Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis

It's 1988 in Tehran, Iran, nine years after the 1979 Revolution that sent the Shah of Iran into exile and the country's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, became the Supreme Leader of Iran.  For 15 year old Farrin Kazemi this meant living a lie.  On the first Monday of each month, her mother hosts a Bring Back the Shah Tea for Ladues of Culture, whose goal is to bring back the son of the Shah, since the Shah is already dead, and remove Ayatollah Khomeini.  Later, when the men join their wives there is dancing and alcohol, both illegal in the new Iran.  Farrin's family can afford many black market luxuries  like alchohol; her father is a successful businessman, building luxury homes, hiring illegal Afghans to do the building for little money and having them deported if they give him any trouble.

Farrin attends a private school for gifted girls.  The secret activites of her parents and her mother's attitude that those who support the Revolution are low-class rabble have left Farrin not just without any friends, but really disliked by Pargol, the power-weilding class monitor, who would like nothing better than to get Farrin in really serious trouble.

But then one day, Farrin hears beautiful music at school and discovers a new girl playing a santour, a forbidden instrument.  Her name is Sadira and by the end of the day, she and Farrin are friends.  And as time goes by, they discover they are attracted to each other beyond friendship.  But the girls must be extra careful.  Such things are illegal and the Revolutionary Guard is always on the look out for infractions of the country's strict laws.

The more Farrin and Sadira hang out together, the deeper their feelings for each other grow.  Farrin even feels she can trust Sadira enough to tell her about her mother's tea parties.  And finally, on a day the school is honoring an Iranian poet, Farrin chooses a is love poem to recite in assembly, hoping Sadira will understand it is her way of expressing her feelings.   When the assembly is abruptly ended, she recites the poem to Sadira when the two girls are alone in the gym.  Moved, the two girls embarce and kiss, just as Pargol enters the gym.

Needless to say, they are forbidden to see each other anymore.  And the principal strongly suggests to the parents that they should consider arranging a marriage for each girl - soon.  Still, Farrin and Sidera manage to find a way to write letters to each other.  But that just isn't enough.  An escape is planned and with the help of Farrin's family chauffeur, Sadira manages to sneak into her house during a tea party.  Planning to leave at daybreak, the girls fall asleep next to each other and that is how the Revolutionary Guard find them when they raid the house.

What's next for Farrin and Sadira in a country where their love is forbidden by law?

Farrin's story is based by the true story of an Iranian women that Deborah Ellis met, as she explains in her Author's Notes at the end of the book, a story that Ellis felt was important enough to tell.  Iran is a country where homosexuality is still punishable by death, as it is in seven other countries in the world.  In still other countries, it is punishable by imprisonment, as we have recently witnessed in Russia recently.  I think these events make Moon at Nine a story totally revelant in today's world, and not just an interesting piece of historical fiction.

That being said, I was a little disappointed in Moon at Nine.  Generally, I like Ellis's writing very much, but I found this book to be somewhat uninspired.  She presents us with a very concrete world, where everything is divided into good or bad.  The story is told from Farrin's point of view, and, for most of the story, I felt that she was a just spoiled brat who only wanted what she wanted and disregarded the possible consequences, rather than the strong-willed person I had expected.  I found when things got dangerous, I really didn't have much sympathy for her, and she didn't have much for anyone else other than herself and Sadira.  Sadira, on the other hand, seemed to be a strong girl who knew her own mind, until Farrin came into her life and suddenly she felt weak and disposable.  I started out liking her very much and, at the end, I did still feel some compassion for her.

Despite not liking this novel as much as I have liked Ellis's other works, for example, The Breadwinner books, I do think it is a very thought provoking and important books for teens to read, if only because it gives such a disturbing perspective of life in a very conservative country.  And it is definitely a welcome addition to the ever evolving body of LGBTQ literature.

