FINISHED:

Choldenko, Gennifer. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

[Ok, well, I wasn't completely WOWED by this one. Not even sure that I would consider it a Newbery Honor book. Parts just seemed a bit overwrought and overly dramatic, and I never really ever got the sense that it was truly 1935 in San Francisco. There was one mention of brushing his teeth with his finger after mixing some kind of toothpaste powder in his palm, but, otherwise, I never felt like it was taking place in the past. Pretty interesting touch to have a character with autism, since I doubt that has ever really been explored in a historical children's book, and I appreciated the main character's dedication (and utter frustration) to his autistic sister, but still wasn't really won over that much. Great recommendation for kids who live in the area, though.]

STARTED:
Hale, Shannon. (2005). Princess academy. New York: Bloomsbury.

[Keep hearing about this one and seeing it come and go at the library. Hate to be sexist, but I just felt like reading something a little "girly"...]

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FINISHED:

Babbitt, Natalie. (1975). Tuck everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[Been thinking about the future and what it holds for me lately and writing keeps coming up as a possibility - that said, this one is pretty close to the kind of novel that I could see myself writing, especially odd since I just mentioned to someone the other day that I'd likely write in the "magical realism" genre. I love the fact that it's about the Tucks, who can live forever, but is told through Winnie's eyes (except for the Prologue and Epilogue...) and the fact that it is incredibly IMPRESSIONISTIC - meaning that the writing leaves the reader with a lot of room to write in details for themselves. I watched the movie (Disney, 2002) last night and really like it as well. A great adaptation that stayed really true to the themes of the book and actually, for me, expanded on certain themes. The bad thing about the movie is that it took away from the impressionistic sense of the text by filling in some details that the book left out, but is still one that I would show in conjunction with the reading of the book. The language is marvelous, and the interviews with Babbitt on the DVD and at the end of the paperback version that I read made me LOVE her and feel a real connection with her as an (aspiring?) writer and human being. Will definitely pick this one up again and explore her other works.]

STARTED:
Choldenko, Gennifer. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

[I've had this one checked out to me for WAY too long - it's been on the list to read for awhile and it's time has finally come.]

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FINISHED:

Baccalario, Pierdomenico. (2007). Ulysses Moore: The house of mirrors. New York: Scholastic.

[There's just something about these books (this is the 3rd in the series) that is compelling to me. Can't really articulate it, though. The amazing thing is that this books is 244 pages and it took me NO TIME AT ALL to read. And, honestly, I'd have a hard time telling you exactly what happened in it because, well, not a whole lot happened. It all took place in a day, and the 3 kids (it's ALWAYS three kids - 2 boys and a girl) ran around town trying to figure out who this mysterious clockmaker guy was and what the deal is with all the doors and keys in Kilmore Cove - a place that they are finding out wants to be kept hidden from the world. The book is called The House of Mirrors but the house was in one chapter and in that chapter it got demolished. Of course, the sequel is coming and I will read it because these things are like candy - just quick and satisfying even though, like I said, nothing really happens in them.]

STARTED:
Babbitt, Natalie. (1975). Tuck everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[Classic that I've always wanted to read - and have known that I should read.]

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FINISHED:

Balliett, Blue. (2008). The Calder game. New York: Scholastic.

[REALLY pleased with this one. Will definitely push for it to be on this year's Distinguished List with ACL. Thought that Balliett did a FANTASTIC job of working the concept of Calder sculptures into the RELATIONSHIPS between characters and the TEXT itself. The three main kids, Calder, Petra, and Tommy, are jockeying for position amongst each other and their individual relationships with games, words, and found objects (respectively) all play as delicately balanced, always in flux, Calder mobiles. The language is much richer than Balliett's previous two works, and there's still a sense of magical realism here that Balliett does so well.

p.s. It took me SO long to read because I'm a real fan of this series and wanted to savor every word. It paid off.]

STARTED:
Baccalario, Pierdomenico. (2007). Ulysses Moore: The house of mirrors. New York: Scholastic.

[Clearly the publisher has given up much hope for this series. While the first two books in the series were little hardcovers (think: Series of Unfortunate Events) and filled with great illustrations, this one has gone straight to mass market paperback and there really aren't ANY illustrations at all. We'll see if the text holds up with the previous entries...]

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