Bone: Out from Boneville

Bone Volume One: Out from Boneville (Smith, Jeff; 2003) ISBN 0963660942

Bone is the first edition in a series of stories about three cousins who are on the run: Phoncible B. Bone (aka Phoney), Smiley Bone, and Fone Bone.  The reasons for their plight help to explain some important character traits.  Phoney Bone has been run out of town—Boneville—after Phoney shows disrespect for the town’s founder.  Phoncible is highly motivated, but not entirely honest and upright.  Protagonist Fone Bone is equipped with both courage and the ability to problem solve.  Smiley Bone is more likeable than Phoncible, but far less intelligent than Fone.

Phoney and Smiley are separated from Fone, and the story splits into two different paths.  While on his own, Fone meets up with Thorn, a young, courageous and talented girl with a secret past.  Thorn lives with her hard scrabble grandmother, perhaps the toughest character in the story despite her age.  Thorn helps Fone reunite with his cousins, though they encounter great danger and excitement in the form of rat creatures along the way.

Meanwhile, Phoney tries to run another scam with Smiley that may get him into hot water once again.  Their storyline is lighter in tone that Fone’s is, and it provides many funny moments.

The Bone cousins’ story is told in black and white line illustrations.  As with most graphic novels, it is accessible for a wide range of readers.  Author Jeff Smith conveys a slew of emotions and moods among his characters, creating a lively pace for the story.

Interview with the author here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXwFRZ4nFXA

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid [Motion Picture] 1985.  ISBN 0800138074

Tweens who enjoyed last year’s Karate Kid remake starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan still have reason to check out the 1985 original.  Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), a newcomer to Los Angeles, is bullied and finds help from his apartment manager, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita, Jr. in an Oscar-nominated performance).  Today’s tweens will not know Morita from “Happy Days” fame, but his performance as the wise and patient Karate master from Okinawa might still remind them of someone they know.  Morita gets the details right, and along with Macchio’s best performance, creates a relationship that is even more believable than Larusso’s with his teen love interest, Ali (Elisabeth Shue).

The story resonates with tweens 25 years after its release, especially with so many recent high profile incidents of bullying among young people.  In the film, Miyagi teaches Daniel that respect and inner peace are more important than physical dominance—as displayed by the more militaristic Cobra Kai martial artists (the bullies) in the film.

Among the highlights of the movie are the “wax on, wax off” scene in which Daniel realizes that seemingly endless household chores are actually lessons in Karate; more subtle are the scenes with Daniel and his mother (Randee Heller), who is having almost as much difficulty finding her way in a new environment as her son is.

While the music and fashion in Karate Kid are dated, the script is filled with realistic dialogue and timeless humor.

View a clip of the film here.

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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (Collins, Suzanne; 2008; New York: Scholastic Press; ISBN 0439023483)

If you took the Olympics, reality television, and Roman gladiator fights and mixed them all up, the results might look something like The Hunger Games.  This is the story of Panem, which used to be the United States but now is 12 districts surrounding one powerful capitol.  Years ago, the hungry, oppressed people of the districts attempted to overthrow the capitol but were unsuccessful.  As a yearly reminder of their failed revolution, each district must now send two of its young people to the capitol to participate in the Hunger Games; all residents of Panem are required to view round the clock coverage of the games, and only one of the 24 competitors may live.

Collins tells the story primarily through the experience of Katniss Everdeen, at 16, a contender in the Games.  Katniss has one advantage in the games because her deceased father taught her years earlier how to use a bow and arrow, but those in charge of the games are able to play on each competitor’s weaknesses and darkest fears so Katniss’s strengths may not be enough to help her survive.  Her life at home is a difficult one; since her father’s death in a coal mine accident, Katniss’s mother has suffered debilitating depression and can barely provide for Katniss and her charming younger sister, Prim.  Life in the districts is not easy for anyone, but Katniss soon learns that even that existence is much easier than participating in the cruel games. 

Though the story is wrapped up, the ending of The Hunger Games also leaves readers wanting more.  Fortunately, Collins rounds out the story with two additional tomes, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Readers of the first title will not be satisfied until they have devoured the whole trilogy.

