Book of the Week #11: Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture
by Kathryn Lasky

“‘Mum! Da!’ he cried out in his half sleep. He would forever regret calling out those two words, for suddenly, the night was ripped with a shrill screech, and Soren felt talons wrap around him. Now he was being lifted.” Soren was snatched and before he knew it he was in St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. The Capture by Kathryn Lasky is a captivating story about one owl’s courage to fight all circumstances and what a friendship can do in frightening places.

Soren is a barn owl that lives in the Forest Kingdom of Tyto. He nested with his family in a hollow until one day he fell out of his nest and was snatched by owls. He ends up in a mysterious place called St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls which is nestled in deep canyons. He meets another owl named Gylfie. Gylfie is a very smart elf owl from the Desert of Kuneer. Together they discover the evil that St. Aggie’s is planning.

St. Aggie’s is a band of horrible owls that snatch owls and then “moon blink” them. Moon blinking hypnotizes owls and floods them of all emotion and rational thinking. This is their army of owls that will someday help St. Aggie’s take control of all the owl kingdoms on Earth. Luckily Soren and Gylfie learn how to escape the moon blinking by staying out of the moonlight. This means they are the only ones that can even think about escaping St. Aggies and saving the world from evil.

The writing talents of Kathryn Lasky are ingenious. It is amazing that such a far-fetched story could sound so real. The reality is created by her strong details and the depth of thought from the owls. The owls in the story are like humans in a sense, with many emotions and intense thoughts. This all puts the reader in the moment, whether flying with the owls or battling with the owls.

The different places the owls end up are all very Earth-like. The canyons of St. Aggie’s for example are fascinatingly described. With the deep walls and huge arches it is like you are there. Also, the Forest Kingdom of Tyto is described beautifully. The forest has giant fir trees 100 feet tall and hollows within the trees.

This action packed New York Times bestselling book will definitely thrill readers. It will change the way you think about the animal kingdom. But will Soren and Gylfie escape from St. Aggie’s? Will they find their families? Read The Capture by Kathryn Lasky and you’ll find out.

--Scholastic Kid Reporter Daniel Wetter

Book of the Week #10: A Dog's Life

A Dog's Life
By Ann M. Martin

The book I read for Scholastic Summer Challenge was A Dog’s Life by Ann M. Martin. The book is about a stray female dog named Squirrel who is the main character and the storyteller. Squirrel is not as brave as her brother Bone, but she is very smart. Moon is a female dog too and she is bold and brave.

A Dog’s Life is a story about adventure, because the main character travels from town to town, and forest to forest, because she does not have a home.  In the book you will learn about Squirrel’s life from when she was a puppy to when she is an old dog. You will find that being a stray is harder than anyone could imagine. You will see how dogs are treated when in the hands of good owners and bad owners. 

As a person who is not a dog owner, I learned a lot about how dog owners treat their pets.  For example, there are two people named George and Marcy who take in Squirrel and Bone when they are puppies.  Since they were puppies, they did not know too many manners, so whenever they did something bad, they got spanked. This is an example of a bad owner.

In the end, Squirrel met a good owner named Susan.  Susan kept Squirrel, loved her and cared for her.  Those examples are some things owners do.  I think the emotions of dogs and humans are almost the same. They both feel sadness, happiness, and pain.

If I were a book critic, I would say the author did a very nice job on writing the book. It is an autobiography. There are not a lot of scary parts.  I think the book is good for people like me who like adventure and a story with lots of description.

Ann M. Martin (the author) has written many children’s books, including A Corner of the Universe, Here Today, Belle Teal, P.S. Longer Letter Later, and Snail Mail No More.  A Corner of the Universe won a Newberry Medal.  Ann M. Martin lives in upstate New York and works with an animal rescue organization.

--Scholastic Kid Reporter Alexander Parham

Book of the Week #8: Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: Moving Day
By Meg Cabot

If you like books that are fun and have many silly jokes, then Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: Moving Day is the book for you.  A book filled with lots of drama from Allie and her friends, many laughs and of course, rules.

Allie has one friend named Marry Kay. Allie’s not that crazy about her; she really wants a new best friend.  But when Allie wanted a change, her parents gave her one. The secret was that they were moving.

Allie wasn’t surprised. Her mom had wanted to test out her home improvement skills on an old house that she could restore. Their current house was already redone. Allie didn’t mind moving at first, but soon she did.

Moving means new friends, new school, new house, new everything. When Allie moves, she will also have to deal with the challenge of being the new girl. Allie wanted a change, but not one as big as moving. Even though Allie wants a change (a new best friend) she likes her house and doesn’t want a new one.

