Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Voices From a Medieval Village

Schlitz, L. ( 2007). Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!  Voices From a Medieval Village.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

This book is set in Medieval England in 1255.  This is a collection of several short monologues, each one about a person that would have lived during that time period.  Each of the monologues tells a little about the person's life and work.  For example, there is Alice, the shepherdess who tells about a night when her favorite sheep Jilly lost her lamb while giving birth.   Or Mariot and Maud, the glassblower's daughters, and the new apprentice, Pier, their father is teaching.  Piers will inherit the business if he marries one of  his daughters, but they both dislike Pier and neither want to marry him.  Along the way, the author tells a little about the history of Medieval England as well. 

This is a very interesting book.  Not only does the reader learn the history of the time period, but also the characters tells of their lives, sorrows, loves, and work.  Each of the characters are also children, which helps the reader know a little about what life was for children during Medieval times.  It is also written in language structures and vocabulary of that time period.  It is a very informative book and history fans will love it!

Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, S. ( 2008) Rapunzel's Revenge. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Here is a twist on the classic fairy tale.  In this version, Rapunzel lives in a beautiful villa with Mother Gothel, who she thinks is her mother.  But she finds out that she was taken away from her real mother as payment for stealing lettuce from Mother Gothel's garden when she was pregnant, and her real mother is now a slave in the mines.  When Rapunzel finds out the truth, she confronts Mother Gothel, who then puts her into a tower far into the forest.  Rapunzel is there for many years and her hair grows very long.  She escapes from the tower when she is sixteen years old.  She begins on a journey to rescue her real mother and meets a boy named Jack.  They travel together and encounter many adventures together.  Finally, they are able to defeat Mother Gothel together and fall in love in the end.

This graphic novel has several twists from the original.  First, Rapunzel uses her hair as whips to defend herself, as well as beat-up several outlaws in the story.  The story is set in the Wild West as well.  Rapunzel is a strong female character who can take care of herself.  This version also has lots of humor along the way.  Recommended for upper elementary readers.

Wonderstruck

Selznick, B. (2011).Wonderstruck. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Ben is a boy that just lost his mother and has never met his father.  He now lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, who's house happens to be close to his old house on Gunflint Lake, Minnesota in 1977.  One night, when he is desperately missing his mother, he sneaks over to his old house.  He discovers a book called Wonderstruck, a bookmark from New York City with a message  to his mom on the back,  along with a locket with a man's picture inside. He decides that the picture is his  father, and he lives in New York City from the message on the back of the bookmark signed by Danny. While there, he gets electrocuted when his house is struck by lightning.  While in the hospital, he runs away for New York to find his father.

Rose is a girl who is deaf that lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, across from New York City in 1927. She longs to see her mother, a famous movie star, in New York City.  She runs away one night to find her mother in New York.  Her mother is not happy to see her and wants her to go back home to her father.  But Rose runs away to see her older brother who works at the museum.

These two characters both search for a place to belong.  The book tells of both of their stories simultaneously.  Ben's story is written in words.  Rose's story is told through illustrations. 

In part three of the story, Rose is now an old women.  The story concludes with discovering Rose is Ben's grandmother. 

This book has beautiful illustrations that tells the story of Rose.  Though Rose doesn't speak until the third part of the book, her story and emotions are captured in the illustrations.   In the third part of the book,  both Ben and Rose are in both the illustrations and written words as their stories come together.  Selznick tells a wonderful story of loss and looking for a place to belong. 

George

Gino, A. ( 2015). George. New York, NY: Scholastic.

George is a girl trapped in a boy's body.  She wants nothing more than to let  her true self out.  After her fourth grade class reads Charlotte's Web, they are going to perform the play.  George wants to play the part of Charlotte  the spider and practices with her best friend Kelly before the auditions.  But when she auditions in front of her teacher, the teacher says no because she is a boy.  George is disappointed and doesn't want to play a part, so decides to be a stage hand.  Her best friend Kelly gets the role of Charlotte.  Kelly comes up with a plan for George to perform the role of Charlotte at the evening performance of the play, and she does.  Everyone tells George what a wonderful job she did.  George's mother is not very supportive at first, but finally accepts the fact that George's true self is a girl.

This is a book about being true to yourself, no matter who you are.  In this age of acceptance of others, this is a transgender book to show the importance of accepting others for who they truly are. 

Babymouse:

Puppy Love

Holm, J. (2007). Babymouse: Puppy Love. New York, NY: Random House.

Babymouse wants a new pet after her goldfish dies. She really wants a dog, but her mom says no.  She tries a hamster, a turtle, a ferret, and many other pets, but they all run away.  One day Babymouse finds a dog and her mom lets her keep him if she takes care of him.  Babymouse learns how hard  taking care of a dog can be and how much trouble too.  But, she sticks with it and trains her dog Buddy.  One day when walking Buddy, a boy runs up and tells Babymouse it is his dog.  Back to the drawing board for Babymouse.

The Babymouse series are graphic novels written for early readers. Puppy Love is written for any child that has wanted a dog and all of the trouble surrounding pet ownership.  The book's plot includes daydreaming, where Babymouse dreams of a perfect pet, but it always ends in disaster.  The book is full of humor and kids can relate to the topic. 

Skulduggery Pleasant

Landy, Derek. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Twelve year old Stephanie just inherited her dead uncle's estate.  Now, a whole new world of magic opens up when she is meets Skulduggery Pleasant, who resues her one evening.  Her whole world is changed as she learns of the world of magic and her uncle's involvement in this strange world.  Skulduggery is a detective, but also a magical skeleton who solves strange crimes in the magical world.  Skulduggery and Stephanie begin an investigation into her uncle's death.  Along the way they try to solve who is after a destructive magical tool, the Scepter, and defeat the evil forces in the magical world of Skulduggery. 

This is the first book of this series of magic and mystery.  Children that enjoy mysteries and action will enjoy the world of Skulduggery Pleasant.  It is full of humor, action, and magic. 

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Cleary, B. ( 1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York, NY: Morrow Junior Books.

Leigh Botts is a sixth grader who is going through a rough time with his parent's divorce.  Leigh and his mom recently moved  to a new town where he attends a new school.  He hasn't made any friends and he's often lonely while his mom is working or attending nursing school.  He also has part of his lunch stolen on a regular basis and deals with missing his father, who is a truck driver.  His teacher assigns a writing assignment where he has to write to an author, and Leigh begins writing  to his favorite author since second grade, Mr. Henshaw.  He shares his thoughts and feelings with the author and the things going on with his life.  Mr. Henshaw answers him and tells him to begin writing in a journal, which Leigh does.  Leigh deals with the problems of his life by writing in the journal and Mr. Henshaw.  He discovers that he enjoys writing and wants to be an author.  He write a story which wins honorable mention.  Through his writing he is able to come to terms with his parent's divorce and an absent father.

There are several themes in this book such as divorce and being the new kid in town.  Leigh is a believable character and kids will be able to relate to Leigh and his feelings.  This book can teach kids that no matter how bad life seems at times,  things will change and get better with time.