 

The Outsiders

The Outsiders (Hinton, S.E., 1967, 192 pages, ISBN 9780140385724)

Though it was written more than 40 years ago, The Outsiders remains a relevant and compelling novel for young readers today.  The author, S.E. Hinton, knew a few things about teens and tweens, as she was only 15 when she began writing the novel.  The Outsiders is about two rival groups of teenage boys, the Greasers, poor boys from the wrong side of the tracks, and the Socs, society boys with money and privilege.  Certainly the tension between those two classes has not dissipated since the time of this book.

The protagonist, Ponyboy, is a Greaser living with his two older brothers after their parents have died.  Though he is not terribly violent, Ponyboy finds himself involved in a knife fight that goes awry when Greaser Johnny kills a Soc.  Johnny is on the run but about to turn himself in when he and Ponyboy come upon a church on fire with children trapped inside.  Their heroism ultimately costs Johnny his life, and Ponyboy must face the aftermath of the tragedy and destruction in which he has been involved.

A subplot to the story is Ponyboy’s friendship with Cherry, a Soc.  The two develop a sweet though forbidden friendship that helps Ponyboy realize not all Soces are alike.  Through this storyline, Hinton interjects poetry by Robert Frost.  Readers would not expect a Greaser to be fond of poetry, and readers who are not already familiar with Frost benefit by their exposure to the beauty of his words.  The Outsiders will evoke a range of emotions, and the timeless story of a hero who does not know his place in the world is sure to continue to be relevant and universal.

Touching Spirit Bear

Touching Spirit Bear (Mikaelsen, Ben; 2001; New York: Harper Collins; 241 pages; ISBN 9780380977444)

This story begins with a description of a very angry 15-year-old Cole Matthews arriving by boat at the remote corner of Alaska that will be his home for the next year.  Guilty of brutally beating a classmate, Cole thinks he is pulling one over on the system by agreeing to a year of banishment and intense survival training instead of being locked up.  The arrangement is part of “circle justice,” a system that focuses on healing after a violent crime rather than punishment, but Cole’s commitment to healing is fraudulent.  He does not feel remorse for his crime any more than he feels affection toward his distant, abusive parents.  The only emotion he truly feels is anger.

Cole overestimates his ability to skip out on his consequences, and his disrespectful, hostile attitude leads to a vicious attack by a large “spirit bear” that leaves him close to death.  Only when he reaches this desperately low point does Cole begin to think about what has brought him here, and how he will get past it if that is still possible.

Many people are ready to give up on Cole—and he makes it easy for them to do so with his lack of contrition or civility—but his parole officer and a Tlingit Indian elder have enough faith in Cole to try to help him learn other ways of dealing with the path he has chosen up to this point.  This novel addresses themes of survival, forgiveness, trust and respect for nature through a captivating story line and clear, concise, compelling writing.  It is a story that can penetrate the hardest of hearts and will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

 

Found

Found

(Haddix, Margaret Peterson; 2008; New York: Simon & Schuster; ISBN 9781416954170)

Found is the first book in The Missing series, in which a group of 13-year-old children who have all been adopted by various families discover the strange story of their origin: they were on board a plane that delivered 36 babies, unaccompanied by adults, and then disappeared.  Two of those children now lead the effort to discover the truth about this mystery.

Ages 10-14

Whales on Stilts

Whales on Stilts

(Anderson, M.T.; 2005; Orlando: Harcourt; 188 pages; ISBN 9780152053406)

The title of this book is not as strange as it sounds when the reader finds out that the protagonist’s father makes whale stilts for a living.  Why would a whale need stilts, one might ask?  Well, to carry out a secret plot in which whales will take over the world, of course.  When Lily finds out what her father’s evil boss is up to, she and her two friends take on the cause of defending the world against this dasterdly plan.

Ages 10 and up

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief (Riordan, Rick; Miramax Books/Hyperion Books for Children; 2005; 377 pages; ISBN 9780786856299)

The first book in the tremendously popular series, The Lightning Thief is the tale of 12-year-old Percy Jackson (an allusion to Perseus from Greek mythology).  Jackson is a demigod, the son of Poseidon and a mortal mother, and he seeks sanctuary at Camp Half-Blood along with other kids like him.  If traditional Greek myths do not appeal to some readers, surely this story will.