The characters in the book have a good mix of personalities. Many of the characters are very different from each other, especially Allie and Mary Kay. Allie and her rules are fun. Some are silly, and some are ones that really make sense. For example, a silly one that Allie uses is “Never eat anything red.” A good rule that’s not very silly is “Treat your friends the way you’d want them to treat you.” There are many more rules in the book. Allie was very believable throughout the book. If she said something about moving, Mary Kay or school, you could definitely believe her. As I read the book, she almost felt like a best friend to me.

I enjoyed the book as every chapter added to a great story. The chapters weren’t short but they weren’t long and the story moved quickly without long descriptions. This is the first in a series, and it left me wanting to read the next book. I became so lost in the book that whenever I wasn’t reading it, I was talking about it.

I would recommend Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls to all girls who love a good fun book with silly moments.

Book of the Week #7: Swindle

Swindle
by Gordon Korman

Even though this is a fictional story, author Gordon Korman really made me feel as if I was in the main character’s place while I was reading Swindle. When main character Griffin finds a rare Babe Ruth baseball card, a man named S. Wendell, a dealer who sells valuable things like old action figures, says it is a fake. So Griffin sells it for $160. However, when Griffin hears S. Wendell saying that the card is very rare and that he intends to sell it for over $1,000,000, Griffin plans to stop him!

Griffin is an 11-year-old boy who likes to hatch up plans to make things “better.” In the beginning, he has a plan to save an old home that is going to be destroyed and then turned into a museum. However, only one of Griffin’s friends comes to the house to help him save it.  Earlier, he tries to make a speech saying the house should be turned into a skate park, but the town council didn’t even want to hear his ideas.

When S. Wendell hides the card in his own house, Griffin hatches a plan to get the card back. With the help of friends, Griffin leads the crew through the sun roof, into S. Wendell’s room, and uses a blowtorch to bust through the iron box, only to find that the card is not there!  A watchdog named Luthor comes in, but is luckily tamed by Griffin’s friend Savannah, who is amazingly good with animals.  Then another angry watchdog starts fighting Luthor, so the team goes to the kitchen to get meat for the dogs to try and stop the fight.  While going through the fridge’s contents, something important is discovered…

If you really want to know what happens to the team, or if Griffin finds the card, you have to read the book to find out!  I highly recommend this book!

--Kid Reporter Matthew Spana

Book of the Week #6: Bone

Bone (The Series)
By Jeff Smith

He’s fresh out of Boneville and has been separated from his cousins and lost in a desert.  He has a mysterious dragon with a habit of saving his life, which is a good thing, because he’s constantly being hunted by the evil Rat Creatures. He stumbles into a huge valley and has to find a place to live, avoid the Rat Creatures, and find his cousins.  Perfect plot for a story, right? 

In Out From Boneville, a graphic novel by Jeff Smith and the first book of the Bone series, Fone Bone has a lot on his “To Do” list if he wants to survive in his new and mysterious home.  Things get slightly better for him when he runs into Thorn, a girl who lives in the valley with her Grandma. Thorn gives Fone Bone a place to live in her home. The book also follows the two cousins of Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, as they try to find their way around the Valley. Will the Bone cousins ever be reunited?  Read the book to find out.

The Bone books have earned 38 international awards and sold 1 million copies in 15 languages.  They are very exciting and compelling reads, and I recommend them to all readers that love a story with action, surprises, and lots of twists and turns.

--Kid Reporter Andrew Prina

Book of the Week #5: The 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave

The 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave
By Jude Watson

When the closest person to Amy and Dan Cahill, their grandmother Grace, dies, they only want a little something to remember her by. Instead, they get an opportunity that will change their lives forever - one million dollars each, or a clue.

Mr. Macintyre, Grace’s lawyer, says the clue will lead them on a challenge that they cannot back out of and that could possibly kill them.  If they take the clue, their loony, mean, old Aunt Beatrice (who they live with, since their parents are dead) threatens to hire a private detective to seek them out, and she says she will gladly call social services.

It seems like obviously, they will choose the two million dollars over the clue, but unexpected decisions can be made. Read The Maze of Bones, and find out what Amy and Dan decide, and the adventures that occur afterwards.

Okay, this wouldn’t be a good book if they didn’t take the challenge, and this is a good book. This story starts out on a very well trodden path – two siblings live together, their parents are dead, they’re living with some mean, crazy old relative, and then they go off and have an adventure.  But as the story goes on, this book branches off into its own unique twists and turns. For instance, historical characters like Benjamin Franklin get woven into the story. Amy and Dan find out that Benjamin has laid out a series of clues and mysteries for relatives that will only be born centuries after his death.

READ MORE

If you’re hoping for more of this series and this splendid mix of genres (mystery, kids’ spy stories, and historical fiction), then don’t worry, there are nine more books after this one, two of which have already come out. A different author has written each one so far. Rick Riordan wrote book number one, The Maze of Bones. One False Note, the next book in the series, was written by Gordon Korman, and is also available now. Book three, The Sword Thief, is written by kid favorite, Peter Lerangis, and is in the stores now. Book four, Beyond the Grave, is by Jude Watson and is also now in stores.