NB: Following the Author's Notes is a very useful Book Club Reading Guide.  And, although Moon at Nine is a YA novel, there are some very graphic descriptions towards the end of the book.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was received as an eARC from NetGalley

Two Books for Kids about the Human Body

Human Body Lift-The-Flap by Susie Brooks, illustrated by Anthony Lewis

This is a short (just 16 pages) interactive picture book about the human body designed to answer what are probably a child's most frequently asked questions about their own anatomy and physiology.  The first two pages give an overall picture of the body and why each part is important and necessary.  This is followed by two pages on the brain, then two more on the body's skeleton, followed by the heart, the lungs, how the body uses food as fuel, our senses and finally our skin.  Each page comes with flaps that can be lifted for more focused information.  There are 50 flaps altogether.

It isn't a complicated book and the information is kept to a manageable level for the reader, but does answer those initial questions kids have as they become more aware of their own bodies.  I thought it was a nice introduction to the topic of the human body without overwhelming the young reader, although they might not like the board book format.

I wasn't crazy about the lift-the-flap part of the book because my Kiddo isn't so old that I can't remember what ultimately happened to those kinds of books. but I know kids love them.  And most likely, by the time the flaps are gone, the reader will have moved on (but too bad for the younger sibling who will inherit a flap book with no flaps).  I did like the illustrations - they are bright and energetic and wonderfully diverse (except for the last page at the seashore where I would have liked to have seen more diversity).   On the whole, I thought this was a pretty good book for kids about the human body.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was borrowed from a friend

This book will be available on April 8, 2014

WOW! Surprising Facts About the Human Body by Emma Dods, illustrated by Marc Aspinall

After your young readers have mastered some knowledge about the human body, it's time for them (and even you) to have some fun and discover more things about the body.  For instance, did you know that your thumb and your nose are the same length?

This book is loaded with all kinds of trivia about the body - some really interesting facts, some really gross facts and some funny ones, but all of them are fascinating.  The facts are loosely grouped by subject, and each page has colorful, energetic, whimsical illustrations.  This is the kind of book that will keep kids reading and the kinds of facts that they will no doubt dazzle you with at the dinner table. I remember loving books like this as a child, as did my Kiddo.

I found the pages a little busy, but not annoyingly so.  I did like that the people in the illustrations were widely diverse.  There is even an picture of a girl in a wheelchair that has nothing to do with the theme  on the page, which happens to be hair and nails.

This is in interesting romp though the human body, though I did wonder where author Emma Dods got all her information.  Still, it is a book that will entertain kids with facts they can then take to the schoolyard and amaze their friends with.

This book is recommended for readers age 5+
This book was borrowed from a friend.

These are books 3 and 4 of my 2014 Nonfiction Picture Book Reading Challenge hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy

What's Your Favorite Animal? by Eric Carle and Friends

There are two ways that children ask the same question. The first way is: "If you could be any animal in the world, what would it be?" And the second way is the much simpler, more direct "what's your favorite animal?"

Well, Eric Carle and 13 of his illustrator friends were always asked the second question, and this is the book their answers became.  And what an absolutely enchanting book it is.  In a two page spread, each artist illustrates his favorite animal and tells why it has achieved favorite status for him or her.

I oohed and ahhed over some, like Eric Carle's Cats; I laugh over others, like Nick Bruel's favorite, which not surprisingly isn't Bad Kitty; and I nodded my head in agreement over Tom Lichtenheld's giraffe, because that is my favorite, too.

And there are penguins and rabbits and elephants and horses and all kind of animals, each drawn in their illustrator's own inimitable style and medium:

The illustrator's and their animals on the back
of the dust jacket

This is a very cool book and it will no doubt generate all kinds of inspiration among its young readers, who might want to recreate this book with things like their family or friend's favorite animals, complete with illustrations and reasons why.

And if that isn't enough, kids should get out those Crayola's or paints or whatever their favorite illustrating tools are and draw their own favorite animals, because along with an exhibition of original work by the illustrators from this wonderfully colorful book, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is inviting people to create illustrations depicting their favorite animal.  And because the submission must be in digital form, it means it is open to anyone, anywhere.  Here is a wonderful chance for all budding artists to hang with the best of them.

For more information and submission guidelines, visit The "What's Your Favorite Animal? Project.

