-alikes:

Balliet’s Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3

Raskin’s Westing Game

Subjects: Runaways, Museums, Sibling Relationships, Art of the Renaissance

Awards:

Newbery Medal (1968)

ALA Notable Book

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Beezus and Ramona

Cleary, Beverly. Beezus and Ramona. Illustrated by Louis Darling. Harperfestival, reissue 2010 (c. 1955).  Paperback $5.99 , ISBN 978-0061914614

What’s it about?

Nine-year-old Beatrice “Beezus” Quimby has a problem: an exasperating little sister, four-year-old troublemaker named Ramona, who does everything loudly and boisterously.  No other nine-year-old Beezus knows has a sister quite like Ramona.

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Ramona Quimby can be quite a pest, as her older sister Beezus can attest. Beezus (aka Beatrice) is a quiet, contemplative child.  Her younger sister’s antics often disrupt her life, from the time Ramona locks her friend’s dog in the bathroom to the time she sits in during Beezus’ art class.  It’s the last straw for Beezus, however, when Ramona ruins not one, but two birthday cakes on Beezus’ tenth birthday. The first time, Ramona decided to drop all the eggs in the house (shells and all) into the batter. The second time, Ramona is playing Hansel and Gretel with her doll Bendix. She sticks her doll in the oven, where it falls into the cake and scorches.  Beezus feels just awful, and it is not just because her cakes were spoiled. She feels that she is a horrible human being for sometimes not loving Ramona. When she blurts this out at her birthday dinner, instead of being shocked, her family understands. Her mother and her aunt can relate—and tell her all about the mischief they got into when they were kids. Beezus feels optimistic that one day she and Ramona will look back on Ramona’s obnoxious behavior and laugh.

Beezus and Ramona is hilarious. Cleary does a wonderful job of capturing a rowdy four-year-old’s behavior and making it more than sheer brattiness. Of course, there are moments when Ramona is just bratty, but what makes Ramona memorable is the way she thinks. She hides in the basement and eats just one bite out of dozens of apples. Why? Because the first bite is tastes the best! Even Beezus can’t refute this fact. When Ramona secretly invites her entire nursery school class over one day to have a party, she explains to her mother that when she asks, she doesn’t get to do things. When Ramona locks Henry’s dog Ribsy in the bathroom, she does so because she was giving him a time out (he ate her cookie).  Cleary also does an excellent job of painting a sympathetic portrait of Beezus and her feelings of being overshadowed and frustrated. The pen and ink illustrations by Louis Darling are excellent, and accent the humor and deftness of Cleary’s storytelling.

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 3-5

Subjects: Sibling relationships, Pre-school-aged children

Read-alikes:

Blume’s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. Illustrated by the author. HarperCollins Publishers, 1974. Tr. $18.99, ISBN 978-0-06-025667-8

What’s it about? Where the Sidewalk Ends is an illustrated collection of humorous light verse that has stood the test of time.

Find out more: Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends it is a language-loving romp about an array of subjects and peopled with strange characters, such as the boy who lost his head while playing with his cousin (in “The Loser”), a girl named  Melinda Mae who ate an entire whale, a boy named Jimmy Jet, who turned into a TV set, and Chester who grew another head, to name a few. There are also poems about doing chores (in Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout), snowmen, unicorns, and a two-tailed dog. Breezy pen sketches accompany the poems. The collection has an index arranged by poem titles, helpful for children or adults wanting to revisit a particular poem.

Where the Sidewalk Ends is currently the bestselling book of children’s poetry in the world.  It was originally published in 1974, and is now considered a classic and a favorite of elementary school aged children. Its popularity is due to the zany wit and wordplay in these poems. Silverstein had a keen ear for rhythm and a great understanding of what makes kids (and adults!) laugh. His drawings are hilarious and weird, and add to the poems rather than distract or detract from them. This excellent collection has wide appeal, and is ideal to introduce to children resistant to reading poetry.

Genre: Non-fiction, Poetry, Humor

Subjects: Poetry, Light Verse

Reading level: 4^th grade

Interest level: Grades 2-6

Read-alikes:

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes

Jack Prelutsky’s A Pizza the Size of the Sun 

             

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Blume, Judy. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Puffin, 2007 (c. 1972). Paperback $ 5.99, ISBN-13 978-0142408810 

What’s it about? Peter Hatcher is sick and tired of being a Fourth Grade Nothing, overshadowed by his adorable,  havoc-wreaking, toddler brother Fudge. 