COLLECT THE CARDS

Each book comes with a set of six cards, and you can also collect cards by purchasing card packs. Each card has its own unique code. On The 39 Clues web site, you can create an account where you can register and collect your clues online at www.39clues.com. On this website, you can also solve puzzles, go on missions, and learn about the Cahills.

I suggest you go start reading and collecting cards!

--Scholastic Kid Reporter Maya Kandell

Book of the Week #4: Chasing Vermeer

Chasing Vermeer
By Blue Balliett

I’ve always wanted to solve a mystery and I had a chance to solve one recently with Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay in Chasing Vermeer.  The author, Blue Balliett, made me feel like I was there, living in the story. 

This book is fabulously written, different, and very mysterious.   The story is a fascinating puzzle. The reader of this book is instantly drawn into solving the puzzle and the secret codes. Like any puzzle, all the pieces must fit perfectly together to be solved. But all the pieces will fit together in the end.

I know I felt like I solved the mystery with Petra and Calder and I hope you will too. Chasing Vermeer is a mystery itself. 

When you finish reading this book it makes you wonder if a coincidence is truly a coincidence. If you read carefully, you’ll notice a weird pattern of events in the story. Is each event a coincidence or not?  Also, in many of the wonderful pictures Brett Helquist created for this book, there are many interesting clues to the puzzle and pictures of pentominoes. A set of pentominoes is a mathematical tool consisting of twelve pieces. Each piece is made up of five squares that share at least one side.

Chasing Vermeer takes place in Hyde Park in Chicago. The two main characters are Petra and Calder. They are in the same sixth grade class at the University of Chicago Lab School. Petra and Calder do not know each other very well, but a series of unusual coincidences, a mysterious letter, encounters with a bizarre old woman, visits to an old book store, and the disappearance of a famous painting by Jan (pronounced yAHn) Vermeer bring Petra and Calder together.

They work together using their unique abilities to solve a puzzling mystery and to search for the lost painting.

Petra, Calder and even The Lady seem real because author Blue Balliett describes them in rich detail. I felt like I was in Hyde Park trying to solve the mystery with the characters, but especially with Petra.  I really liked Petra the best because she is independent, unusual, and doesn’t care what other people think of her.

The Lady is very mysterious even though she is just a painting. The reader might feel that The Lady is telling the story with her voice, especially when she says, “My truth is that I’m alive.”

Chasing Vermeer made me view things differently. After I read it, everything seemed like it could be a mystery. I love how Blue Balliett wrote about looking at situations and events beyond how they appear.  I would never have looked at things like she does.

Does anything in Chasing Vermeer relate to this author? The answer is yes. When Blue Balliet’s children started school her family moved to a neighborhood in Chicago called Hyde Park.  Also Balliet was a teacher like Ms. Hussey (Petra and Calder’s teacher) and she made her class study art. It took 5 years for Blue Balleitt to finish writing Chasing Vermeer!

From my point of view, Blue Balleitt is an impressive writer. Chasing Vermeer is a box full of surprises; there’s never a dull moment. This book is intriguing, suspenseful, and quickly draws you into a mysterious puzzle full of coincidences, secrets, art, adventures, and surprising points of view.  All these ingredients concoct the perfect mystery-adventure book! You must read this book!

--Kid Reporter Chloe Conway

Book of the Week #3: Skeleton Creek

Skeleton Creek
By Patrick Carman

Do you like scary movies? Do you like mystery books? If you do, you will love Patrick Carman’s new adventure, Skeleton Creek.

Patrick Carman unites the two different mediums of storytelling and crafts a masterful story of suspense. The video component consists of online videos that bring the book to life and make the story even scarier.

Skeleton Creek is the story of Ryan and Sarah’s investigation of an old dredge in their town, Skeleton Creek. A workman had died while working at the dredge, and Ryan and Sarah discover that his ghost might be haunting it.

Ryan is trapped at home due to a leg injury sustained at the dredge, and he keeps a journal of their investigations of the strange occurrences at Skeleton Creek.

Ryan is forbidden to see Sarah after the accident that led to his leg injury, so they communicate via e-mail.

Sarah films her own investigation of the dredge and periodically uploads her videos to her password-protected website, www.sarahfincher.com. Ryan and you, the reader, can view those videos online in order to help discover the truth about Skeleton Creek.

I just couldn’t wait to run to the computer every 20 pages to watch the suspenseful videos, which are spine-chilling but not bloody or gory. I couldn’t put it down, and the cliffhanger ending makes me want to read the second book, Ghost in the Machine, which comes out in October.  Skeleton Creek is a great read and keeps kids like me of the digital age interested to read more.