But, wait, there's more:

All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.  If you haven't been to the museum in Amherst, MA, but are planning a trip there, you are in for a real treat.  When my Kiddo was at Mount Holyoke College, and I went up to visit her, The Eric Carle Museum was one of my favorite places to visit.  So pick up a copy of What's Your Favorite Animal? and have some fun.

This book is recommended for animal lovers of all ages
This book was purchased for my personal library

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

In this retelling of Han Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Snow Queen, Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard, 11, and her sister Alice, 16, travel north with their father to an unnamed country where it always snows.  It is three days before Christmas and the opening of the world's greatest exhibit of swords.  Mr. Whittard is a sword expert who will be helping the museum's curator, Miss Kaminski, with the exhibit, and he is hoping that the trip will help his daughters better cope with their mother's death.  She was a fantasy writer who believed in anything and everything, including that which is magical.

Ophelia, on the other hand, is a realist, possessing the logical mind of a budding scientist.  But she is also a shy, rather timid girl who is an asthmatic and frequently relies on her inhaler, or puffer, as she calls it.  On their first day at the museum, Miss Kaminski takes Alice, a very attractive girl, under her wing almost immediately, ignoring Ophelia to the point of even getting her name wrong and leaving her to wander around the exhibits by herself.

And that is how she meets the Marvelous Boy, locked away in a room at the far end of this enormous museum, a prisoner of the Snow Queen, for the last 300 years.  The Marvelous Boy begins to tell her his story through the keyhole and convinces her to search for a key that will help free him.

Reluctantly, Ophelia plucks up some courage to look for the key, promising herself that would be that once the boy was free.  But over the next few days, Ophelia finds herself looking for two more keys, encountering hungry Misery Birds, ghosts of young girls begging her not to leave them, and vicious wolves, among other dangers.  Luckily, throughout her questing, she is accompanied by the voice and memory of her mother, encouraging her onwards.

While all this is going on, Ophelia begins to notice changes in Alice under Miss Kaminski's mentoring. Slowly, Ophelia begins to get a sense of something evil about the curator, as Alice falls more and more under her spell, becoming as cold and cruel as Miss Kaminski, interested only in the nice things she is allowed to wear.  The incredibly beautiful, but cold curator is also beginning to suspect that Ophelia is getting wise to who she really is and to her purpose for setting up "Battle: The Greatest Exhibition of Swords in the History of the World."  The last quest the Marvelous Boy sends Ophelia on is to find his magical sword and the One Other who will know what to do with it, before it falls into Miss Kaminski's hands.  If it does, at the stroke of midnight Christmas Eve, Miss Kaminski will have the power to rule the world with it.

At first, I didn't care much for this story since fairy tale retellings are not my favorite subgenre.  But the more I read this book, the more I liked it.  And even after I finished, I found myself thinking about Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy and remembering bits that I particularly enjoyed.  For example, as Ophelia went around the museum, she keep consulting her map of it, and if you look at the end papers, you will find a rendering of the map drawn by illustrator Yoko Tanaka.

I particularly liked that the voice in Ophelia's head was a good kind mother who really was accepting and encouraging, even if she was dead.  It just goes to show that those we loved really can live on in an important way in our memories.

I also really liked the way Foxlee mixed the magic past of the Marvelous Boy that seems confined to the museum only and the present reality of Ophelia's world outside the museum's perimeter.  Computers, airplanes, Ophelia's inhaler, mix nicely with the Marvelous Boy, the magical sword and a Queen who can make it snow for 300 years, and morph into a museum curator.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy is a fun story, a little slow at times, but still very readable.  It is well written with a well developed protagonist, and although this is predictable good vs. evil fairy tale type story, it has a very exciting, satisfying ending.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from a friend

The Book of Maggie Bradstreet by Gretchen Gibbs

It is 1692 and in Andover, Massachusetts, Maggie Bradstreet has received a blank book with many pages to fill up with her thoughts for her 13th birthday.  Maggie, whose father, Dudley Bradstreet, is the magistrate, has been fortunate enough to have learned to read and write beyond what most girls learn at the time.  Still, Maggie would like to have continued with school like her older brother Dudley Jr. is allowed to do.  And unfortunately, Maggie isn't quite as good at needlework, cooking or other household jobs expected of girls and women.

