Published by Candlewick Press 

Summary:  When a family of three from Florida gets caught in an Ohio blizzard, things go downhill pretty quickly.  Unable to find their way. and exhausted from plowing through the deep snow, they finally dig a hole to take shelter and huddle together to wait out the storm.  From time to time, the father stands up to whistle, hoping someone will hear this call for help.  On a nearby farm, the whistle catches the sharp ears of a cattle dog, and she sets out to locate the source.  Finding the family, she stays with them long enough to warm them a bit, then heads back to her farm.  She drives the cattle across the snow, flattening it enough that the family is able to walk across it and at last find shelter with the old farmer who owns the dog.  Many years later, the boy in the family, now 18 years old, returns to the farm to try to reconstruct the miraculous rescue.  What he finds there changes the course of his life going forward.  103 pages; ages 9-13.

Pros:  Dog fanciers will fall in love with the courageous, intelligent cattle dog, who, along with the other characters, is nameless until the very end of the story.  The color illustrations perfectly capture the feel of the blinding snow and the warm farmhouse.

Cons: While the short text and plentiful illustrations make this feel like an early chapter book, the vocabulary and inferencing skills needed make it more appropriate for an older audience.

Happy new year!  In answer to a couple questions I had yesterday, yes, I plan to continue a daily review of books in 2016.  Unfortunately, I’m not on the publishers’ lists for advanced reading copies (yet!), so I have to wait until books are released to read them.  I’ll continue with 2015 reviews for the next 2-4 weeks, then move into 2016.

You might think that reviewing a book every day, I’d have gotten to all the books I wanted to read in 2015.  Not so.  With the end in sight, there are a few I’m pretty sure I’m not going to get to before I switch over to 2016.  But I’d like you to know about them in case you want to read them.  Here they are, with descriptions based on what I’ve read and heard:

My Diary from the Edge of the World by Jodi Lynn Anderson.  Published by Aladdin.

Gracie lives in a parallel world, recognizable as Maine, but co-inhabited by Sasquatches and dragons.  Led by her absent-minded scientist father, who is sure of the existence of the Extraordinary World (i.e., our own world), the family goes off on a cross-country adventure, seeking a safer haven.

 

The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell Bryce.  Published by Walden Pond Press.

The story of two boys–formerly a bully and his favorite victim–who are hospitalized together when they both turn green.  Certain they have new superpowers, the two of them sneak out of the hospital each night to seek adventure.

Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu.  Published by Katherine Tegen Books.

Silly and her three older sisters seek refuge from their alcoholic mother when they discover the closets in their house lead to alternate worlds.  At first the closets seem to be a refuge, but soon a darker side appears.  When one of the sisters gets trapped in another world, the other three must figure out a way to rescue her and to learn to survive in their real world.  (Okay, this sounds REALLY good.  Why didn’t I ever read it?).

Firefly Hollow by Allison McGhee.  Illustrated by Christopher Denise.  Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The story of a friendship between a cricket, a firefly, and a boy, and how they work together, mentored by a wise old vole, to make their dreams come true.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick.  Published by Scholastic Press.

As he did in Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick has created two stories, one told in text and the other, in the middle of the book, related with pictures.  One story tells of the Marvel family from 1766 to 1900; the other begins one hundred years later.  Kids who love Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck won’t want to miss The Marvels.

Well,  you never know with the Newbery, but these are less likely contenders.  Nevertheless, they were among my favorites in 2015.

 

The Detective’s Assistant by Kate Hannigan.  Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Nell was one of the feistier characters to grace the pages of 2015 books.  Teaming up with her based-on-real-life Aunt Kate, a Pinkerton detective, the two of them solve murder mysteries and prevent an attempt on the life of newly-elected President Abraham Lincoln.

 

Watch the Sky by Kirsten Hubbard.  Published by Disney-Hyperion.

And here we have one of the year’s creepiest characters.  Jory’s stepfather Caleb sees signs of end times everywhere.  His solution?  Put the whole family to work digging night and day to create a protective bunker and bury themselves before the world comes to an end.

 

Masterminds by Gordon Korman.  Published by Balzer + Bray.  Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aljgBApiwM

Serenity, New Mexico seems too good to be true.  And you know what they say, when something seems too good to be true, it usually is.  Five kids unravel the secrets of their perfect town and end up running for their lives.

 

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen.  Published by Scholastic Press.