--Kid Reporter Nicholas Wu

Book of the Week #2: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author: Brian Selznick

As I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I traveled backwards in time to 1931 in Paris, France. The story is about a boy, named Hugo, who lives all alone in an apartment that is hidden in a train station. He faces many challenges.

In the beginning, Hugo's life is a mystery because he has several secrets. His new friend, Isabelle, is puzzled by his behavior. The boy is an "apprentice timekeeper" which means he takes care of twenty-seven clocks at the train station twice a day. The clocks suit the story well because time is running out for Hugo. Soon his secrets will be revealed.

The author, Brian Selznick, tells the story through pictures and words so well, you feel like you, the reader, are actually in the story and are experiencing it for yourself. While reading the book, I could practically taste the warm, French pastries that melted in Hugo's mouth every morning.

Although, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a chapter book with 526 pages, more than half of the book is made up of pictures. They are incredible pictures! People who see the book think it appears to be a thick, intimidating book, but once you open it, it is very easy to follow. Also, thanks to the amazing pictures, the book won a Caldecott award! The pictures help tell the story which makes it a very unique and reading experience. As a matter of fact, once I opened the book, I couldn't put it down.

Reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret is like eating popcorn because once you start you don't want to stop. Whenever a person reads a book, the story becomes animated in the imagination. However, in this book the author includes illustrations. So, it's as if the author allows you to see what's inside his imagination. The story is a mystery that unfolds. What are the incredible secrets that Hugo Cabret is hiding? Well, I'm not going give it all away, so you'll just have to find out on your own!

--Kid Reporter Mariam El Hasan

Featured Review By You: May 11-18, 2009

This review is by Scholastic News reader Ariel G. of Kansas

Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! by Stephen Manes is the perfect book to read if you love humor.

Milo visits the library one day because he’s looking for the perfect scary book to borrow. Then he finds a book titled Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! He reads the book every day after school, and it gives him simply crazy instructions!

Jump into Milo’s world with this book and find out if he turns into a perfect person.

Book of the Week #1: Gate Keepers: Raven's Gate

Gate Keepers: Raven's Gate
By Anthony Horowitz

If you liked the award winning book Holes by Louis Sachar then you will love Raven's Gate, the first book in The Gatekeepers series by Anthony Horowitz.

The story is about a teenager named Matt who gets tricked into stealing DVDs from a warehouse. He gets caught because his so-called friends stab a guard and blame it on Matt.

Matt has two options—go to jail, or get sent away to stay with an old lady named Mrs. Deverill in a town called Lesser Mailing.
(Horowitz says he should of chosen jail because he becomes a slave at Hive Hall.)

A man tells Matt to get away from Lesser Mailing before it is too late. When Matt goes and visits him again he finds him murdered by an animal and the words "Raven's Gate" written on the wall.  Matt calls the police but they find no evidence of a murder.

Matt goes to the library where he finds a book with a chapter titled Raven's Gate. But the pages are ripped out!

More strange things happen to him at the library while he is researching Raven's Gate.

Matt discovers something called the Omega One, an old power station. He decided to go check it out one night. When he was there he saw a ceremony happening and was captured by the citizens of Lesser Mailing.

He is saved by a man named Richard Cole who is a journalist that he met at the library. Matt and Cole head out on a mission to find out what was going on at Omega One.

On his adventure he meets Susan Ashwood, a member or the Nexus, a secret organization of 12 people from all over the world. She tells the two they should go meet a man named Sanjay David.

Sanjay was also from the library. When Matt was there researching Raven's Gate an instant message came up from Sanjay asking, "Who are you." When they eventually find Sanjay, he tells them about the Old Ones—dark creatures "who survived on human misery, and once sought to rule the world."

The Old Ones were banished to another dimension by five children with magical powers, known as "The Gatekeepers." They built an enchanted barrier named Raven's Gate to hold the evil creatures at bay. But a group of medieval peasants believed Raven's Gate was evil, and they destroyed the entire barrier. Only the gate remained.

According to David, Mrs. Deverill and the people of Lesser Malling are witches trying to help return the Old Ones.

The two begin to leave when a dinosaur they thought was dead attacks and kills Richard and David.

Matt is kidnapped by Mrs. Deverill. (She is the one who brought the dinosaurs to life.) She takes Matt to Hive Hall where he is forced to work as a slave.

Matt makes plans to escape from the room where he is trapped. When Mrs. Deverill's assistant comes into his room and falls through a trap that Matt made, Matt escapes.

Matt runs as far as he can but then he stops because he is so tired. He asks someone for a ride. The driver turns out to a member of the Old Ones! Matt is taken to Omega One. There he discovers that Richard is actually still alive.

The two of them try to escape, but Mrs. Deverill finds them.

What happens next? Read the book and find out!

I think Raven's Gate is a great action and mystery book that people of all ages will enjoy.

--Kid Reporter Michael Geheren