Maggie would much rather go off with her friends - Polly Bridges, whose father is a blacksmith and tends to drink away his profits and is considered not a fit friend for Maggie by her parents; Hannah  Dane, granddaughter of Reverend Francis Dane; and Sarah Abbot, the first to bring the news to Maggie and Hannah that witchcraft is no longer only in Salem but has come to Andover.  And so on May 29, 1692, Maggie, Hannah and Sarah walk the distance to Goody Carrier's house to see her arrested for being a witch, changing life in Andover for everyone.

Like the citizens of Salem, where a witchcraft frenzy was already in full sway, Andover was a Puritan settlement and now the same kind of witchcraft frenzy is stirred up in the Meeting House there, fueled by the afternoon sermons of Rev. Thomas Barnard.  Rev. Dane attempted to be the voice of reason but fear drives people's feeling and before long, arrests are made, including Polly Bridges' mother, an arrest that nearly destroys the family.

Throughout all this, Maggie can only watch and worry.  But she stands by her friend Polly as much as possible.  And because her father is the magistrate, it is his job to write the arrest warrants for all the witchcraft arrests that follow Goody Carrier's that fateful summer and fall of 1692.  But there comes a point when he can no longer go against his conscience and when he refuses to write any more warrants, Maggie, her parents and brother are forced to flee Andover and hide out in New Hampshire, leaving behind Maggie's beloved dog, Tobey.  Tobey pays a heavy price when it is rumored that he has been bewitched by Maggie's Uncle John Bradstreet, as does everyone who is accused of being a witch, a wizard or bewitched by one of them.

At the back of the book, Gretchen Gibbs explains how The Book of Maggie Bradstreet came about. Her parents were both interested in family history and it was her father discovered they were related to Dudley Bradstreet, the magistrate, and how he refused to write any more warrants.  Maggie's diary is, however, historical fiction based on real events and real people, most of whom appear in this book.  Much of the information about the accused and their trials that Maggie details in her fictional diary was obtained from records of the time found at the Historical Societies of Andover.

I found Maggie Bradstreet to be a believable character, because she is far from perfect, even in Puritan society and  one that kids would really be able to relate to.  Because her diary is kept in a secret place, she is honest about her crush on Polly's cousin Tyler, how she feels towards other people, and through her writing, you can see how she begins to develop her own skepticism about witchcraft based on what she sees and hears.

I found The Book of Maggie Bradstreet to be an engaging, thought provoking novel, one that is eminently readable.  I think it also resonates in today's world because it shows how easily people can be swayed to believe even the most unlikely things about their former friends and neighbors.  Which is scary stuff, when you think about it.

I personally like reading books about this period of American history, for much the same reason as Gibbs.  I, too, have family that witnessed but were not involved in the witchcraft accusations, trials and hanging in Salem, MA.  Gibbs enough background information about that, so the story would appeal even to a reader not familiar with the Witch Trials.  She also gives lots of detailed information about what life was life for the Puritans on a daily basis, and the influence their religion had one them, but not so much that it bogs down the story.    

The Book of Maggie Bradstreet includes a map and information about what happened to the people involved in the Witch Trials of Andover.  This book is a nice companion to Elizabeth George Speare's novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which takes place a few years before the Salem Witch Trials, but shows how witchcraft was in the air even then.  Maggie Bradstreet is a nice addition to any classroom, home school, or personal library.

This book is recommended for readers 12+
This book was received as an eARC from Net Galley

The Sittin' Up by Sheila P. Moses

For 12 year old Stanbury Jones, Jr., called Bean, the night that his friend, Mr. Bro. Wiley, the 100 year old former slave that lived with the Jones family, passes away begins one of the most important weeks in his life. 

Mr. Bro. Wiley had lived with Bean’s family for 5 years, since 1935.  Bean and his best friend Martha Rose, called Pole, spent much of their childhood in the company of this loving, gentle man, listening to his stories about life in the Low Meadows community, and learning from his experience.  

