Jackson Jones, by Lauren

I previously mentioned this book, when Lauren read it the first time, but this time Lauren wanted to tell you about it.....Here is her review.

Jackson Jones is a wonderful book.  The main characters are a boy named Jackson and an elf girl named Meeka.  Jackson falls into his great aunt Harriet’s hair and discovers a new world in which he meets Meeka.  He visits a book store where he gets a magic book called “How to be Yourself” then Jackson and Meeka find a doorknob on the floor.  They eat before exploring the doorknob, but Jackson throws up and then has to eat vegetables.    After food, they go to the reading room.  After the reading room, they go to the doorknob on the floor and go to a forest.  Then, in the forest is a river where Jackson finds stones calling his name.   After the forest Jackson goes home.  

I liked this book.  There are lots of crazy things and items in the book.  It starts out, after all, with Jackson falling into his aunt’s hair.  How could that possibly happen?  There are all sorts of strange animals in the book, like blue chickens and other miscolored animals.  And stones call out to people to pick them up.  The book has lots of random questions, like “what’s Spanish for couch?”  and “what’s the cosine for 7.88?”  I found this book very interesting.  I would recommend it for kids who like adventure.  It is a fun book. 

Up the Down Staircase, Bel Kaufman

Feeling a little brain dead with a summer cold, I wanted some comfort reading, so I took this off the shelf.  I have read this book 4 or 5 times previously, and it has maintained a spot on my bookshelf for many many years.  In fact, my copy of it is a 1966 95c first paperback edition (with the cover above).  All this by itself says good things about this book.

This is the story of a new teacher in the New York City public high schools in the early 1960s, but one of the things that is amazing about it is how timeless it is.  Except for a little bit of slang, anything that happens in this book fifty years ago (OMG, 50????) could just as easily happen today, and probably does.  Overwhelmed by overwhelming bureaucracy, poor school conditions, and students with a lot more going on in their lives than school - parents in prison or dead, no room to do homework or even sleep at home, demands on them to make money rather than pay attention to school, the teacher in this book tries to make a difference, but is often tempted out of these conditions into an easier teaching life at a tonier school.  But this is the story of how she connects with the students and her impact on them as well as their impact on her.  It remains, fifty years later, an uplifting story about teaching - and a good read!

Also...take a look at the NYTimes profile of the author, Bel Kaufman, at her 100th birthday, from this past May.  Very entertaining as well.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Allan Bradley

I have read so many good reviews of this book, and then there were two sequels out, I thought I might finally read it.  Unfortunately, it did not live up to its reviews.  This book is a quaint little book, along the line of Alexander McCall's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, although not as entertaining in ways because as amusing and precocious as Flavia is, she is not as worldly as Precious.

Told from the point of view of a smart and emotionally neglected 11-year old, this book is the story of Flavia and her finding of a body in her garden and all that ensues from that find, including her father's arrest, her kidnapping, and lots of biking around and trespassing.  In the end, I found no connection to Flavia or to any of her family, I figured out the murderer well before she did, that being telegraphed in the writing, and I was less than satisfied with the story.  It was all a little too quaint.  It also could just have easily been found in the young adult section, although much of that has more going for it than this book did.

Fibble, Dale Bayse. By Colin

The book Fibble was a very good book. It is the fourth book in the Heck series. The main characters are Milton and Marlo Fauster who recently switched souls. In this book Milton and Marlo (while in each others bodies) both find the place they’re in a little suspicious, so they sneak around a little bit. Then they realize they got a little more than they bargained for sneaking around. Can they get out of this mess or will the demons finally catch them? The first thing I liked about Fibble was it was a little confusing and I liked it that way. Every once in a while I would forget if it was just plain Milton and Marlo then later I would realize that they were in each others bodies and it would confuse me, making me think, “Did Milton or Marlo do this?” Another thing I liked was the storyline. It seems like all Heck books are mysteries and I like mystery books because I like trying to use my guesses to figure out what will happen next. Finally I really like the fact that there are a bunch of names that are spoofed off of Dante’s Inferno. The name Fauster, Milton, and Marlo are all names for the   devil. Overall, Fibble is a great book.

See also, the earlier review of the earlier Heck books.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw, Jeff Kinney - by Natalie

You should read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw.  I will give you three reasons.  One, because he has a little brother and his little brother is funny.  Two, Greg has a crush!  He loves Holly Hills.  He wanted her to love him and then he found out that she was not the girl for him.  Third, his dad nearly sends him to military camp.  His dad does that because a boy he hated went there and came back well behaved.  There are many more things about Greg's life in the book.  If you want to know more about Greg, then read the book.  I thought the book was pretty funny and I enjoyed reading it.

Matilda, by Roald Dahl. By Lauren.

Matilda, by Roald Dahl, is an interesting and amazing book.  It is about a little girl named Matilda.  She’s kind and smart.   Matilda gains psychic powers and with her brilliance she can punish her parents when they are beastly to her, which is often.  Matilda helps her teacher, Miss Honey, get her house back from Miss Trunchbull.  She also teaches herself how to read.  I think you should read Matilda because its funny and enjoyable.  I’ve read it four times and I think its a great book!

Doc: A Novel. Mary Doria Russell

This is the second book I am recommending this year.  I have to admit I maybe a bit biased about this one.  Mary Russell is someone I heard about throughout my graduate school days, and eventually met, a few years after she wrote her first novel, The Sparrow.  Since I (kindof) know her, I have sought out her books as they come out.  On the other hand, they are really delightful books.  She won the Arthur C Clark award for The Sparrow and was nominated for a Pulitzer for A Thread of Grace.   But this one may be my favorite since her first.  Doc is about Doc Holliday, famous of the shootout at the OK Corral.  But it is about how John Holliday became "Doc."  It is about him coming to terms with the hand life has dealt him and trying to deal with his life limited by illness and circumstance.  She describes it as the story of the one season of happiness in his life.   I, like Russell, fell a little bit in love with Doc over the course of this novel.    I wanted more.