Jake Ransom

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow
by James Rollins

I was flipping through a back issue of School Library Journal when I found this review:

“Gr 5–9—Eighth-grader Jake and his older sister Kady are invited to the British Museum to view the Mayan treasures their archaeologist parents discovered shortly before their disappearance three years earlier. Jake takes along what is left of their parents' possessions: a field log, a sketch book, and two halves of a gold Mayan coin (worn by the siblings around their necks). At the exhibit, Jake examines a two-foot-tall solid gold pyramid with a round hole in its side. He places the Mayan coin in the slot, which creates an explosion, transporting the siblings to another place and time. Calypsos is a land inhabited by dinosaurs, mythical and fantastical creatures, and people from long-lost civilizations.

Upon their arrival, Jake and Kady befriend two teens, Pindor and Marika. Together they must save Calypsos from the banished Skull King who threatens to return and take over the land. The pace of the story is occasionally a little slow, but readers who stick with it will be caught up in the adventure, particularly those who are interested in Mayan culture. The characters are likable, especially Jake and Pindor, who experience the insecurities of most teens. Simple drawings add visual aid to the descriptions of Mayan glyphs and other objects. Unanswered questions surrounding their parents' disappearance and the connection between Jake and the Skull King will have readers eagerly looking for the next installment in the series.—Kelley Siegrist, Farmington Community Library, MI”

Now, lately I have been having a lot of requests for books for a child who loves books by Rick Riordan, so the review jumped out at me.  I have to admit, I am not sure why I didn't notice it the first time through.  I was intrigued by the hero, Jake Ransom, a cross between Carter Kane and Indiana Jones, so I gave it a try. 

I liked the book, but wish we could find a way to liberate children without disposing of their parents. Are we really that bad? 

It was a fun read and I am recommending it to my son for a break from his required reading at school.  I find that as the books on his required reading list get harder, I need to help him find the books that simply entertain.  For my 7^th grader, Mr. Rollins’ new series fits the bill.  If he likes the first book as much as I suspect, I will check out the next in the series, Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx.

Book Club is BACK!

What a stack of books?  These are the book club kids choices for the month of October.  I have read some of them.  Two of the books are new to me: Dork Diaries #3 and Wonder.  I will tackle them first and then begin rereading the other titles.  I have to say book club takes a bit of time, but it is worth it once I am back with the kids.

I have been hosting these clubs for four years now.  In the process, a few lessons have been learned.  I thought I would share them with you today, in case you are thinking of hosting one yourself.

Tip #1- Keep the group to under 10.
I must say I think 7 or 8 is the perfect size.  If you have just an hour and everyone has read the book, this gives everyone time to speak their mind.  Besides, with a smaller group you can all fit around a table.

Tip #2-Let the kids pick the book.
I have tried every possible arrangement and finally seem to have found the best way to choose a book for my students.  First, I organize the students according to interests.  For years, it was just by class or grade, but we could never settle on a title.  Second, I bring a few books along, within the group's preferred genre, to prime the pump.  They rarely choose my title, but they always get the conversation started.

Tip #3- Bring Snacks-
I did not bring food along last week.  It was missed.  I don't know why, but when you are sharing a book, somehow food makes it better.

Tip #4- Don't be afraid to tackle difficult books
Topics are only too scary, too sexy, too real or too adult if we refuse to talk with the kids about them. Now,  I am not suggesting letting a young child take on an overly complicated or disturbing book. But, when they are ready, or if they are going to read it in spite of you, take on the challenge and help your readers navigate the themes.  I promise they will impress you!

If you host a book club, please share any gems you have learned along the way.  If this inspires you to get started, let me know how it is going.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman

Book clubs are up and running once again. The first group to assemble were the fifth graders at 8:00 am.  I have to tell you that the hour made this a difficult meeting for me.  If you combine that with the fact that many of the members were new to the group this year, I worried that we might not ever get things rolling.

