The Spiderwick Chronicles: Book 1, The Field Guide

DiTerlizzi, T. & Black, H. The Spiderwick Chronicles: Book 1, The Field Guide. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Plot Summary:
After their parent's recent divorce the Grace children, Mallory, Jared, and Simon, all move with their mom from their apartment in New York to a decrepit Victorian house belonging to their great-aunt, Lucinda. The Grace children immediately sense that there is more to this house than they can see. The scratching noise in the walls prompt them to break open part of the wall where they find an interesting little nest full of newspaper clippings and cockroaches strung up on a string. Mallory destroys the nest, thinking whatever it was that was making it will have to leave. But, destroying its home only makes this little creature angry and strikes vengeance on the Grace children. A note Jared finds in a secret room in the house leads him to discover Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You and the children learn that there is a lot more to this house and their world than they had ever realized.

Review:
This is a wonderfully imaginative book. It is rather short and a quick read, good for younger tweens. Plus, it's a series that leaves the reader with a great hook at the end of the first book, which will inspire young readers to pick up the next book in the series. The illustrations are awesome and add a lot to the book. The Grace children each have their own unique interests, and bond together in their quest to discover what is scurrying around in their house. The authors show the struggle of kids from a recently divorced family, as they are forced to leave the comfort of their home and make major changes in their lives. I look forward to reading more of the Grace children's adventures.

Genre:
fantasy

Reading Level:
Ages 7 - 12

Subjects/Themes:
divorce, siblings, faeries
Series Information:
Book 1 of The Spiderwick Chronicles

Character Names/Descriptions:
Jared Grace: 9 years-old; twins with Simon; brother to Mallory; parents recently divorce; he is having some trouble with his parent's divorce; he finds the Field Guide
Simon Grace: 9 years-old; twins with Jared; brother to Mallory; obsessed with animals; has creatures in jars all over the room he shares with Jared
Mallory Grace: 13 years-old; sister to Simon and Jared; loves fencing; destroys the nest in the wall; has her hair tied to her bed while she sleeps
Arthur Spiderwick: the father to Lucinda, the Grace children's great-aunt; made the Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You Jared finds
Lucinda Spiderwick: the Grace children's great-aunt; is in a home after going crazy talking about faeries; the Grace children go to live in her old Victorian home

Annotation:
After moving to a old Victorian home, the Grace children begin to feel that they are not alone in their new home. The discovery of a peculiar nest in the wall and an interesting book open their eyes to things beyond their imagination.

The Baby-Sitter's Club: Kristy's Great Idea

Martin, A. & Telgemeier, R. (2006). The Baby-Sitter's Club: Kristy's Great Idea. New York, NY: Graphix.

Plot Summary:
After seeing her mom struggle to find a babysitter for her little brother one night, Kristy had an idea. Why not only have one number people can call to reach many baby-sitters? It was this idea that formed the Baby-sitter’s Club. Kristy invited her friends Mary Ann and Claudia to join the club and Claudia recommended a new girl in town, Stacy to join as well. They decided that they would meet once a week at Claudia’s, because she had her own phone line in her room. Each girl decided to take a position in the club: Kristy as president, Claudia as vice president, Mary Ann as secretary, and Stacy as treasurer. The girls went out on their first jobs as part of the club and made notes about their experiences in the club notebook. In the meantime, Kristy’s mom has become very close with her boyfriend, Watson. This infuriates Kristy so much that she refuses to be civil to Watson and will not babysit his kids. In an emergency situation though, Kristy is forced to babysit Watson’s kids and grows to like them and Watson very much. The girls don’t know very much about Stacy and get concerned when they catch her in a lie, but it turns out that Stacy was embarrassed to tell them about her having diabetes. The girls embrace Stacy’s secret, which makes them all closer as friends and as members of the baby-sitter’s club.

Review:
I read so many of these books as a tween. It had been awhile since I’d read this one, so I was happy to re-read it in graphic novel format. My curiosity has me tempted to re-read the actual book to see what, if any, changes were made. I think these books transfer to graphic novel format really well. Kristy’s tween dramatics are great as illustrations, Telgemeier did a wonderful job with her many facial expressions. It was also great to see all of Claudia’s interesting clothing combinations. I’ve been spoiled by all the full color graphic novels I’ve been reading lately, so I was a little disappointed to learn that this one was only in black and white. But, that was quickly forgotten as I got swept up into the story and illustrations.

Genre:
graphic novel

Reading Level:
Ages 9 - 12

Subjects/Themes:
divorce, diabetes, friendships, babysitting

Series Information:
First book in the Baby-Sitter's Club graphic series.

Character Names/Descriptions:
Kristy Thomas: seventh grader; comes up with the idea for the Baby-sitter's Club; is president of the Babysitter's Club; is upset her mom is dating Watson
Mary Anne Spier: seventh grader; secretary of the Baby-sitter's Club; lives with her father, her mother is deceased; her father is overprotective
Claudia Kishi: seventh grader; vice president of the Baby-sitter's Club; the club meets at her house; has a book smart younger sister; her grandma Mimi lives with her family; funky dresser
Stacey McGill: seventh grader, treasurer of the Baby-sitter's Club; is new to town, just moved there from New York; has diabetes
Watson: Kristy's mom's boyfriend; has two young children

Annotation:
After seeing her mom struggle to find a sitter, Kristy comes up with an idea for her friends to start a baby--sitter's club.