Find out more: Peter Hatcher is fourth grader with a cute younger brother, who goes by the nickname Fudge. Peter likes Fudge the best when he is asleep and puts his fingers in his mouth and makes a content slurping noise. When Fudge is awake, however, he is trouble. Like many toddlers, Fudge is in constant motion, exploring his environment (with the side effects of destructiveness and racket).  Peter is frustrated by the way adults treat Fudge and how Fudge gets away with awful behavior.  He feels like a fourth grade nothing, with his accomplishments and needs overshadowed by his little brother.

The title of the book is slightly misleading—the tales are Fudge-centric, which highlights how Peter feels—like a backdrop in his own life. Toddlers are egoists, and everything centers around them, which is tiresome when you yourself are still a child.  Peter comes across as more mature than his age, and his accounts of Fudge’s behavior are hilariously deadpan. The reader will feel sympathy for Peter, especially when he bears the blame for and the brunt of the misbehavior. There are some funny moments when Fudge’s idolization of his older brother Pee-tah comes in handy for handling Fudge’s difficult behavior, such as the ruse when Peter pretended to be getting the same type of shoes as Fudge. Any kid with a younger sibling will identify with Peter, and kids who are the babies of the family will enjoy the humor of these anecdotes. The target audience of this book is kids who are in upper elementary school. Both boys and girls will enjoy Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, which is still in print nearly 40 years later.

 I recall reading this book when I was in third grade and had a sister Fudge’s age. My sister was no Fudge—she was much better behaved (although she did swallow rocks and loose change).  I do remember feeling secondary to her, however, and I think most older siblings feel like Peter does when there is a sizeable age difference, especially in smaller families.  I loved every moment of the book, except for the fate of poor Dribble. I thought the turtle eating was impossible, and a literary device, but according to Blume, the inspiration came from an article published in the late 60s about a toddler who swallowed a pet turtle.

Genre label: Humor, Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Reading level: 3^rd grade

Interest level: Grades 3-6

Read-alikes:

Cleary’s Beezus and Ramona and Ramona the Pest

Subjects: Siblings, sibling relationships, family relationships, toddlers

Series information:

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (Judy Blume thinks of this as the second “Fudge” book)

Superfudge

Fudge-a-Mania

Double Fudge

Character name/descriptions:

Peter Hatcher—narrator & older brother to the mischevious toddler Fudge. Proud owner of an ill-fated turtle named Dribble

Jimmy Fargo—Peter’s friend and neighbor

Fudge—Peter’s younger brother, who ruins everything!

Sheila Tubman—Peter’s know-it-all classmate

Frindle

Clements, Andrew. Frindle. Simon & Schuster, 1996. Tr. $15.00,  ISBN 0-689-80669.

What’s it about?

Nick Allen is full of ideas, and his latest is to create a new entry in the lexicon. Need to jot down a note? Don’t grab a pen, grab a frindle!

Find out more:

Nick Allen is an idea man, but he’s afraid that his ideas will be squelched by his fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Granger, who is a strict dictionary aficionado.  When Nicholas tries his usual ploy to distract the teacher during the last few minutes of class so they won’t assign homework, Mrs. Granger instead assigns him a report on dictionaries, in answer to his question, “where did all the words come from?” in dictionaries. Indignant Nick researches his question, and the next day presents an epic report intending to suck up the entire class. He nearly succeeds, but the class is saddled with their usual homework load. During his report, he asks Mrs. Granger again why words mean different things. Mrs. Granger explains that we decide what goes in the dictionary.  Nick mulls this, and later that afternoon, has an “aha!” moment when he picks up a pen his friend has dropped. It’s not a pen, he declares. It’s a FRINDLE!  The word catches on quickly, and soon Mrs. Granger becomes frustrated and disciplines children using this word instead of pen. At that moment, pens stop being pens and are frindles.  The children rebel, and take pride in their frindle-induced detentions. Soon parents and the school board get involved, and the media (including Letterman!) is not far behind. Frindles even rake in a large profit when a local entrepreneur realizes the power of this subversive brand.

