Day 24: The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies

Anna and her brother Tom really, really want a hamster. After pestering their mother she gives in and buys not one but two hamsters from the local pet shop. The siblings are very excited to have their new pets but excitement turns to horror when the animals are found dead in their cage. Anna, Tom and next door neighbor Suzanne set out to find out what cause the hamster massacre. This is a weird book. I picked it up because of the cover and I thought it might be funny, but it’s not really funny. I think the problem is it is not sure what kind of book it is. It starts out funny and has silly illustrations but then it takes a weird turn. Anna and Tom’s grandmother dies and that is kind of glossed over, you find out why their mother really doesn’t want hamsters and the story is a bit gruesome. Then the hamster massacre! All I can say is wow! It turns out that one of the hamsters is a girl and pregnant. She gives birth to eight baby hamsters. The next day, the mother hamster is found half dead with one leg missing, the boy hamster is missing and all eight babies are dead. The vet says that the mother killed her babies because the male hamster was jealous. Then the male hamster attacked the female hamster and chewed her leg off. Anna does not believe that this is what happened and she, Tom and Suzanne set out to find out the true story. Well, there isn’t a mystery at all, what the vet said happened, really happened. It is just a weird book! I can see students being so upset about the hamster massacre. I think hamsters are just rats with cuter outfits and I was disturbed by the gruesome death of the animals. The fact that there is not really much of a story added to my dislike of this book. I would not recommend this book. 

Day 23: Middleworld: The Jaguar Stones Book One by J&P Voelkel

Max Murphy lives a very boring life in Boston with his archeologist parents. Max spends a lot of time alone playing video games because his parents are more interested in the Ancient Mayan world they are in him. One day his parents announce that they are headed to Central America for a dig at recently discovered Mayan site. Max is resigned to spending the summer being babysat by the strange nanny Zia, when he is mysteriously summoned to San Xavier by his parents. When he arrives he finds his parents are missing. Soon, Max is mixed up with a Mayan girl, Lola on a crazy adventure through the rain forest. Lola and Max are pulled into an adventure involving Mayan gods, ancient curses, the mysterious and powerful Jaguar stones and the possible end of the world. I picked up this book because my students are always looking for books life Percy Jackson. This was an new concept involving Mayan history. I liked parts of the book but I did not love it. Not all of the characters are developed very well. The authors introduce so many characters that pop in and out of the book. I found myself flip back to remember who they were and how Max knew them. The story ends with a lot of loose ends and storylines hanging out there. I’m not sure I would remember them all for book two. I think this might be tough to find an audience for. Not many kids will stick with it to the end. It might find a home with a determined reader who is interested in archeology and ancient societies. I would recommend this for fifth grade and up. 

Day 22: The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull

This is a picture book biography about the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum. Baum grew up in a wealthy family and was spoiled by his parents. As an adult, he followed many whims and brilliant ideas in an effort to make a living. Most of these pursuits ended in failure. Baum’s greatest love was spending time with his four sons. Every night he would make up stories to tell his children before bedtime. News of Baum’s talent as a storyteller spread to other children in the neighborhood and soon he was sharing his stories with them as well. He took notes and suggestions from his audience about what they liked and did not like about his stories. Baum created the world of Oz from these suggestions and ideas as well as from life experiences, such as a visit to The White City at the 1893 World’s Fair. This is a wonderful story to share with students when discussing the writing process. It took Baum years to write this story, he wrote and rewrote it. The inspiration for many of the memorable characters came from everyday life and he took the suggestions and criticisms of others. This is all great information to share with students as they start writing their own stories. 

Day 21: How To Be an Egyptian Princess by Jacqueline Morley

How To Be an Egyptian Princess is part of a series published by National Geographic. The book opens with an advertisement for a princess, information about where to apply for the job and a brief introduction about traveling back in time to Ancient Egypt to learn more about the job. Readers learn all about the life of an Egyptian princess. The book is full of information about family life, palace life, clothes and the life of Egyptian royalty. The book ends with a brief quiz to see if the reader is qualified for the job. I think the concept of the book is fun but the text is a bit dry and the illustrations are very bland. The You Wouldn’t Want to Be… series is much better. That series is more fun and presents history in a more interesting way. I would recommend You Wouldn’t Want to be Cleopatra as a much more appealing book about Ancient Egyptian royal life. 

Day 20: The Popularity Papers: The Long Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham- Chang by Amy Ignatow

This is the second book about Lydia and Julie. In the first Popularity Papers book, Lydia and Julie are determined to find out what makes the popular crowd popular so when they start middle school they will know what to do. The friends keep a journal full of drawings and instructions of what they learned by watching the in crowd. They end up having some mishaps and fights along the way. In the end the best friends find that they can be themselves and follow what they are interested in and they will find friends and that the love and support they have for each other is special. In this book, Lydia’s mom announces that the family will be moving to London for the year. Lydia is devastated that all of their hard work from the previous year will be a wasted because she will not be starting middle school with Julie. The friends decide to keep their journal going online and Lydia will try and put the lessons to work in London, Julie’s job is to get the lay of the land in middle school so when Lydia comes home they will be popular. Again lots of mishaps, misunderstanding and laughs happen along the way. The Popularity Papers books don’t break new ground with the story or the message. In the end Lydia and Julie learn that being themselves is always the best and good friends are more important than being popular. This is a common theme in middle grade novels for girls. What I do like about these books is the journal format. The illustrations are funny and creative and add a lot to the story. Students who are not big readers love this book and I know they will be excited to read this installment. 

Day 19: Trouble at the Arcade: Hardy Boys Secret Files #1 by Franklin W. Dixon

This book is a new series in the Hardy Boys collection. The book is geared toward younger readers, transition chapter book readers. It follows the adventures of Joe and Frank, the Hardy brothers. In the series the brothers are in elementary school and solve mysteries that are very appropriate for that age group. In Trouble at the Arcade the brothers are participating in a video game tournament at the local arcade when the prize money goes missing. I was happy to see this series because there are not many transition chapter books for boys. The Hardy Boys series is great but the original series is for older readers and could be considered historical fiction now. A couple of years ago, Hardy Boys graphic novels came out and a lot of my boys were really excited to read those. The issue with those books is the brothers are in high school and some of the situations are a bit old for a younger reader. Also, the images of the girls in the graphic novels are a bit much, cleavage and too short skirts. I plan on purchasing more of the Hardy Boys Secret Files series and promoting it to my second and third grade mystery readers. 

Day 18: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

This is the second book in the Kane Chronicles series. The books follow brother and sister, Carter and Sadie. The siblings are descendants of the Egyptian gods and are the only ones who can save the world as the ancient force of Chaos is trying to escape from the Duat, the god world and destroy the human world. Riordan is the author of the Percy Jackson series which I loved. That series follows Greek and Roman gods. I was excited when I heard he was writing a book about Egyptian myths. When I read the first book in the Kane Chronicles I did not love it. I found it a bit confusing and it seems packed with way too many Egyptian gods, monsters and history. I am not at all familiar with the Egyptian myths and history and Riordan did not explain the myths or the historical connections very well. Many of my students who loved the Percy Jackson series were also confused and disappointed by the Kane series. I decided to give the series another try and read the second book. I did like this book better. Riordan explains the Egyptian myths in a better manner then in the previous book. Also the story seems to flow better and there is a clear quest that Carter and Sadie go on. The Throne of Fire is action packed and brings to life Egyptian myths and history. I hope more students will give the series another try. I would recommend this book for fourth grade and up.