31. The Spiderwick Chronicles - The Field Guide

Title: The Spiderwick Chronicles – The Field Guide
Authors/Illustrators: Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright Date: 2003
Number of Pages: 107
Reading Level: 9+
Genre: Fantasy

Summary
Jared Grace, his twin brother Simon and sister Mallory have just moved into their new home. New doesn’t quite describe it though because as Jered describes it the house looks like twelve shacks stacked on top of each other. The kids are less than excited about this move but their mother thinks this will be their chance to start over. Back in New York at Jared’s old school he got into a fight and broke another boy’s nose. Mrs. Grace believes it’s because of Jared’s dad walking out on them. Simon has his animals that he spends his time with and Mallory has her fencing that she takes out her aggression on. Jared hasn’t really found his own way to deal with it yet. While moving into the house Jared hears scratching in the walls and that evening so does Mallory and Simon. They go into the kitchen and Mallory breaks a hole in the wall. They find a bunch of junk including a broken mirror, Mallory’s medal, pieces of newspaper, a soap box and cockroach decorations. The dig through in hopes the “squirrel” will go away. They then find an old dumbwaiter and Jared volunteers to go up in it. He finds himself in an old library with no door. Suddenly something writes in the dust to watch his back. The next morning everyone is awakened by the screams of Mallory, she has little bruises all over her arms and her hair is tied in little bits to her headboard. Mrs. Grace believes Jared did it. Jared decides to explore and in the attic he finds clues that lead him to a book, a book of mythical creatures called The Field Guide. The next morning the kitchen is destroyed and Simon’s tadpoles have been frozen in the freezer. Jared is forced to clean everything up and when he does a trash bag is torn open and he sees the stuff from the wall. Jared decides to put back the stuff but he puts it in an old birdhouse from the attic. He believes that what was living in the wall was a boggart. Mallory and Simon help Jared to put everything together. Later the boggart shows himself to them but he has a message. They must destroy the book.

Recommendation
I think this book is one that will turn a reluctant reader into at least an interested one. I would recommend this to boys who maybe don’t feel they fit in at home and that they get blamed a lot for what goes wrong.

Problems/Conflict
There isn’t very much in the first book I feel like all that has been set is the scene. This can be seen as a positive point though as well because it makes the reader feel they have to read the next one.

My Reaction
This is a really creative story I can’t wait to read the next one. It only took me an hour to read which was a major positive! My hopes for these books is that Jared’s family really believe what he has to say so that he doesn’t feel so alone.

30. The Twits

Title: The Twits
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright Date: 1980
Number of Pages: 76
Reading Level: 9+
Genre: Comedy/Fantasy

Summary
Mr. and Mrs. Twit are gruesome and ugly people. They have had horrible thoughts for too long and it turned them into disgusting people. The book starts out telling about why beards are so gross and that if you think bad thoughts you’ll turn ugly. The Twits then start to play pranks on each other first Mrs. Twit slips her glass eye into her husband’s mug of beer. Next he gets her back by putting a frog in her bed and claims it’s a Giant Skillywiggler. Mrs. Twit retaliates with worms as spaghetti and doesn’t tell him until he’s eaten every last bite. Mr. Twit then forms a new plan and gradually he starts to add wood to the end of Mrs. Twit’s can and her chair so that finally he says she is shrinking and she starts to believe it. She begs for a way to reverse it before she disappears from the shrinks. He tells her the only way to fix it is to be stretched. Mr. Twit has balloons ready and he tethers her to the ground and starts to add balloons to her arms, neck, wrists and even her hair. Mrs. Twit mentions that he had better make sure she is tied securely to the ground or she will drift off and probably never come back. So Mr. Twit cuts the strings attaching her to the ground. She starts soaring up and thinks to chew the lines with her teeth until she’s coming straight back down where she lands right on top of Mr. Twit. She then beats him with her cane. So after enough of tricks the Twits home is described with a house that has no windows, a garden of thistles, a huge dead tree, a monkey cage, and a shed to one side of the house. Now every Wednesday the Twits have Bird Pie so Mr. Twit goes out and climbs the ladder to the dead tree and spreads glue along the branches so when the birds come they are trapped so he can gather them up and Mrs. Twit can cook the pie. One day a Roly-Poly Bird on vacation came and the monkeys, being able to speak to it, begged him to tell the other birds not to sit on the branches. The Roly-Poly Bird did and they kept doing it until one day the Twits decided to buy guns. While they were out buying their guns the monkeys devised a plan to turn the Twit’s home upside down. They did it using the glue Mr. Twit used to catch the birds. When the Twit’s came home two ravens dropped glue on their heads. The Twits went inside and being so concerned that they were upside down they stood on their heads and both got the shrinks. They kept sinking into themselves until one day there was nothing left.