Brain Camp

 Brain Camp (Kim, Susan and Klavan, Laurence; 2010; 160 p., ISBN 9781596433663)

Summer camp takes a scary spin in this tale of Lucas and Jenna, two kids from different backgrounds who are invited to the exalted Camp Fielding--although neither Lucas nor Jenna is considered an especially great student.  They expect to roast marshmallows with the smart kids, but instead find themselves in the middle of a horror story!

Montage of graphics from the book is here.

(Ages 10+) 

Fever 1793

Fever 1793 (Anderson, Laurie Halse; 2000, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; 251 p., ISBN 9780689838583)

If the cover art with the close up of a yellowed eye does not grab you, the plot of this gripping novel will.  The story opens with a description of protagonist Mathilda (Mattie) Cook waking up on a sweltering August day in Philadelphia, 1793.  A buzzing mosquito—an ominous sign of the tragedy to come—provides the background noise as Mattie begins her morning routine of dressing and helping her widowed mother with chores.  The Cooks run a coffee house, popular in Philadelphia during this period, as the author explains in the appendix.  Her mother is all work and efficiency with no joy since Mattie’s father died.  Her grandfather, a celebrated war hero, adds humor and the gift of storytelling to Mattie’s life while helping with the coffee house.  But when their assistant, a young, healthy girl, dies suddenly from a fever, things go downhill fast.

The story follows the true account of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that killed 5,000 people in a matter of months.  Each chapter begins with the date (the story moves ver y quickly, in part because the timeline is so short) and a quote from a Philadelphan from that time which corresponds with the progress of the fever’s plague.  These details, along with mentions of actual politicians such as then President Washington, lend vivid color to this story that is already fascinating, thanks to Anderson’s concise, descriptive writing.  Philadelphia was the nation’s capital at this time, and the images of people boarding up and abandoning their homes and, in some cases, their ill relatives, is especially striking given this fact.

In addition to addressing the health epidemic, the story also includes themes of family, budding love, and the emerging role of free African Americans in the country at this time.  As with all of her books, this is a title to add to the bookshelf of any school library.

The Million Dollar Putt

The Million Dollar Putt (Gutman, Dan, 2006, 169 p. ISBN 9780786836413)

Edward “Bogie” Bogard may be blind, but that has never stopped him from participating in any number of activities, including sports. His neighbor Birdie (love the names) is a sighted girl who never tries anything new, until Bogie helps her. In turn, Birdie wants to coach Bogie in a million-dollar golf tournament. Bogie serves as a great symbol of confidence and support compensating for physical handicaps. Gutman also wrote Million Dollar Shot, Million Dollar Kick, Million Dollar Goal, and Million Dollar Strike.

Flipped

  Flipped (Van Draanen, Wendelin; Knopf, 2001; 212 p. 9780375811746)

Free-spirited Juli has a mad crush on buttoned-down Bryce, who cannot get far enough away from Juli for his liking.  Their contrasting feelings continue for six years, until the now-middle schoolers realize one day that things have…flipped, as each begins to see the other in a new light.  Each chapter alternates from Bryce’s point of view to Juli’s.

View a trailer from the 2010 movie here.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Al Capone Does My Shirts (Choldenko, Gennifer, 2004, 215 p. ISBN 0142403709 $6.99)

This fictionalized account of a family living on Alcatraz island in 1935 is charming, witty, and abundantly sweet.  Twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan narrates the tale of his family’s recent move that has brought his father to work on The Rock as an electrician and guard.  Moose is not happy about the move, which means he must leave behind his best friend and baseball-playing buddies, but his family is hopeful about getting his sister—who has autism, though that name and diagnosis do not yet exist—into a promising new school in San Francisco.  Moose is frequently torn between wanting to move back to his old, familiar life, and wanting to get help for the sister he loves.

Moose meets up with a new group of playmates, including the mischievous Piper—the warden’s daughter—who is always plotting a new scheme that is sure to land Moose in trouble.  The earnest and endearing Moose will appeal to a wide range of readers, including boys and girls from middle school on.  The author includes delightful details (many of which are probably true, as she explains in the notes) about Alcatraz at that time period, including Al Capone’s mother’s visit that sets off the metal detectors and sets the island abuzz.  It is a lovely tale of family loyalty, friendship, and finding one’s way in the difficult age of early adolescence.