Now, with the death of Mr. Bro. Wiley, Bean and Pole both want to be part of the sittin’ up, the week long custom of mourning and remembering the dead, and where the body is brought home and laid out for neighbors to pay their respects the night before the funeral.  And finally, when Bean and Pole are both told they are old enough to participate in the sittin’ up, they vow to do the best they can for their friends.

At the same time that the community is preparing for Mr. Bro. Wiley’s sittin’ up, a big storm is predicted to be coming their way and since most of the community lives by the river, it is cause for some concern.  

And if a sittin’ up and a storm aren’t enough, Bean’s mother, Magnolia Jones, is pregnant with her second child and just about due.

Needless to say, these three things come together at the same time and while there are no big surprises, The Sittin’ Up ends on a very hopeful note not often seen in middle grade fiction.  

The characters may feel somewhat stereotypical, but Moses grew up in the area she writes about, one of 10 children living on Rehobeth Road in Rich Square, so I would presume she knew what she was writing.

As much as I enjoyed reading this novel, I felt like something was missing.  First off, I kept wondering why Mr. Bro. Wiley was called by that name when his real name was George Lewis Wiley.  Moses explained how Bean and Pole got their nicknames, and even why Mr. Bro. Wiley called Bean’s mother Christmas, but nothing about this most enigmatic of names.

The Sittin’ Up is told in the first person by Bean, and while that allows Moses to easily get in wonderful descriptions of the Low Meadows and the town of Rich Square, it also allows Bean to go off on disconcerting tangents about people and events from the past, there to gives us a better window of what life used to be like.  It suffers from the stilted colloquial-filled dialect and some annoying repetition.  All this rich description left the present characters a bit empty feeling, lacking in real feeling and emotion, and they feel like they are flatly repeating dialogue.   

I wish I had liked this better, because I had really been looking forward to reading it.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was obtained from the publisher 

Ultra by David Carroll

For anyone who doesn't know yet, Ultra is the winner of the 2013 Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction.  I was a second round judge in this category and I have to admit that a book about running didn't appeal to me very much and I put off reading Ultra until it was the only one left to read.  And then, I couldn't put it down.  I was literally riveted and read the book in one sitting.

Told within the framework of a post race interview, Ultra tells the story of Quinn Scheurmann, 12, who has just competed a 100 mile race called the Shin Kicker 100, in which runners have 24 hours to complete a course that takes them through some pretty rough terrain.

Originally, Quinn and his dad were supposed to race together, but even though his dad isn't there, he decides to run the race anyway.  His dad had gotten Quinn interested in running when he was 8 years old and discovered that Quinn had "superpowers" that enabled him to keep running long distances without getting tried the way most runners eventually do.  Quinn's body doesn't produce lactic acid, the stuff responsible for the 'brun' you feel while exercising.

Quinn is running with the support of his mother, little brother Ollie, who is also Quinn's pacer, and best friend, Kneecap.  His friendship with Kneecap has really been tested the past few months before the race, as Quinn withdrew more and more into himself,  But she stuck by him anyway, even giving him her small, light cellphone at the beginning of the race, replacing his mother's old clunky weighty phone.

Along the race route, Quinn meets two people.  First is an elderly man called the Dirt Eater (his t-shirt says Eat My Dirt on the back of it), who advises Quinn to drop out of the race.  The other is a middle age lady cop named Kera, who tells him he is going to love running the 100 mile course.  Two very different people who ultimately impact Quinn's race.

But along the way, what goes on in Quinn's head is what will keep you reading.  Conversation with his absent dad, regrets about things done to hurt Kneecap, hallucinations of all kinds.

And as Quinn begins to wonder what he is running to or what he is running from, his real work, the work of healing, of coming of age, of coming to terms, unfold.  It all comes together at mile 97, when Quinn reaches The Shrine.  The Shrine is a pile of rocks containing a metal box that says:
For runners left behind,
And for those who give us courage, 
We give thanks at The Shrine.

That Quinn finishes the race is already known, but how it happens is well worth the journey with him.