Recommendation
I’d recommend this to a boy before I would a girl. There are a lot of pictures too to help a child who might not quite enjoy books yet because they can’t imagine what is going on. This might actually encourage more reading.

Problems/Conflict
The Twits don’t change; they stay horrible the whole time and end that way. They die standing on their head. It’s a little creepy.

My Reaction
The pictures are awesome! They go so well with the story and really make the Twits seem gross and horrible. In the beginning I’m so glad they explain what happens to people with big beards and who think bad thoughts all the time. It really explains why the Twits are they way they are. When I was sitting reading this a girl stopped and had to tell me how much she loved this book growing up. She took a couple minutes because she was that enthusiastic.

29. The Hundred Dresses

Title: The Hundred Dresses
Author: Eleanor Estes
Illustrator: Louis Slobodkin
Publisher: Voyager Books/ Harcourt Brace & Company
Copyright Date: 1944
Number of Pages: 81
Reading Level: 8+
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary
Wanda Petronski is teased before school, during recess and after school. Peggy, one of the prettiest girls in Room 13, made a game of it although. Peggy isn’t usually mean but because she thinks Wanda is dumb she doesn’t think that it hurts her feelings. One day when a girl in their class named Cecile came in a beautiful new dress. It was scarlet and had a matching hat. Wanda had wandered into the crowd of girls and had whispered to Peggy that she had a hundred dresses lined up in her closet at home. Everyone laughed at this because Wanda always wore the same blue, wrinkled, faded but always clean dress every day. Peggy decided to make a game out of what Wanda said so all the girls pester Wanda about what kind of dresses or how many again? Wanda would then wonder off by herself. Peggy’s best friend Maddie would always stand by and watch Peggy have fun Wanda’s expense and she would be uncomfortable. She wished she could tell Peggy to leave her alone but Maddie was afraid that if Peggy stopped teasing Wanda she might start teasing her. Maddie wasn’t rich either and didn’t have much so she thought that she might be next if Peggy didn’t tease Wanda anymore. There is an art contest and all the boys are to design boats and the girls are to design clothing. Peggy is sure that she will win but when Maddie and she get to school the day of the winner announcement they see the whole classroom covered with pictures. The girl’s wonder who did all these beautiful designs and find out that Wanda had submitted a hundred drawings of dresses. Peggy thought she could draw well but oh boy could Wanda draw! Wanda wasn’t there the day of the awarding and hadn’t been there the day before either. The next day Miss Mason read a letter from the Petronski family saying that they were moving to escape the ridicule of where they were living. The girls felt instantly bad and tried to go to Wanda’s house and eventually wrote her a letter. Wanda wrote the class and told them that she would like all the girls to have her pictures. She specifically said which ones she wanted Peggy and Maddie to have. The girls went home with their pictures and Maddie realized first that her picture actually looked like her and that Peggy’s was like her. The girls realized that Wanda did like them even though they weren’t very nice.

Recommendation
Especially recommend this for little girls who may not treat others very kindly.

Problems/Conflict
None that I can think of.

My Reaction
This book is still so applicable to today. There are so many who don’t have very much that are teased and treated badly just because they don’t have very much or pretty things. Sometimes we can completely overlook their talents just because of the material things. I just think about the little girls who need to have a good friend just like Peggy was a good friend to Maddie. We all want that one friend who’ll like us for just who we are. I’m very happy I read this book, about how simply it was written but how strong the message was.

28. Little Bear

Title: Little Bear
Author: Else Holmelund Minarik
Illustrator: Maurice Sendak
Publisher: Harper & Row
Copyright Date: 1957
Number of Pages: 63
Reading Level: 5+
Genre: I Can Read/Classics