This is an excellent novella to hand to upper-elementary students. It’s a book about how language is living, malleable, and constantly changing.  It’s a book about character, as well.  Some people may not like the challenge to authority, but the challenge is an etymological challenge, and the thrust of this book is not negative.  Nicholas becomes extremely wealthy—and generous-- when the trust fund his dad set up with all the frindle merchandise profits becomes his at the age of 21.  He does buy himself some nice things—a fast computer, a mountain bike, some games-- but he also gifts his parents, older brother and niece, and sets up a one million dollar scholarship in Mrs. Granger’s name.  This book is a feel-good book, and a fun read that challenges our notions of language.  Mrs. Granger’s need to cast herself as the villain was a funny twist, and so is Selnick’s illustration of Nick on the David Letterman show.  Clemens has penned –er, frindled a winner!

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 3-6

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Humor

Subjects: Dictionaries, Words, Classrooms, Teachers, Inventions, Semantics

Awards:

Christopher Award (1997)

Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Award (1999)

Texas Children’s Crown Award (1999)

Read-alikes:

Avi’s Nothing but the Truth

Dahl’s Matilda

Characters:

Mrs. Granger—Nick’s fifth-grade teacher, a dictionary aficionado

Nicholas Allen—the protagonist, the inventor of the word “Frindle”

Mrs. Chatham—the principal of Lincoln Elementary

Babymouse: Queen of the World

Holm, Jennifer & Matthew Holm. Babymouse: Queen of the World!. Random House, 2005. Paperback $6.99, ISBN-13  978-0375832291

What’s it about? When Babymouse hears about Felicia Furrypaws’ party, she tries everything to get invited. But is Felicia really a friend?

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Babymouse feels overshadowed by the popular mean girl, queen bee Felicia Furrypaws. When Felicia throws a party and Babymouse is not invited, she tries to ingratiate herself to get an invitation. She tries different tactics, none successful, until Felicia forgets her book report and Babymouse lets her turn in hers. Finally, Babymouse has an in to the cool crowd!  She is over the moon until she remembers her plans with Wilson, her best friend. She feels guilty, but decides he will understand. Once she is at the party, she discovers how boring and mean Felicia really is. Felicia ignores Babymouse, having her do things for Felicia and her friends. Finally Babymouse gets frustrated and dumps butter and popcorn on Felicia and goes to spend the rest of the evening with Wilson, and has a blast.

Babymouse is a humorous graphic novel about popularity, its costs, standing up for oneself, and the importance of each individual. What differentiates this tale from other books for children about popularity is the format (graphic novels for this age group tend to be more action/fantasy oriented), the humorous interjections of Babymouse’s imagination, and the choice of character design. The reader is easily able to distinguish between the Babymouse’s fantasies and reality since the fantasies are splashed liberally with pink, while real-life is a more mundance black and white. Rather than using human characters or animal characters of the same species, the characters include giraffes, cats, hippos, and, of course, mice. This could be reading too much into things, but perhaps this reflects the vast differences between people and their roles and abilities. Despite these differences, everyone’s worth is the same, everyone’s important and a queen in their own life. This is something Babymouse discovers by the end of the novel.  

Genre label: Humor, Friendship Fiction

Reading level: 2^nd grade

Interest level: Grades 3-5

Read-alikes:

Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes series 

Spires’ Binky series

Cabot’s Ally Finkle’s Rules for Girls series

Subjects: Popularity, friendship, imagination

Series information:

#2 Our Hero

#3 Beach Babe

#4 Rock Star

#5 Heartbreaker

#6 Camp Babymouse

#7 Skater Girl

#8 Puppy Love

#9 Monster Mash

#10 The Musical

#11 Dragonslayer

#12 Burns Rubber

#13 Cupcake Tycoon

#14 Mad Scientist

#15 A Very Babymouse Christmas

Characters:

Babymouse—imaginative mouse who wants adventure, glamour and excitement!

Felicia Furrypaws—the Queen Bee mean girl at Babymouse’s school

Wilson the Weasel—Babymouse’s longtime best friend

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

Berk, Josh. The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin. Borzoi, 2010. Tr. $16.99 ISBN 978-0-375-85699-0

What’s it about?

