Power of Un (Book)

Etchemendy, N. (2000). The power of un. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: 9 to 13 years

Subjects/Themes: Time Travel; Siblings;

Plot: Gib has just had one of the worst days of his life.  First he got into a fight with Rainy, his lab partner in science. Then Gib got her in trouble at school.  Now to get back at him, Rainy refuses to babysit Gib’s sister Roxy and he’s forced to take her to the big carnival.  That means no scary rides and therefore no fun as far as Gib is concerned.  That’s when Gib meets a mysterious old man in the woods who gives him a device that will allow him to ‘undo’ time and fix his mistakes.  Now Gib is desperately trying to undo a series of events that turn his bad day into a deadly one.

Personal Thoughts: A reader can easily identify with the chain of events happening in Gib’s life.  Gib comes from a stereotypically normal and happy family living in an apparently safe small town.  Boys with little sisters will especially understand both Gib’s love of and annoyance with his little sister.  I did have a hard time believing in the amount of freedom Gib has to wander alone both in the woods and at the carnival.  Gib’s honesty with his parents about talking to a stranger was reassuring, even if he did hide the content of the conversation.  Besides Gib, the characters in the story are fairly simple, providing to the story but not distracting from it.  Thought provoking, this book tackles issues such as free-will and consequences both big and small.  Younger children might be upset with the occurrence of deadly scenes, entirely realistic, that Gib is trying to prevent, but will be reassured with a happy ending.

Awards:

Bram Stoker Award Winner for Horror for Young Readers (2000)

Golden Duck’s Eleanor Cameron Award Winner for Middle Grades (2001)

Georgia Children's Book Award Winner for Grade 4 to 8 (2002/2003)

Other Books by Author: Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural (2002). A dark fantasy collection for young adults. ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults list (2002).

Similar Materials:  A Wrinkle in Time (1962) by Madeleine L'Engle.

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project. 

Adoration of Jenna Fox (Book)

Pearson, M. (2008). The adoration of Jenna Fox. New York, NY: Henry Holt.

Genre: Science Fiction

Interest Level: 13 & Up

Subjects/Themes: Teenage Girls; Traffic Accidents; Self-Awareness; Medical Ethics; Bio-Robotics

Plot: Jenna has just woken up after being in a coma for over a year with almost no memory.  More quickly than normal, she gets used to moving around and starts recovering her memories.  But Jenna has questions, questions about the accident no one talks about, questions about the person she was, and questions about who or what she is now.

Personal Thoughts:  This is a very well written and thought provoking story about an entirely possible future.  The story deals constantly with the theme of self-identity as Jenna examines her every thought and questions her interactions with others.  Medical ethics and the question of “how far should you go for someone you love?” is another major theme.  Story also highlights the importance of standing up for one’s self.  The reading is easy enough for younger readers interested (12 & up), except possibly for some quotes from Walden.  There are some short but sweet kissing scenes found mostly outside of the main story.  A short interaction with a possible psychopath leaves a message to the reader to be careful and follow your instincts.  I would recommend for older female tweens who appreciate reflective first person narratives or science fiction.  

Awards: YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (2009)

Other Books by Author: Scribbler of Dreams (2001)

Similar Materials:  Pretties by Westerfeld; Skinned by Wasserman.

Note: A copy of this blog entry can also be found at https://tweenscifi.wordpress.com/ as part of my contributrion to a group collection of Notable Science Fiction titles for Tweens created for a LIBR 264 genre project. 

The "Middle" Child aka Tweens

Reflection: How does having a separate school category (Middle) affect our understanding of tweens?

Subjects: Tween Development, Teaching Strategies, Importance of Understanding Tweens as a Separate Group  

            I feel that having a separate Middle school category helps us to better understand the developmental needs of tweens.  In separating them into a category at the school level, we are more easily able to separate them in our minds in other areas such as physical development, social development, and general interests which lead us towards developing appropriate strategies in order to better serve them.  Without a middle school category, it would be too tempting to lump tweens into either a child or teen category.

            Educators are already ahead of the game developing strategies in order to better meet middle school students’ needs.  Weiner (2007) presents a variety of instructional activities based around the PIES (Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social development) of young adolescents and argues that many of the annoying behaviors of middle school students that frustrate educators, such as the inability to sit still, are based on common developmental issues.  Teachers can their understanding of young adolescent PIES to promote a learning environment where young adolescents can succeed by working with rather then against common issues, such as having students move from one learning station to another in set intervals in order to combat restlessness (Weiner, 2007). 