Summary
There are four separate stories in this little book. In the first Little Bear is cold and needs Mother Bear to make him some clothes. So Mother Bear made him a hat, but he was still cold. She made him a coat, but Little Bear was still shivering. Next she made him some snow pants, but Little Bear couldn’t get warm. Mother Bear asked if Little Bear would like a nice fur coat? Little Bear did want a fur coat so she took off his hat, coat and snow pants. Little Bear wasn’t cold anymore. In the next tale it is Little Bear’s birthday and Mother Bear is nowhere to be found. He decides to make Birthday Soup for all of his friends. Hen, Goose, and Cat come and Little Bear asks if they would like to stay for some Birthday Soup. Mother Bear comes home and she brings with her a beautiful big birthday cake just for Little Bear. Mother Bear reassures Little Bear that she could never forget his birthday and never will. Next in Little Bear Goes to the Moon, Little Bear decides because he has a new space helmet he is going to the moon. Mother Bear tells him that he cannot go to the moon, he doesn’t have wings, birds can’t fly to the moon anyway and he is a little fat bear cub. Little Bear leaves determined. He day dreams about his travel to the moon, he comes to a house and wonders what kind of bears live on the moon. Little Bear sees the lunch and moon Mother Bear says her Little Bear has traveled to Earth so he might as well eat his lunch. Little Bear tells Mother Bear to quit teasing and asks if he can eat his lunch. She says yes and that she knew he was her Little Bear. The last tale is Little Bear in bed telling his mother things he wishes for. Mother Bear tells him he can’t have those things. Finally Little Bear asks for a story and he wants it to be about him. Mother Bear recounts the past three tales. When she finishes she tells him he can now go to sleep and to sleep well.

Recommendation
I want to recommend this to mothers to read to their young children at bedtime. There are a lot of opportunities for a mother to tell her child that she knows, loves and cares about her child in this book.

Problems/Conflict
It might bother some kids that Little Bear doesn’t have a name like them. Another conflict is in the third tale Mother Bear tells Little Bear that he is a little fat bear cup that can’t fly and can’t go to the moon. Some might say that she is crushing his dreams but sometimes what kids need is a little reality to bring them back from the moon. The fourth tale does the same thing because Little Bear is wishing for things that he cannot ever have and Mother Bear tells him so.

My Reaction
The pictures are so classically lovely. Mother Bear is dressed in a long dress and looks warm and inviting. I just love the relationship between her and Little Bear in this book. There is a soft playfulness about the book as a whole. The words and the pictures interact as a whole. I know my mom read this to me when I was little but I honestly didn’t remember any of it while I was reading. My name is also written into the front from when I was first learning to write which is kind of silly.

27. Your Mother Was a Neanderthal

Title: Your Mother was a Neanderthal
Author: Jon Scieszka
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Publisher: Trumpet Club Inc.
Copyright Date: 1993
Number of Pages: 76
Reading Level: 9+
Genre: Adventure/Humor

Summary
Joe and his two friends Sam and Fred can travel through time because of a book that Joe’s uncle gave him. Sam came up with the idea that they should travel to the Stone Age and take simple things that would amaze the people so they would make the boys kings. This time on their adventure though they happen to find themselves completely naked. Sam has his glasses, Fred has his cap and Joe still has his straw. The boys try to fashion clothes out of big leaves to try and cover themselves. Suddenly a huge dinosaur comes roaring through the trees and the boys see caveguys running away. Sam keeps saying that there is no way there are dinosaurs because people and dinosaurs never coexisted. They hide anyway. The dinosaur comes up to them and then all of a sudden it hiccups and it crumbles into giggles. There were three girls inside the costume. The girls take the goys to “Ma” and the boys are locked up. Ma resembles Joe’s mom a lot and at first it really throws them off. Ma and the girls come to get the boys and they look at them as if its time to eat. The boys use a diversion tactic, screaming and pointing in another direction, to escape. They stumble across the caveguys they saw earlier and go to their pit. They try to leave and are nearly eaten by a saber tooth tiger. The boys use the straw that Joe brought to make loud noises and make a monster costume to scare the tiger away. It works and they go back to the cave to find that one of the cavegirls is trapped in the cave by a huge boulder. The boys think of a way to use a lever to move the boulder and get the caveguys to help. After they free the girl they all dance around a fire that night and the boys find the cave drawing that takes them home.

Recommendation
Young boys would love this book. It’s a great little adventure to get the creative mind going and maybe even some mischief.

Problems/Conflict
Scieszka handled the being naked really well and left the reasoning as to why the cavegirls and caveguys needed to get together just hanging. Well handled.

My Reaction
This book really catches your attention at the beginning. “The three of us were standing around completely, unbelievably, and absolutely naked.” I think its funny that Sam thinks to go to the Stone Age just to be king, do kids really think like this? Its also comical that the girls are more evolved than the males in the stone age. The less intelligent boys are scared of the women and have to learn how to make fire from them. The pop quiz at the end of the book was an ingenious addition.