Will Halpin, a hefty deaf high school student attends a “mainstream” high school. When one of his fellow students, a morally bankrupt son of a casino owner, Pat Chambers, falls to his death on a field trip to the local coal mine where Halpin’s own great-uncle “Dummy” Halpin died, he and his buddy Devon Smiley solve the case.

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Will Halpin, an expert lip-reader and amateur sleuth, whose IM handle is “Hamburger Halpin” is attending a mainstream high school after years of deaf school—and while he is finding the social lives of his fellow students intriguing and rich in irony, he wishes he wasn’t the butt of jokes, along with his new friend Devon Smiley, who is on the bottom of the social heap, so low on the food chain, that “even teachers and C-listers rip on him.” Will begins to fall for a beautiful, popular girl Leigha, who appears to be beaten by her bully boyfriend, the popular and morally bankrupt Pat Chambers. When Will’s class takes a field trip to visit the local coal mines, and Pat falls to his death, there are numerous suspects. Will and Devon team together to solve the crime, and their exploits place them in the thick of the investigation—and under suspicion.

This is one of darker, funnier books I’ve read in the past few years. Will has a self-deprecating sense of humor, and has a keen eye for the social drama in others’ lives and writes his sarcastic observations in a notebook. His humorous IM and text exchanges with Devon further add levity to this black comedy. Will’s narration is strong, and never self-pitying. The reader will find his letter to Leigha both naïve and hilarious.  There are many moment in this book where I cringed and laughed at the same time. This is a timely novel, filled with pop culture and technological references, but the themes of disability, crime, corruption and friendship are timeless.

Genre:  Humor, Mystery, Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Reading level: Grades 5-6

Interest level: Grades 6-12

Subjects: Crime, Deafness, Friendship, Popularity, High School

Read alikes:

Edmond’s Happyface

Schmidt’s Okay for Now

Bray’s Going Bovine 

King’s Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Babysitter's Club Graphic Novel: Kristy's Great Idea

Telgemeier, Raina. The Baby Sitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea. Graphix, 2006. Paperback $8.99 ISBN-10 0-439-73933-0

What’s it about?

Kristy Thomas and her friends are baby-sitting pros. Kristy gets an idea that will increase their business—forming a Baby-Sitters Club, where parents need to place just one call to find a group of experienced babysitters.

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 This graphic novel adaptation of the first Baby-sitter’s Club book (BSC) in the popular, long-lived series which began in the late eighties, is not just about babysitting. Babysitting is the backdrop of the lives of four girls, Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, each with their own private dramas, like divorce, the death of a parent, diabetes, crushes, sibling rivalry and family pressure. This story centers around Kristy’s experiences, with the central drama being her parent’s divorce. Kristy is vehemently opposed to her mother remarrying, and initially refuses to have anything to do with her mother’s fiancé, Watson, and his children Karen and Andrew. When Mary Ann babysits for them (because Kristy won’t), she writes in a Baby-sitter’s Club log that the kids are cute, and that Kristy would like them if she gave them a chance. Eventually, Kristy warms up to the idea of her mother remarrying. Another sub-plot in this graphic novel is the friendship between the four girls, which becomes strained when some girls feel that the jobs aren’t being evenly distributed.

All told, this is a very tween-friendly graphic novel that portrays a group of pre-teen friends starting their own business. The story-telling is light-hearted and humorous, and the darker elements aren’t heavy-handed.  The girls’ response to Stacey’s diabetes is relief that she is not anorexic, a somewhat puzzling reaction, since both are serious and potentially life-threatening conditions. What carries these girls through their struggles, including jealousy and resentment, is the high value place on their friendship. Friendship is a central theme of this graphic novel, as well as the series it is based upon. This is a positive, upbeat book, and while some of the heavier elements are wrapped up a little too neatly in an after-school special sort of manner, the deft, appealing artwork and the fast-paced, readable dialog makes this an enjoyable read for tween girls.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 4^th grade

Interest level: Grades 3-6

Read-alikes:

