Middle grade fiction

Ava and Taco Cat by Carol Weston

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Published by Sourcebook Jabberwocky

Summary:  When Ava’s mom tells the family about the beat-up cat being treated at the vet clinic where she works, Ava decides she must have this cat for her birthday.  She launches an ingenious, and ultimately successful, campaign, and the cat is theirs.  She and her family love all kinds of wordplay, and they give their cat a palindrome for a name, Taco Cat.  Written in diary form, Ava relates how she helps the timid new cat bond with her family, and how he influences aspects of her life like friendships and her writing.  A story she writes about Taco ends up in the newspaper, and disaster strikes when Taco’s original owner sees it.  Ava is forced to make a very difficult decision about what is best for her new pet.  Grades 4-6.

Pros:  Ava is an endearing, intelligent, and not overly sophisticated narrator.  The diary format keeps the story moving swiftly.  Fans of Judy Moody and Allie Finkle will enjoy this book and its predecessor, Ava and Pip.

Cons:  Ava occasionally seems a bit wise beyond her years.

The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein

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Published by Random House Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Summer’s not looking too exciting for Billy.  His parents have recently separated, and he’s staying with his mother at a lakeside cabin that has no TV.  Forced to read books, he discovers that whatever he reads comes to life on an island in the middle of the lake.  Billy teams up with his neighbor Walter as well as Robin Hood, Tom Sawyer, Pollyanna, and Hercules to find treasure that’s supposed to be buried on the island.  Their efforts are constantly thwarted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, Jack’s giant, and the neighborhood bully.  As fun as the adventures are, the questions remain: who is Dr. Libris and why does his library come to life on the island?  In his quest to learn the answers, Billy learns about the power of his own imagination.  Recommended for grades 4-6.

Pros:  Lots of action, humor, and some fun puzzles to solve.

Cons:  Many of the literary allusions may be lost on readers not familiar with the classics.

 

Lucky Strike by Bobbie Pyron

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Arthur A. Levine Books

Summary:  Nate is the unluckiest boy in the whole town of Paradise Beach, Florida.  Fortunately, he has a good friend, Genesis (Gen), who sticks with him no matter how many unlucky things happen to him.  His bad luck culminates on his birthday, when he’s struck by lightning while playing miniature golf.  When he regains consciousness, he slowly begins to realize that his luck has changed.  The toaster that always burned his toast now toasts it to golden perfection.  He fixes engines just by touching them.  And the kids who used to bully him and Gen now want to be his friend.  It’s all great fun at first, but gradually his new-found luck begins to take him away from Gen, and he starts to wonder if people like him for himself or his good luck.  Will it take another force of nature to get Nate’s life back on track?  Recommended for grades 4-6.

Pros:  Great setting, quirky but not too quirky characters, and a fun plot.

Cons:  The story was a little slow in parts.

Ratscalibur by Josh Lieb

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Published by Razorbill

Summary:  Joey isn’t very excited about moving to the city, and isn’t much comforted when Uncle Patrick shows up with a gift—a new pet rat.  That night, though, the rat talks to Joey, and the next thing Joey knows, he has turned into a rat himself.  The rat sends him on a quest, and Joey the rat discovers the Lower Realm, a kingdom of rats and other creatures that lives throughout the city.  Joey notices that most of the rats are armed, so he decides to grab a plastic spork he sees stuck in a stale biscuit.  He pulls it out, and all the rats fall silent.  It turns out that spork is Excalibur, the Spork in the Scone, and the fact that Joey has pulled it out means he is destined to be a hero.  And the adventure begins….  Recommended for grades 3-6.

Pros:  I’ll admit, my expectations of a book called Ratscalibur penned by a TV writer were pretty low.  I was happily surprised by this exciting adventure story peopled (ratted?) with a cast of interesting characters.  The magic (or ragic, as it’s called in the rat world) has a complicated set of rules which were fun to learn about, and there’s a surprising twist near the end which seems to lay the groundwork for a sequel.

Cons:  Many of the Arthurian allusions will be lost on young readers.  Indeed, I have a feeling quite a few were lost on this older reader.

The Curious Cat Spy Club by Linda Joy Singleton

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Albert Whitman & Company

Summary:  When Kelsey helps stop a runaway zorse (a cross between a horse and a zebra), she gets more than she bargained for.  The zorse belongs to Becca, one of the most popular girls in school.  Ducking into an alley to avoid a boy from school, the two girls discover a bag of kittens in a dumpster.  A third member, Leo, gets involved in the rescue, and the unlikely trio decides to form a club to protect the kittens until they can find them homes.  Kelsey has always dreamed of being a detective, and now she has a real mystery on her hands…who put the kittens in the dumpster?  As the Curious Cat Spy Club works to solve it, they uncover a whole pet-napping ring right in their neighborhood.  Recommended for grades 4-6.

Pros:  This well-paced mystery will keep readers guessing right up to the end.  In Nancy Drew-like fashion, the last few chapters involve an exciting run-in with the villain and more than one narrow escape.  There are interesting subplots that give the characters more depth, such as Kelsey’s and Leo’s family issues and Becca’s thwarted romance.

Cons:  Kelsey didn’t get to keep her kitten.  But the cover says this is an exciting new mystery series, so there may yet be hope.

Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis

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Published by BOOM! Box

Summary:  April, Jo, Ripley, Molly, and Mal are five very different girls enjoying summer camp.  And what a camp!  In the first few pages, the girls ward off a pack of talking foxes who deliver a cryptic message, “Beware the kitten holy”.  They return home to a very angry camp counselor, Jo, and a more lenient camp director, Rosie, who seems to know more than she’s telling.  Originally four comic books, each section is introduced with a page from the Lumberjanes Field Manual, describing a merit badge (“Up All Night Badge”, “Robyn Hood Badge”).  Filled with friendship and Girl Power, there are sure to be more Lumberjanes adventures.

Pros:  Holy Mae Jemison (she and other female heroes are frequently used in exclamatory contexts)!  Each girl has a strong and distinctive personality, and there’s a new adventure on every page.  The Lumberjanes are sure to popular with those ready to move on from Raina Telgemeier.

Cons:  The portrayal of boys is not very flattering (they’re cookie-baking, housecleaning simpletons until they transform into evil monsters).

The Rat with the Human Face by Tom Angleberger

~ Janet Dawson ~ 5 Comments

Published by Harry N. Abrams

Summary:  This is the second of the Qwikpick Papers, three sets of papers supposedly found by Tom Angleberger in an old Qwikpick gas station in Crickenburg, Virginia.  It reports the escapades of Lyle, Dave, and Marilla, the three 11-year-old members of the Qwikpick Adventure Society.  In the first book, they searched for and found a poop fountain.  This adventure begins when the three friends overhear an electrician at the Qwikpick (where Lyle’s parents work) talking about his encounter with a rat with a human face in the basement of an old research lab.  The kids decide finding this rat will be their next escapade.  Of course, just about everything goes wrong, and in the end Marilla’s father bans her from Qwikpick membership.  There are a few glimmers of hope, though…the kids actually see the rat, and could that be a romance beginning between Lyle and Marilla?  A sequel is all but guaranteed.  Grades 3-6.

Pros:  The kids’ voices are so genuine, it is hard to believe they didn’t really write this report.  Tom Angleberger, author of the Origami Yoda series, is a master of quirky details that seem just odd enough to be true, like the stuffed Andrew Jackson doll in the Qwikpick crane game.

Cons:  I read this book when I had jury duty, hoping that the title would convince the judge I was unfit to serve.  Unfortunately, we were all dismissed before I could test my hypothesis.

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

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Published by Wendy Lamb Books

Summary:  Twelve-year-old Twig lives in the idyllic western Massachusetts town of Sidwell, where her mother runs an orchard and bakery.  She wishes she had friends, but her mother forbids it.  Turns out Twig’s older brother James was born with wings, part of an ancient family curse, and their mother is determined to hide him from the rest of the town.  But James sneaks out at night, flying over the woods, and now the whole town is convinced there’s a Sidwell monster.  Meanwhile, the family gets some new neighbors, including two girls just the ages of Twig and James, who are related to the witch who cursed Twig’s family 200 years ago.  Their presence sets off a whole chain of events that threatens to disrupt the lives of every member of Twig’s family.  Recommended for grades 4 and up.

Pros:  Twig is a believable and sympathetic narrator, and the magic elements in her life seem natural and ordinary.  Some of my favorite childhood books, by author Edward Eager, are referenced, and this book contains similar elements of magic occurring in the lives of ordinary mortals.

Cons:  I listened to this book on CD, and it took me a while to get through disc 1.  Readers may need a little perseverance at the start.

The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  It starts, not surprisingly, with a fart.  Reese accuses his twin sister Claudia in front of a bunch of sixth graders, and Claudia decides she wants revenge.  So she puts a dead fish in his backpack.  War between the siblings is declared, and the battles escalate.  The oral history of this conflict has been compiled by Claudia, and is told mostly as short snippets alternating between Reese and Claudia, with occasional additions from other characters.  Texts between the parents appear in almost every chapter, as do sketches and photographs.  In the end, the twins learn a thing or two about revenge, cyberbullying, and each other.  Recommended for grades 3-6.

Pros:  Written by the screenwriter of Daddy Day Care and RV, this book has its finger squarely on the pulse of contemporary eleven-year-olds.  My expectations were low, but I was pleasantly surprised by both the story and the characters.  The most reluctant reader may be enticed by this book, and fans will be happy to see that the first chapter of the sequel is included at the end.

Cons:  Great literature?  Let’s just say this book won’t be on the short list for the Newbery Medal.

The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Sixth-grader Iris is miserable about her family’s move from sunny California to rainy Corvallis, Oregon.  Her father has decided to turn their new house into a self-sustaining “homestead”, her mother is wrapped up in her new job, and Iris is having trouble making friends.  Worst of all, she is still grieving for her best friend Sarah, whose death was the impetus for the move.  Then Iris meets Boris, a Magic-playing, self-centered classmate with no table manners, who unexpectedly turns out to be a friend.  Even more unexpectedly, she finds out that his death-defying birth was a miracle, in the process of being documented by the Vatican.  If miracles are possible for Boris, might there be a miracle that can help her connect with Sarah again?  Recommended for grades 4-6.

Pros:  This book delves right into the big questions about God, life after death, and who gets a miracle in life.  It is a quiet, reflective book that could engender a lot of discussion.

Cons: I kept waiting for something big to happen.  It never did.