26. Amelia Bedelia

Title: Amelia Bedelia
Author: Peggy Parish
Illustrator: Fritz Siebel
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Copyright Date: 1963
Number of Pages: 64
Reading Level: 7+
Genre: Comedy/I Can Read

Summary
Amelia Bedelia doesn’t quite understand instructions. Amelia Bedelia has just been hired to a new job and on her first day her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, have to leave for the day. They leave a list of all the things they expect to be done by the time they get home. Amelia sets off to work and decides she’s going to make them a surprise, a lemon meringue pie! Once the pie is in the oven Amelia looks over the list of things to do. She is baffled by the silliness of the list but thinks these rich people sure are silly. The list says to change the towels, so she cuts them up. The list says to dust the furniture, so she uses dusting powder to dust the furniture. The list says to draw the drapes, so Amelia begins making a drawing of the drapes. The list says to put the lights out, so she hangs each bulb out on the clothes line. Amelia remembers the pie and runs to the kitchen and finds her pie cooked to perfection. Next on the list is measure out two cups of rice. Amelia stacks two teacups filled with rice and measures them with measuring tape and pours the rice back in the box when she’s done. Now Amelia must trim the steak and dress the chicken. Amelia uses lace and ribbon to trim the steak and decides the chicken should be a boy and dresses him in little overalls and socks. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers return and find everything turned upside down, the best towels are cut up, dust everywhere, sun fading the furniture, light bulbs out on the line, and the meats all dressed up. The only thing that keeps Mrs. Rogers from firing Amelia is the bite of lemon meringue pie that Mr. Rogers pushes into her mouth. Next time she’ll make the list more specific, like un-dust the furniture.

Recommendation
I just think that little kids should read this no matter boy or girl. Its so funny that she takes everything wrong and I think they’ll get a kick out of it.

Problems/Conflict
No problems.

My Reaction
This book is ridiculous and I love it. We had to do book projects in first grade and I did mine on this and I had everyone dress a paper chicken. I thought I was hilarious. I just think that this is a fun book and should be shared. I would want to talk with a child after they read this and ask, “What else could we have Amelia do that she might get mixed up?”

25. The Great Gilly Hopkins

Title: The Great Gilly Hopkins
Author: Katherine Paterson
Publisher: Harper & Row Publishers
Copyright Date: 1978
Number of Pages: 148
Reading Level: 11+
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary
Galadriel Hopkins is a foster child who has been passed from home to home. She’s become tough and prides herself on breaking people. Miss Ellis, her social worker, has finally done it, she’s put Gilly in the worst home ever. There is a blind colored man who lives next door and eats supper with them. Trotter, the foster mother, is big and what Gilly calls a religious fanatic. Finally there is William Earnest who is slow, shy and wimpy. Gilly has a hard time adjusting to places because she believes that one day her mother, Courtney will come and take her away. Gilly writes a letter to her mother exaggerating the conditions she’s living in and asks her to send money for a bus ticket. Gilly steals money from Mr. Randolph, the blind next door neighbor and from Trotter to make the fare. At the bus station however Gilly is found out and Trotter has to come and get her. Gilly starts to make the best of her situation and starts to like W.E., Trotter, and Mr Randolph. One day when everyone but her is sick Gilly’s grandmother shows up to see what Gilly said in the letter was true. She contacts the social worker and Gilly is forced to leave Trotter. Nonnie, the grandma, pays Courtney to come visit them for Christmas and both Nonnie and Gilly are sadly disappointed with her. Gilly calls Trotter from the airport after picking up her mother and says “I love you,” probably for the first time.

Recommendation
The swearing alone makes me recommend this more for high school students who could be mature enough to understand why Gilly says what she does.

Problems/Conflict
Quite a bit of swearing out of that little Gilly Hopkins.

My Reaction
This book made me cry. I am touched by the change in Gilly throughout the book. At first everything seems horrible to her and at the end the situation turned out to be the only one Gilly wanted to be in. This book made me think really hard about the challenges of foster children and how hard it is to be constantly shuffled around. It makes me wonder how many go through their lives never considering one place as home.

24. Stargirl

Title: Stargirl
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright Date: 2000
Number of Pages: 186
Reading Level: 10+
Genre:Realistic Fiction