McDonald’s The Sisters Club

Myracle’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen

Naylor’s Alice series

Subjects: Friendship, Family, Divorce, Baby-sitting, Tween girls, Entrepreners

Series information:

The Baby-Sitters Club: The Truth About Stacy (BSC Graphix, 2006)

The Baby-Sitters Club: Mary Anne Saves The Day (BSC Graphix, 2007)

 The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and Mean Janine (BSC Graphix, 2008)

Characters:

Kristy—tomboyish, impulsive mastermind of the Baby-Sitter’s Club

Claudia—creative and fun-loving, with a phone in her room and a Grammar-Nazi sister

Mary Anne—shy and studious, and being raised by her strict single father

Stacey—new to Stonybrook, a friendly girl recently diagnosed with diabetes

Step Back in Time with Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888

Thayer, Ernest Lawrence. Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888. Illustrated by Christopher Bing. Handprint Books, 2000. Tr. $18.99 ISBN  978-1-929766-00-0

What’s it about? Christopher Bing  used a variety of media, including scratchboard sketches, baseball ephemera, and digital art, all collaged together in this unique retelling of Thayer’s classic poem  Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888.

Find out more: The game is on the line: the home Mudville team is down 4 to 2 in the eighth. The home fans hope their star player Casey can get to bat and change the course of the game. It begins to look better for Mudville when Flynn and Blake make it to second and third. Then Casey steps up to the plate. Will there be joy in Mudville today? Casey lets two pitches go—then swings mightily at the third pitch. Alas, a forlorn Mudville see Casey strike out. Sound familiar? It should; Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 is a classic poem pinned by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.

Christopher Bing presents this poem with unusual multi-media illustrations that take the reader an amazing step back in time, to 1888, when the legendary Casey stepped up to the plate. The antique look of this work was achieved through a combination of digital art, baseball ephemera, and scanned pen and ink on scratchboard.   This brilliant approach juxtaposes text with vintage ads. On the page detailing how a “sickly silence” fell on the crowd, there is a torn-out newspaper advertisement for Cockle’s anti bilious pills. This type of wry humor peppers this unique book, which may make even the youngest readers feel nostalgic for a time no person alive can remember.

Genre: Non-fiction, Poetry, Humor

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 3-6

Read-alikes:

Myer’s Jabberwocky

Awards:

Caldecott Honor book, 2001

ALA Notable Children’s Book, 2001

Smile!

Telegemeier, Raina. Smile. Graphix, 2010. Tr. $10.99 ISBN 978-0-545-13206-0.

What’s it about?

Smile is a graphic novel memoir that tells the story of Raina, who knocks out her two front teeth when she is eleven and undergoes years of dental surgery, braces, head-gear and an embarrassing retainer with fake teeth attached.    

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Eleven-year-old Raina trips and knocks out her two front teeth after a Girl Scout meeting, and her smile is never quite the same, as she undergoes years of dental surgery, braces, head-gear and even an embarrassing retainer that has fake teeth attached.  After the initial treatment, when the dentist is able to pull the impacted tooth back down and put back the one that fell out, Raina’s teeth still don’t look quite right. They are much shorter than her other teeth because the bone has been damaged as well.  Smile shows the impact the seemingly endless dental trauma has on her self-esteem and the teasing  she endures because of it. 

Smile is a great book to hand pre-teens and young teens, particularly girls, because these are awkward years, with lots of physical changes, teasing, and battles with personal appearance.  Raina eventually finds a new group of friends that don’t hassle her about her appearance, and when the novel closes, she seems more comfortable in her own skin.  The colorful, lively artwork has many comic moments, and the tone is never overly serious.  Telegemeier does a good job of keeping things in perspective—after Raina weathers a major earthquake, she comments “I guess in the grand scheme of things losing a couple of teeth isn’t the end of the world.”

Genre: Non-fiction; Humor; Graphic Novel Memoir

Reading level: 3^rd grade

Interest level: Grades 5-9

Read-alikes:

Steinberger’s Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventures in Japan

Hicks’ War at Ellsmere

Awards:

Appears on Kirkus’ “Best Young Adult Books” list (2010)

On YALSA’s 2011 list “Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens”

Subjects: Dental injuries, Middle school, High School, Fitting in, Appearance, Relationships, Earthquakes, Self-esteem