During the few days Gerta’s father and brother are in West Berlin looking for jobs, the Berlin Wall goes up.  Their family remains divided for years, until one day Gerta sees her father on top of the wall, pantomiming for her to dig.  Now it’s up to her and her older brother to tunnel under the wall to freedom before neighbors and East German officials can catch on to what they’re doing and put a violent stop to their plan.

 

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands.  Published by Aladdin.  Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InHiOzdWRD0

A story about 17th-century English apothecaries?  Yeah, it didn’t really catch my eye at first either.  Turns out it’s a mystery full of complex codes, secret societies, and a serial killer who is targeting…you guessed it, 17th-century English apothecaries.  All told in apprentice Christopher’s lively and humorous voice.

Given every year for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children”, the 2016 Newbery will remain anyone’s guess until January 11.  That doesn’t stop wild speculation from occurring all over the children’s literature world.  Here are five that I’d like to see get recognized:

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  Published by Dial Books.

Released on January 5, the first middle grade book I reviewed, this was my favorite novel of the year.  Ada’s story of escape from her abusive mother is also the story of redemption for not only Ada, but her brother, Jamie,  and their new “mother”, Susan, as well.

 

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai.  Published by HarperCollins.

I waited almost ten months to finally get around to this book.  I didn’t expect it to be so funny, or to make me want to visit the fascinating country of Vietnam.

 

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelly Pearsall.  Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Arthur, the Junk Man, Arthur’s mother, Squeak…I found them all kind of unappealing at the beginning of the story, but they gradually worked their way into my heart, until I was rooting for each one to play his or her part in bringing about the unveiling The Throne of the Third Heaven masterpiece.

 

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan.  Published by Scholastic

Otto’s magical fairy tale weaves its way through the three stories of Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy, each enduring difficult circumstances during the years of World War II.  An enchanted harmonica falls into each of their hands, its beautiful music bringing joy during dark times, until the music brings all three together in the end.

 

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead.  Published by Wendy Lamb Books.

Seventh grade is the main character of this story about three friends finding their way through this exciting and difficult year, remaining loyal despite the increasingly different paths their lives take.  A mysterious second-person narrator’s story is interspersed with the chapters that make up the main narrative, until all the threads weave together at the end.

Published by HarperCollins 

Summary:  12-year-old Mai thinks her summer is ruined when she learns that, instead of getting to hang out at the beach with her best friend and the boy she has a crush on, she has to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother and father.  Her grandmother has heard from a Vietnamese detective that he may have news of her husband, missing in action since the war.  Vietnam turns out to be hot and sticky, mosquito-infested, and overrun with dozens of relatives who never leave Mai alone.  At first, all she can think about is how to get back to California as fast as possible, but as the summer progresses, she learns more about her family and the country they once lived in.  A cousin with a buzz cut, a pet frog, and an attitude eventually turns into a friend.  Most of all, Mai sees the strength of her grandmother who raised seven children alone and left Vietnam during the fall of Saigon to make sure her children would be safe and successful, and the love between her grandparents that survived their long separation.  272 pages; grades 4-8.

Pros:  A funny coming-of-age novel, a tragic war story, and a love song to Vietnam all rolled into one.  Mai’s voice is perfect, as she slowly matures from a self-centered California girl to a (more or less) compassionate young woman.  I never thought I wanted to visit Vietnam until I read this book.

Cons:  The ending left me wanting more.

 

Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary: 12 year-old Timothy is starting a year of house arrest for stealing a wallet. As part of his probation, he has to keep a journal about his feelings.  Writing in verse, Timothy recounts his life with his mother and baby brother, Levi, whose respiratory problems force him to have a tracheotomy.  This life-threatening health issue proved too much for Timothy’s dad, who abandoned the family when Levi was just a few months old.  Their mother works to support the family and takes care of Levi day and night.  Timothy reveals that he took the wallet so he could fund Levi’s medications for a month and try to give his mom a break.  His gruff but kind probation officer and his young, earnest psychologist are just two of the people who help Timothy find his way through a long and difficult year.  It’s a roller coaster ride, but the end holds out hope that all members of the family will make it.  304 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  This fast-paced novel is hard to put down.  Reluctant readers will get caught up in Timothy’s life, and the verse format makes the story move quickly.

Cons:  Novels in verse can be a hard sell for kids unfamiliar with the format.