Summary
“Did you see her?” That is all that Leo hears the first day of school when Stargirl comes around. She had been home-schooled most of her life and is somewhat “different.” She wears floor length prairie dresses on her “normal” days, wears a ukulele on her back, and carries a brown rat in her backpack named Cinnamon. Stargirl becomes the new fad in the school after everyone gets over their initial disbelief. She marches out on the football field, sings happy birthday to everyone and people start to pick up her spirit. When basketball season rolls around everything changes when Stargirl not only cheers for her own team but for the enemy as well. This wouldn’t have been so bad if MAHS had kept its losing streak but because they were on a roll of winning, this was treason. Stargirl starts to pay special attention to Leo and he finds that he likes what she is offering and falls into her smiling eyes. She teaches him to see beyond what’s right in front of him and shows him how much you can care about a person after watching them for only 15 minutes. The school starts the silent treatment and although Stargirl is oblivious, Leo is all too aware because he is being shunned too for his relationship with her. He convinces her that she needs to be more like everyone else and Stargirl becomes Susan (her given name). Leo is so happy with the transformation but nothing changes at school, everyone still hates her. Susan wins at a speech contest and goes to the championship, she is sure that when she wins she will come home and everyone with love and cheer her on. She is sadly mistaken when no one is waiting for her when she gets home after winning. Leo is disgruntled that the next school day Stargirl is back and happier the way she is. Stargirl takes herself to the school dance and everyone falls back in love with her again, but she doesn’t return to school again. Her family moves to Minnesota and Leo is left to realize what he missed out on.

Recommendation
I would actually recommend this book to a high school boy. I would want it to be read by someone who is too concerned with what other people think so that they can see what kind of damage it can do to someone else.

Problems/Conflict
Interest level for this book is more for high school kids. I can’t imagine an elementary student fully understanding the meanings and underlying messages. The book cover seems too feminine; I wish it came off less gender specific. I feel like a boy wouldn’t pick this up just because of that.

My Reaction
What a sad but truthful story. There are so many who would try to change those that seem “different.” I hope that for kids in school they can realize what the message is. It frustrates me so much that Leo doesn’t understand what he does when he starts to show Stargirl what other people think. This situation happens all to often in young relationships and the effects can be so sad especially when one changes permanently to fit in. I didn’t fully enjoy this book but I’m better having read it I think. You shouldn’t try to change someone to fit you.

23. Ella Enchanted

Title: Ella Enchanted
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright Date: 1997
Number of Pages: 232
Reading Level: 9+
Genre: Fantasy

Summary
Ella was cursed when she was a baby by the fairy Lucinda. The “gift” was obedience. Ella has to do anything anyone tells her to do. Although she can resist for a little while the curse takes over and she is helpless. Ella’s mother dies and at the funeral she meets Prince Charmont who likes it that she’s clumsy and awkward but funny. Ella’s father, Sir Peter, who is normally not around orders Ella to go finishing school with Hattie and Olive, two horrible girls around her age. They are the daughters of Dame Olga, a woman interested in Sir Peter’s wealth. On the way to finishing school Hattie finds out about Ella’s curse and used it against her. When they get there Hattie torments Ella and makes her do everything she wants. Before Ella left home her fairy godmother, Mandy, gave her a gift of a book. In the book it tells stories, sometimes has pictures, and has letters all from those that she knows. She finds out from the book that her father is going to a Giant’s wedding and that fairies usually attend weddings. In hopes of finding Lucinda and reversing her curse Ella leaves school in the middle of the night taking Hattie’s wig with her. On her way to the wedding Ella is ambushed by Ogres that eat the pony she was lent by the elves. Ella is ordered to stay with them and the Ogres laugh at her because if they wanted she would even cook herself. Ella is really good at languages and starts working on getting down the syrupy, honey nature of the Ogres and she is able to command them to do what she wants. Just after this Prince Charmont and his knights show up and tie up the Ogres. Char tells a knight to take Ella to the wedding. Ella gets there and finds Lucinda but instead of taking away the curse Lucinda tells her to be happy to be obedient. Ella finds her father and relishes in obeying what he commands until Mandy releases her. Ella’s father marries Dame Olga and Ella is forced to be their maid. Char keeps writing and professes his love to Ella, she has to break his heart because he will never be safe with her as his wife. King Jerrold holds three balls hoping that Char will choose another and Ella goes to all three but doesn’t remove her mask. On the third night Hattie rips off the mask and all is revealed. Char follows her and puts the slipper on her foot and says “marry me.” Ella refuses and refuses again. The curse is broken and she asks him to marry her. They live happily ever after.

Recommendation
The ultimate Cinderella story. I would recommend this to girls who like fairy tales and like to pretend they are princesses or that their prince will one day come and sweep them off their feet.

Problems/Conflict
I wish there would have been some kind of punishment for Hattie. She didn’t seem to get what should have been coming to her at the end.

My Reaction
This book makes my heart flutter. It’s a beautiful retelling of Cinderella with a strong person at the lead. Ella fights for what she knows is right and wants to save those that she loves. She is a good example of a determined woman with a goal in view. I would gladly read this book again for a third time because the second time I caught a lot of what I missed the first. Its just an exciting and sometimes frustrating story.