The book I chose for the group was a bust.  By 8:05, we had established that the book was uninteresting and too long. What to do for the remaining 50 minutes?  We talked about some of our favorite summer reading.  This brought us to 8:15.  I was certain that Jerusalem, the keeper of our book room, had stopped the clocks. Staring out into the group, I made one last attempt at engaging them.  I had brought along a bag of books as suggestions for next month's reading.  After showing them to my readers, I encouraged them to browse the book room shelves for the books they found appealing.  We collected 10 books.  They turned out to be magic books.

As the students sorted through the titles, they started talking with each other.  They read the book descriptions.  They evaluated titles and cover art.  They pondered what the awards some of them had received might be for.  Finally, they put the books into 3 categories:  Mystery, Horror, Realistic Fiction.

I asked how they planned to narrow down the choices. After all, they only needed to read one book.  Just like in House Hunter, they started by eliminating one genre, realistic fiction.  Then, after much discussion, they reluctantly put the mysteries aside, deciding on horror for October.  A pretty apt choice, I must say.  I haven't read the book they selected yet, so I will report on that before Halloween. I do, however, have a favorite horror book myself, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

The first few pages are heart wrenching.  I hate to give away the drama, but I will tell you that it results in a baby finding a new home in a graveyard.  In the world of Gaiman's creation, the ghost of a person continues living in the graveyard in which they are buried.  The baby, BOD, is raised by the ghosts of this graveyard and the other sorts of creatures that inhabit it like werewolves and vampires.  Life is good for Bod as long as he stays in the graveyard.  But, as he ventures out, the events that forced him to his new home conspire to find him.

If you are not taken with this plot line, check out the post "Mystery Anyone?"  You will find some other suggestions there.

Inferno By Dan Brown

Inferno
by Dan Brown

I usually grab the images for my book recommendations from  Barnes and Noble.  I have a process:  see how the blog is doing, open a new post, type in the title and insert the image URL copied from www.bn.com.  I just did my search for Inferno over at Barnes and Noble, and Dan Brown's novel is the first to populate the search, but it isn't the only one...

Next to the image of the novel I was looking for, there are a few steamy romance novels,some science fiction books and at number 10, Dante Alighiere's original.  I must admit that this doesn't really surprise me. The classics aren't always on the top of contemporary reading lists.  I have to admit that I have never read it myself.

I have, however, read and listened to Dan Brown's novel that uses the Dante original as a backdrop to his latest suspense thriller.  I have read many of Brown's novels and must say that he is a master of place.  I have never been to Italy, but through his pages I truly get a sense of its antiquity and majesty.  Italy's backdrop of art, history and architecture creates a perfect setting for this thriller.  Much like Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code, the mysteries of the novel unfold because of Robert Langdon, the book's main character's, knowledge of code and symbol.

I have challenged my 8th grade book club to read this novel because I am tired of hearing from this group that the story is boring.  They may have many things to say about this novel, but boring isn't one of them.  I am hoping they will go on this ride with Robert and help prevent what might be the next world wide disaster. If it goes well, I hope to share a few of their thoughts with you.

Igraine the Brave

Igraine the Brave
by Cornelia Funke
narration by Xanthe Elbrick 

With delight, I am planning my first trip to Great Britain.  As I read through the travel books, I keep seeing the beautiful images of the castles.  This is the land of fairies, dragon, knights and squires that I grew up reading about.  The creators of these stories have painted a country that I can only hope will live up in reality.

One newer book on the scene, that visits the land of magic, knights and honor is Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. This is exactly the kind of book I would have devoured in elementary school.  In my day, all of the heroes of these tales were men.  In this wonderful story, Funke creates a spunky girl who plans to grow up to fill her grandfather's armor.  Though her parents had hoped it was a phase, after a mishap of magic, they are forced to let her have a go with lance and armor.

In spite of the looming danger, Igraine leaves home on her quest to find the giant that can help undo the magical mistake made back at the castle.  The road will be long, but the reward will be great.  If she succeeds she will restore her family, defeat a dark lord, and help a sorrowful knight restore his honor.

The narration is upbeat, the characters lovable, and the story line clear.  For any new reader who dreams of dragons and giants, talking cats, and magic mice, this book is a must.