The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez

Goldschmidt, J. (2005). The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Plot Summary:
Raisin Rodriguez is not having the best year of her life. She was happily living in Berkeley, CA with her mom and dad and little sister, when her parents decided get a divorce. Then, her mom falls in love and gets married to her business partner. Next thing Raisin knows she's moving all the way to Philadelphia to live with her new stepdad and stepsister. Raisin is miserable in her new town, she misses her two best friends, doesn't like her older stepsister, and only knows one person at school, a freckle-face son of a friend of her stepdad's. In an effort to keep in touch with her best friends Raisin begins a blog where she discusses every single detail of her life in Philadelphia, including the all the tragic details of her trying to become friends with the popular girls of her school. Just when things start looking up for Raisin, her blog gets leaked to the rest of the school, how will she be able to face all of her schoolmates once they know all the awful things she's said about them and embarrassing things she's admitted about herself?

Review:
This book is like the Bridget Jone's Diary for tweens. At times the book can be over the top with silly antics and funny scenarios, and yet Raisin is a girl dealing with real issues, common to girls her age. Raisin's parents just went through a divorce, she had to move across the country to live with a new family and leave behind all of her friends. She is having self-identity issues at the new school, wanting so badly to be popular, but not quite achieving that status. I felt that the narrator's silly and at times annoying antics were too much and covered up a lot of the real issues involved in the plot and she can be a bit of a bully. But, the book's intent was obviously meant to be more entertaining, with a bit of a moral thrown in. In the end it seems Raisin has turned over a new leaf, yet she continues to write negative things about her new friends on her blog.

Genre:
realistic fiction

Reading Level:
Ages 10 - 13

Similar Books:

Subjects/Themes:
diary, divorce, popularity, self-identity, friendship

Character Names/Descriptions:
Raisin Rodriguez: 12 year-old girl; just moved from Berkeley, CA to Philadelphia after her parents divorced and her mother remarried; has only one friend at her new school; longs to be popular; keeps a blog
Claudia and Pia: Raisin's best friends from Berkeley; are the only ones privy to reading her blog; make comments on the blog
Jeremy Craine: son of Raisin's stepdad's friend; only person Raisin knows at school; talks too loud; has freckles; is really nice to Raisin, even if she isn't always nice back; likes Fiona
Fionas and Haileys: group of popular girls named the "Fiona and Haleys" by Raisin consisting of Fiona, Hailey, Madison, and Bliss; all carry a red bag with pink monogrammed initials; do not want Raisin in their clique

Annotation:
Outcast and alone at a new school, Raisin writes a blog in an effort to keep in touch with her best friends now on the other side of the country. But once the blog leaks out to her new school, all the work Raisin has done to gain popularity is in jeopardy of being ruined.

Waiting for Normal

Connor, L. (2008). Waiting for Normal. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot Summary:
Addie has only ever known glimpses of normal. Her family is full of twists and turns; her father died when she was young, leaving her with just Mommers, and her paternal grandfather. Then came along Dwight, her stepfather, followed by her half sisters, "the littles." When her mom and Dwight split, Dwight got custody of Addie's half sisters and she went to live in an old trailer with Mommers. Addie tries to make a normal life for herself living in a trailer on a busy street corner. She befriends the employees of a mini-mart on the opposite corner, who become more like family as her mother spends increasingly more nights away from the trailer. Addie begins to get glimpses of a normal home life as she visits Dwight, his new girlfriend Hannah, and the littles at their home in upstate New York, but the pain of having to go home to an empty trailer becomes too much to bear. But there is another twist in store for Addie's life, she may know normal yet.

Review:
Whenever I read books like this, they make me so unbelievably sad that there are children experiencing situations similar to Addie's. This is a sad, yet inspiring story of a 12 year-old girl and her incredible resilience to overcome a self-absorbed and neglectful mother and create wonderful bonds and family with an odd mix of people. The author succeeds in creating a bond between Addie and the reader, witnessing her navigating the already tumultuous tween years with the added strain of her unfortunate family situation. The reader is rooting for Addie throughout the entire book and almost when her case seems hopeless, there is a glimmer of hope and the most happiest of endings.

Genre:
realistic fiction

Reading Level:
Ages 9 - 12

Similar Books:

Subjects/Themes:
single-parent, loss, family, relationships, divorce, depression, dyslexia

Awards:
New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing"
School Library Journal Best Book
ALA Notable Children’s Book
ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
ALA Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
Schneider Family Book Award
ALA Best Book for Young AdultsTexas Lone Star Reading List
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice

Character Names/Descriptions:
Addison Schmeeter (Addie): 12 year-old girl, lives with her mom in a trailer on a street corner, has an incredibly positive attitude
Mommers: Addie's mom, disappears for days at a time with her new boyfriend, suffers from depression
Dwight: Addie's step-dad, father to her little half-sisters, loves and supports Addie, becomes her adopted father
Soula: works at the mini-mart across the street from Addie's trailer, has cancer, becomes a close friend to Addie

Annotation:
Addie must overcome the twists and turns in her life, attempting to find normal among her life that is anything but.