Lexi by LS Matthews

From time to time girls in senior grades have mentioned this book called Lexi so I knew it was time for me to actually read it too. This is an intriguing story about identity and the harsh realities of homelessness and city life. While this book would not make my top fifty list it was an easy read and a fast moving story with an interesting plot. I can’t say too much about Lexi or her circumstances because this will give too much away.

Lexi has amnesia and you need to read the book and follow Lexi’s journey as she discovers the amazing truth about her family. The descriptions of the run-down city and the frightening night time scenes are gripping reading.

This book would appeal to middle and upper primary readers, especially girls and I would recommend it.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Chester the Cricket, Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat are the most unlikely of friends but thank goodness they are friends because together they are able to help Mario and his family who own a small newsstand in Times Square.

If you enjoyed Tumtum and Nutmeg, The Tale of Despereaux and A Rats Tale then you will certainly love this classic book The Cricket in Times Square. Just like Tumtum and Nutmeg there are moments when I just gasped out loud for example on the night when the friend’s discover Chester has this amazing musical ability. Just when everything is going really well and it seems there might be a way to help Mario and his family who are so poor, Tucker topples over a box of matches. “One match, unluckily, struck right next to a pile of that mornings newspapers. The spurt of flames it sent up lit the frayed edge of the papers and quickly spread over the whole bundle.” This is particularly disastrous since this happens in a small newsstand filled with papers and magazine.

The Cricket in Times Square is once again a very old book. It received a Newbery honor in 1960 but I am very pleased to say that it certainly stands the test of time. I will hunt out a new copy for my school library and this is a book I will recommend to my middle primary readers and their teachers. In USA there was even an animated television show of this book in 1970s.

Found Margaret Peterson Haddix

This is such a marvelous book up to the last 60 pages which I found thoroughly confusing. A plane lands late at night in Chicago. Angela DuPre is the only witness to this strange event. There is no record for this plane, there appears to be no pilot or co-pilot and most surprising there are 36 babies sitting all alone in the plane seats.

Thirteen years later we meet Jonah and Chip. Both are adopted, both are thirteen and both have received somewhat sinister letters addressed in plain envelopes.

With the help of Katherine, Jonah’s sister, the three kids piece together this mystery or perhaps a better word would be conspiracy. Who are these 36 children? Where did they come from? And why does someone want to gather and silence them?

This is a book for Senior students who enjoy thrillers. I hope that book two The Missing will help me understand those last 60 pages. The author has a terrific web site.

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene De Bios

This is also quite an old book (1947) and a winner of the Newbery Medal, and I guess it might be called a classic, so it seemed like the right time this summer to read this book. It is slightly quirky and old fashioned but amazingly The Twenty-One Balloons is very easy to read and enjoy. I sometimes find older books take too much time with descriptions and don’t arrive at the action quickly enough but The Twenty One Balloons is such a quirky premise that you want to keep reading on and on to find out how Professor William Waterman Sherman ended up in the Atlantic Ocean three weeks after his journey began especially when the Professor intended to stay aloft for at least one whole year.

One reason I especially enjoyed this book is that no part of the plot was predictable. Sherman lands on the island of Krakatoa and finds wealthy, cultured and creative inhabitants. Their ingenious inventions are especially appealing.

The Twenty-One Balloons would appeal to Middle and Upper Primary readers who like adventure and science.

The Sisters Grimm The Fairytale Dectectives by Michael Buckley

I have to confess this quaint looking hard cover book has been on my reading pile for many months. Not sure why I waited to read it. This is a terrific book if you love references to fairy tales and nursery rhymes and other famous literary characters.

A good example of these references is when Mayor Charming (yes he is really Prince Charming of those famous tales Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel) hosts a special ball. Our heroines Sabrina and her sister Daphne attend the ball disguised as the Woodsman and Mama Bear.

“A car pulled up in front of the house and a blond woman in a blue bonnet and puffy dress got out. She reached into the back seat for a long white staff with a curled end. Before the attendant could close the door for her, half a dozen lambs tumbled out and eagerly followed the woman inside.”

Sabrina and Daphne are the Grimm sisters. Granny Relda Grimm has been kidnapped by a giant after someone plants a bean stalk seed. Is Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk) the best Everafter character of Ferryport or is that Fairyport to employ to save the day or have Sabrina and Daphne just made the most terrible mistake possible?

This is book one of The Sisters Grimm and I am keen to keep reading. This book would be a great family read-a-loud.

Freddie the frightened and the wondrous Ms Wardrobe by Pamela Shrapnel

This is a very old book (1988) with a fabulous title and terrific illustrations by Terry Denton.

Freddie has a huge number of goblins, gremlins, zombies, and things that go bump in the night to contend with and his mum and dad are absolutely no help as they spend the critical time each evening from 7.30pm watching a favourite television soapie and oblivious to Freddie and his fears.

Up til now poor Freddie has had to battle these horrors all alone but as luck would have it the Wondorous Ms Wardrobe arrives and immediately helps to sort out these problems. Ms Wardrobe is Freddie’s cousin Penelope and she has bought her special kit of monster fighting tools (actually it is a fishing tackle box with Penelope’s name in silver across the lid) which include a sugar sachet, a whistle, a gold glitter glue pen, a magnifying glass, penknife, chewing gum and several different sized band aids.

Penelope systematically attacks the Cardigan Zombie, the Troll in the Hall and finally the dreaded Googyman who lurks in the garden tapping the window each evening trying to get into Freddie’s room.

This book is a little like One Night At Lottie’s House by Max Dann which is an all time favourite read-a-loud of mine. Penelope is a lot like Lottie, a special girl with heaps of daring, common sense and most importantly someone in whom you can have great confidence.

I bought this book to re-read and was not disappointed. Children in Junior grades who like books about monsters will really devour this little chapter book.

Cicada Summer by Kate Constable

We all judge books by their covers and this is exactly why I picked up Cicada Summer. The cover is lovely, the story quite magical and the title a perfect one to read during an Australian Summer.

El for Leather, El Dorado, Ella Fitzgerald, Elementary, Elbow Grease, Elephant, Electric Chair, El’s Bells, Elf Ears, Electron Microscope. “ ‘Um Dad’, said Eloise shyly. ‘Would it be okay it you just called me my name?’ … ‘ Yeah sure,’ he said after a minute. 'I guess so. I thought you liked all my funny little nicknames.’”

Eloise is totally lost following the death of her mother. Her father is caught up in schemes to make money as a way to avoid really helping Eloise who has become mute in her grief. In the latest scheme Stephen, her father, has decided to bulldoze an old house that previously belonged to his mother Mo and build a modern convention centre.

Eloise stays with Mo, who has her own suffering to overcome, while her Dad heads back to the city to organize the finances. Luckily for Eloise and Mo the Durrani family live next door. They are newly arrived immigrants from Afghanistan and I found myself wishing to know more of their story they are such special people who generously help Mo and Eloise and even her dad.

Left to her own devices Eloise heads back to the old house. In this timeslip fantasy everything goes still and cool and Eloise finds the buildings and garden transformed with a green lawn, flower beds, a neat white fence and fresh paint work. The noisy cicadas and strong heat of summer signal her return to real time. Eloise may not be able to talk but she really needs a friend and in this other time she finds one but who is Anna?

This is a gentle story of healing and true friendship. It is so easy to read it is like a long cool drink on a hot summer day. I would recommend this book to girls in Middle Primary grades. I think some children in my school might have contributed to this set of reviews.