Age Range 8-12

The Giver

The Giver
by Lois Lowry

Last fall at the National Book Festival, I had the honor of attending a talk by the writer Lois Lowry.  She was at the festival promoting her newest book, Son.  It is a continuation of the story she began 11 years ago with her Newbery Award winning novel, The Giver.  If you have middle school aged children, this title may be familiar to you.  The Giver was added to the required reading list of most middle schools in America once it became so acclaimed.  It was added because it met two major hurdles: it is loved by 11-13 year old readers, and it fulfills the science fiction requirements in my state's English standards.

Son will be out in paperback soon and inevitably onto my 8th grade book club lists, so I decided to listen to The Giver this week.  I must admit I also listened to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  I've read it before but enjoyed listening to it again all the same.  If you want to know the details about this book, check out my post.  It was wonderful listening to The Giver.  I read it when it was published, and don't remember liking it as much as I did this time.

In the future, as described by Lois Lowry, every member of the community has a specific job that is assigned to them at the Ceremony of Twelve.  The jobs are assigned to children after years of being observed by the adults of the community.  Once you are given a job, it is yours for a lifetime.  Twelve year old Jonas is assigned the job of receiver.  There is only one receiver in the community at a time.  He is the only member of the community who holds memories.  Once Jonas is chosen, the past receiver becomes the giver and begins passing all of his memories to Jonas.  At first, the process seems delightful to Jonas, but in short order, the pain of difficult memories begins to weigh on Jonas.  The more he learns, the more he begins to distrust his society.

There are four stories that evolve around this futuristic society.  According to Lowry, she only meant to write one story.  She received so many inquiries about the characters of her novel she began adding other novels: Gathering Blue, Messenger and now Son.   I must say, listening and reading these novels is worth your time.

Wildwood

Wildwood
by Colin Meloy
illustrated by Carson Ellis
narration by Amanda Plumber

The listening project has picked up speed.  I finished the book I mentioned last week. Surprise, it was Wildwood by Colin Meloy. In addition, I have completed another story and have moved on to book number 4.  I am starting a listening journal, much like my reading journal, to keep up with the books I have completed.  Keeping notes in one place about the books I am reading and hearing helps me to lead discussions in my book club meetings.  When you read as many books as I do, many of them too quickly, you tend to lose track of some of the best details.  I encourage my kids to keep journals, too.  You might want to try it yourself.  If nothing else, it might prevent you from picking up a used book, with enthusiasm, only to open it once you get home and see your own name written in the front.  Honestly, this has happened to me!

The story of Wildwood was original and intricate.  Every time I thought I had learned all of the rules of the place, a new twist was added.  Pru and Curtis, two of the many heroic characters in this novel, were flawed and lovable.  As a person who reads a lot of children's stories, I was delighted that these two 12 year olds had the courage to solicit help from others in the novel, with honesty.  I guess they had enough troubles on their plates without compounding the problems by distrusting the adults and capable animals around them.

When we meet Pru, we quickly learn that she is a bright and capable 12 year old. Tragically, while responsible for her infant brother, Mac, he is kidnapped from a Portland, OR, park by a murder of crows. That's right a flock of crows is called a murder (and this is not the only wonderful new word your reader will learn in the course of reading this novel). After untangling this reality, Pru speeds away from the park trying to keep up with the birds.  Finally acknowledging that the pursuit is hopeless, Pru watches the crows take her brother into the Impassible Forest.

Helpless, Pru makes her way home and finds that she is being followed by one of her classmates, Curtis. Though the two were once friends, as they've grown older, they have grown apart.  Afraid and angry, Pru dismisses Curtis out of hand and continues to try to contemplate a plan that will help her rescue her brother.

She will construct a plan.  She will carry it out.  And, Curtis will be her unlikely helpmate.  This is all I am going to say about it for now, except to add that while I loved the story and have even given a copy of the book to one of my closest friends who teaches 4th grade for a read-a-loud, I found the narration average.   I like the sound of Amanda Plumber's voice, but I would have liked it if she read a little faster.  The other downside of listening to this novel is that you will miss the fantastic illustrations by Carson Ellis.  You may remember her from Mysterious Benedict Society fame.