I have been getting ready for this year's visiting author,
Margaret Peterson Haddix. I just finished her new book, FOUND.
This book promises to be another exciting beginning to her new sci fi series, The Missing: Book 1, and what a cliffhanger ending!
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you." As the story moves along, we learn that Jonah and Chip were part of a group of babies who landed mysteriously
thirteen years ago - no pilot, no charted flight, no information!

Check out this intriguing video book trailer for a glimpse of this
new book: click here

Ms. Peterson wrote another powerful story last year in the historical novel, Uprising.
This book takes us back to the beginning of the 20th century and introduces readers to several immigrant girls who have come to America for a better life. The story revolves
around their place of employment in New York City, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.

If you know your American history, you know that this was the location of one of the worst fires in our history. The author takes you inside the factory the day of the fire. Though the story is based on a real disaster, we see what life was like for young
women at this point in our heritage.

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Gordon Korman was the visiting author at Hayes this year. I got to sit in on his
talk with some of the freshmen. The high schoolers had read his book Jake Reinvented which is a new take on The Great Gatsby.
His new book, though, is perfect for middle school mystery and humor readers.
One of the best sellers at our Spring Book Fair, Swindle is the story of a baseball
card heist! Summary: After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way, but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his.

I just finished reading Lois Lowry's new book, The Willoughbys.
Hmmm? Very different from anything I have ever read by her. By the end of the book I was really enjoying the dark "tongue-in-cheek" humor. It is actually a
compilation/spinoff of several stories from classic children's literature and provesto be rather fun - even if the fun is a little sadistic. Her word choice throughout the book adds to the fun.

Summer Reading - Books to Movies

Prince Caspian - by C.S. Lewis

This movie tie-in edition of the unabridged original novel will be digest size, and feature a movie cover and 8-page movie still insert.

First published in 1951, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy help Prince Caspian organize his army of Talking Beasts to fight against an evil king who has taken control of Narnia.

Coming this fall ...

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! This stunning debut novel offers a fascinating cast of original characters.

DuPrau continues the story in The People of Sparks.

The third book in the series is actually the prequel, explaining what life was like that led people to create Ember. This third book is entitled The Prophet of Yonwood. DuPrau is at work on the fourth book in this series

due out in the fall of 2008.

Check out the fun website connection: www.randomhouse.com/teens/booksofember

The author's website: www.jeanneduprau.com

The movie preview: www.cityofember.com

I have gotten so hooked on The Five Ancestors books. My son is very involved in martial arts an so this series intrigued me for boys but I found I really liked it and am excited that the new title has just come out this spring. The series starts with Tiger, Book One.

Review: Twelve-year-old Fu and his temple brothers Malao, Seh, Hok, and Long don't know who their parents were. Raised from infancy by their grandmaster, they think of their temple as their home and their fellow warrior monks - their "temple brothers" - as their family. Then one terrible night, the temple is destroyed. Fu and his brothers are the only survivors. Charged by their grandmaster to uncover the secrets of their past, the five flee into the countryside and go their separate ways. Book #1 follows Fu as he struggles to find out more and prove himself in the process.

As soon as school is out, my first summer read is Book #5 in the series, Eagle.

Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers
In 1925 Harlem, 16-year-old Mark Purvis wants a chance to play saxophone for piano-playing jazz great Fats Waller. Fats offers another opportunity first--a simple delivery job for some fast cash. However, gangster Dutch Schultz wants in on the deal, in this poignant, often hilarious coming-of-age novel.


If you are a fan of Walter Dean Myers and enjoyed
Slam!, you will find his new book very similar and just
as action packed. Simply titled, Game is his new book.

Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to, because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run squarely into a pick. Coach's new offense has made another player a star, and Drew won't let anyone disrespect his game. Just as his team makes the playoffs, Drew must come up with something big to save his fading college prospects. It's all up to Drew to find out just how deep his game really is.




If you liked The City of Ember, try a change of climate with First Light by Rebecca Stead, a first time author. A cool read for a hot day!
Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland, but he struggles to understand a series of visions that both frightens and entices him. Suspected of witchcraft, Theas people have retreated to a secret world deep inside the Arctic ice. Their meeting reveals secrets of both their pasts and changes their future.








PHINEAS GAGE by John Fleischman.

Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. A railroad construction foreman, Phineas was blasting rock near Cavnedish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived another eleven years and became a textbook case in brain science. But he was forever changed by the accident, and what happened inside his brain will tell you a lot about how your brain works and what makes us who we are.

I traveled to Cavendish, Vermont, last summer as a result of this book to see the monument to Phineas. His brain has been studied and has traveled the country for years for doctors to learn about brain function. A sad but interesting medical story.


SOCCER. The Ultimate Guide to the Beautiful Game by Clive Gifford.
The summer of World Cup Soccer offers a great opportunity to read more about the game. Enjoy this global look at international "football."

BOARDS. THE ART AND DESIGN OF THE SKATEBOARD by MTV Overboard Books.

"Boards" is the first book to focus on the unique art of skateboard design, featuring hundreds of color photos covering the work of today's hottest board designers, including Birdhouse (Tony Hawk's company). Girl, Chocolate, Zoo York, Enjoi, and 5Boros.



What have YOU been reading this summer?
I am just getting ready to start Jerry Spinelli's new book,
Smiles to Go. I will get back to this blog when I get it finished.