            It isn’t only schools that understand the differences between children, tweens, and teens.  The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has created separate lists on adolescent development for middle school/early high school and for older high school teenagers.  The Search Institute has also created developmental assets lists for ages 5 to 9, ages 8 to 12, and ages 12 to 18.  As Anderson (2007) and Lesesne (2006) both discuss, tweens are experiencing so many different developmental transitions (physically, mentally emotionally, and socially) which they may need help with or information on.  Librarians can help tweens deal with these transitions by providing materials and programming that center on tween issues.  Librarians can use the strategies and information provided from similar sources to those mentioned above in order to make better decisions on the types of materials and programs provided for tweens.

Reference:

Anderson, S. (2007). Serving young teens and ‘tweens. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. 

Lesesne, T. (2006). Naked reading: Uncovering what tweens need to become lifelong readers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. 

Weiner, C. (2007). Understanding Kids in the Middle. Principal (Reston, Va.), 86(4), 74-5. Retrieved September 14, 2010 from Education Full Text database. 

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (Book)

Cabrera, J. (2009). One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. New York, NY: Holiday House.

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 5
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Nursery Rhymes, Counting, Rhyming Stories

Plot: Based on the popular nursery rhyme, the reader counts from 1 to 20 while following a blue bunny as she meets a big red hen and some pigs to throw a party.  In each scene four little chicks are playing a game of hide and seek with the reader, adding a playful element to an already playful story. 

Personal Thoughts:  The rhymes for the bunny’s story and the chick’s story flow separately very well, but woven together there is a bit of rhyming awkwardness.  I suggest you choose to read only the bunny's story if your reading for a storytime and just prompt the children beforehand to look for the chicks.  The illustrations are colorful oil paintings reminiscent of Easter.  The title is a useful addition to a library which is looking to add a new counting, farm animal, or nursery rhyme title to its collection.

Other Books by Author: Over in the Meadow (2000); and If your happy and you know it! (2005).
Author's Website: http://www.janecabrera.co.uk/ (Retrieved September 14, 2010)

Crunch munch dinosaur lunch! (Book)

Bright, P. (2010). Crunch munch dinosaur lunch!. Intercourse, PA : Good Books.

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Dinosaurs, Siblings

Plot: Ty is a big, mean, hungry dinosaur. Teri is Ty’s small and sweet little sister.  After following Ty and embarrassing him one too many times, Teri is left by herself and attacked by another big bad dinosaur until Ty comes and saves his baby sister.

Personal Thoughts: Dinosaur books are almost always a sure hit.  The illustrations in this book are full of bright scaled dinosaurs with expressive faces that pop out against a lush green background.  This is a good book for a sibling or dinosaur themed storytime.  The text is easy to read aloud with lots of opportunities to use loud dinosaur voices. 

Other Books by Author: Nobody Laughs at a Lion (2005); and Charlie's Superhero Underpants(2010).

Chicken Cheeks (Book)

Black, M. (2009). Chicken cheeks (the beginning of the ends). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-1-4169-4864-3

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Buttocks, Anatomy

Plot: This is a simple story about a bear trying to get some honey out of a tree while describing different animals’ back ends.

Personal Thoughts: Children will get a laugh out of the phrases such as “turkey tush” and “flamingo fanny.”  Each page shows the different animals standing on one another’s head to form a ladder.  The last page shows them all falling down after running into the “bumblebee bum” guarding the honey.  The illustrations of the animals are comically rendered against the bright sky blue background.  This is a great book for a laugh during bathroom or body part themed storytimes, even if a bit short.

Other Books by Author: The Purple Kangaroo (2010); and A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea (2010).

Bears! Bears! Bears! (Book)

Barner, B. (2010). Bears! Bears! Bears! San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Interest Level: Ages 3 to 7
Genre: Picture Book, Non-Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Bears, Stories in Rhyme,

Plot: A non-fiction picture book about eight different species of bears found around the world.  Includes a map with living locations. 

Personal Thoughts: A picture book about bears may be nothing new, but some of the exotic bears the reader is introduced to may be, such as the sloth and moon bears of Asia.  Simple sentences and rhyming text make this a great book for young readers.  Older bear-loving readers will appreciate the different facts about baby bears and the world map showing where the different bears are found.  The simple illustrations are composed from collages that are full of simple earth colors that fit the story and audience well.    

Other Books by Barner: Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! (1999); and Stars, stars, stars (2002).
Author Website: http://www.bobbarner.com/ (Retrieved September 14, 2010)