The Me Nobody Knew

Shannon (the author of this book) was 13.  She hated her parents, her friends, her body, her life in general.  She struggled with drinking and drug experimentation. She was sexually assaulted, and tried to starve herself.  Sounds like a teen problem novel in the extreme, right?  It isn't--it's the author's autobiographical account of her teen years and how she found ways to survive the pain, and gradually find peace with the world and her life.  The book is written by Shannon McLinden, who tells the story of her teen years growing up in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Overall, it's a hopeful, honest book (and a fast read) especially for girls who can have tremendous mood swings during their teen years.  A discussion guide is included for use by teachers, counselors, or book clubs.

A Fabulous Fair Alphabet

This is the newest book by Minnesota author and illustrator, Debra Frasier--and it is fabulous!  She has visited the Minnesota (and others) State Fair and photographed thousands of signs and letters.  From those photographs, she has designed 26 alphabet pictures that follow activities at the fair.  It's fun, it's very colorful, and just fabulous!

  Debra will be the Minnesota State Fair Artist-in-Residence this year (2010). Visit her booth and play the Fabulous Fair Alphabet game.  More information at: http://www.afabulousfairalphabet.com/.

The Very Little Princess

Zoey doesn't know she has a grandmother until the day she and her mother suddenly leave Minneapolis for a drive to the country and grandmother's house. Almost immediately, Zoey's mother and grandmother start arguing. Zoey escapes by running upstairs to a bedroom where she discovers a dollhouse with a tiny doll inside.  When a tear from Zoey's eye falls on the doll, it sneezes and comes to life.  Now, Zoey has dreamed that someday one of her dolls would come to life. But in her dreams, the doll didn't order her around like a servant. Here is the latest from Marion Dane Bauer, a story of friendship, family, love, loss, joy, and humor for good measure.  Girls will love it.

Split

Sixteen year old Jace Witherspoon has been kicked out of the house by his abusive father.  He gets in his car and drives across country from Chicago to Albuquerque, New Mexico where his older brother Christian fled five years earlier. However, two abused siblings do not make the best roommates, and they must work through several emotional issues, in addition to dealing with fear for their mother's safety.  They are helped by Christian's girlfriend, Mirriam, a teacher; and Dakota, a clerk in the bookstore where Jace finds a job.  This book is an interesting character study of family members in an abusive situation. It also shows that domestic violence happens to families at all levels of society--the father is a judge--and the family is probably upper middle class. The author is Swati Avasthi, who has experience working in a domestic abuse shelter, and she brings an understanding of the difficult questions related to that topic to this book.  Ultimately it is a story of personal growth, of overcoming bitterness and fear, and moving ahead in life. This is the author's first novel, watch for more.

Mercy Watson: Something Wonky this Way Comes

Mercy's newest adventure happens at a drive-in movie theater.  Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy, and the Lincoln sisters (plus other familiar characters) all decide on a movie for a night out.  The real attraction though, is the smell of buttered popcorn--which Mercy is poweless to resist.  It's another rollicking adventure (not to miss) from the team of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen.

How to Steal a Car

Kelleigh Monahan is a fairly typical suburban 15 year old girl.  She shops at Ridgedale and Byerlys.  During the summer, her life starts to change and several events happen:

• she discovers that her father is having an affair
• she tries to figure out if her boyfriend is gay--or just shy
• she rescues her best friend from a very bad date
• she reads Moby Dick--all of it!
• she gets her learner's permit, and
• she steals several cars!

This book has no chapters, and is an interesting human story told from Kelleigh's viewpoint. It deals with the contradictions and issues that teens face everyday and shows how even good kids sometimes do bad things.  The title is derived from an essay she knows she will be writing when school starts again.  This is another thought-provoking book from Pete Hautman.  Personally, I love how he uses Minnesota settings in his books.  It makes his stories feel like they could happen to any kid in any neighborhood.

Flood!

It's summertime and time for occasional nasty weather including floods, whether small flash floods or large ones with major damage.  This book is part of the series Learn About Natural Disasters.  It is a brief beginning reader that provides basic information about how floods happen and how we can try to avoid them.  Written by Marion Dane Bauer, with illustrations by John Wallace, the book includes some interesting facts about floods and general tips for what to do in a flood. It can be used as supplementary reading in primary science units about the weather.