A hand drawn map of Quinn's 100 Mile Race (courtesy of David Caroll)

I had never heard of a 100 mile race before I read Ultra, but David Carroll is an experienced ultra marathoner, so he definitely knows what he is talking about as far as the details of the race is concerned.  Yet, as prepared as Quinn was for his race, all kinds of unexpected things go wrong and Carroll has so carefully detailed these things that you know if either happened to him on a distance run or he witnessed it happening to a fellow runner.  Either way, it gives very realistic ambiance to the novel.

At the beginning of each chapter, we are told the mile that Quinn has reached so we never lose our sense of bearing in the story, as we track Quinn's progress.  The interview that frames the story breaks into Quinn's narrative intermittently, providing not just more information, but also some relief from what could become overwhelming emotionally.

Ultra is David Carroll's debut novel and he has done a wonderful job of it.  It is unfortunately not the easiest book to find for US readers.  It is published by Scholastic Canada, and sadly, Canadian books are not always as widely distributed in the United States as American books are in Canada, which means we miss out on a lot of good books.  However, you can order Ultra from Amazon.ca and I get nothing for posting this other than the satisfaction that someone may buy this really worthwhile Cybils winning middle grade book.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was provided to me by the Cybils award

Scholastic provides a useful discussion guide for reading Ultra in the classroom, homeschooling, or book group.

And if you are curious about lactic acid and how it makes Quinn a kid with "superpowers" you can find more information HERE

This is author David Carroll finishing a 100 mile race
wearing Quinn's number "Lucky 13"

Immortal Max by Lutricia Clifton

Sam, 12, really wants a pedigree puppy, but he is told that he must wait until Max, an older, overly affectionate, mangy-looking, smelly rescue dog dies before he can get a new dog.  His mother thinks that a puppy might be too much for old Max to deal with.

Trouble is, Max is a miracle dog.  Brought home one day from her job by older sister Beth, Max was on his leg and expected to die within days.  But with Sam's care, Max recovered and ever since has become known as immortal Max.

But Sam finally gets his mom to change her mind about a new puppy, so now he must figure out how to pay for it when he discovers the high cost of a pedigree dog.  With the help of two classmates, Sam gets a job walking three dogs in an exclusive gated community, but unfortunately, Justin, a boy in his class, lives there, too - Justin, who has money to burn AND a pedigree German Shepard.  And there is nothing that Justin enjoys more than bullying Sam, especially when he can do it in his father's golf cart.

But when a tragic accident happens, Sam loses his job even though it wasn't his fault.  Is his dream of a new pedigree puppy gone?

Lutricia Clifton likes to write stories about character's coming of age and coming to terms with the rotten deal life has dealt them - or so they think that is what they have gotten.  Remember Freaky Fast Frankie Joe?  Immortal Max is also an interesting story about learning to appreciate what you have and realizing that things in life are always tentative - here today, gone tomorrow.

I think Clifton created a nice contrast between rich, upper class, mean-spirited Justin and his wild untrained German Shepard Bruno, and Sam, whose family is always trying to make ends meet since his father was killed in an auto accident, and Max, his well trained, fiercely loyal and loving dog.

I did find myself getting annoyed with Sam's selfishness in the beginning.  And even though he at first resents the $75.00 his mother spends on his little sister Rosie's entry into a princess contest, it turns out to be a very rewarding experience for Sam.  And he does care that Beth is driving on bald tires after paying her college tuition and fees.

I am sure we will all recognize Sam's level of desperate desire, in his case, for a pedigree puppy, wanting it so badly he is blind to everything but that.  Yet, haven't' we or our kids all wanted something just that badly at some point in our/their lives?

I did like that Sam's school friends are a somewhat diverse group that included an Indian boy and an Asian girl, giving it a nice realistic touch.

And while I do think that the ending may feel a little predictable, it is Sam's journey to that ending that we are really interested in…because, of course, we could see what he couldn't.

FYI: There is a 5 autographed copy giveaway on Goodreads for Immortal Max running from March 1st to March 30th.

Immortal Max will be available on April 1, 2014.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an ARC from the publisher