Read This Book!

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

Homer and his older brother, Harold, live with their awful uncle, Squinton Leach. It is the 1860’s and the Civil War is raging. To make a little extra money, Squinton Leach sells Harold illegally into the military. All of a sudden, Homer is petrified of not only being left alone with awful Uncle Squinton, but of losing Harold in the war and being left alone forever.

With his knack for stretching the truth and his determination to save his brother, Homer runs away from Pine Swamp, Maine, to find his brother and bring him back . . . all barefoot!

I loved Homer’s character. He was stubborn and courageous and downright entertaining. Homer meets many interesting characters and finds himself in many different adventures (and if survival means exaggerating the truth, then so be it!)  I am not a big fan of historical fiction but reading Homer P. Figg didn’t feel like reading historical fiction at all. The story moved from one situation to the next beautifully as Homer traveled south to the Battle of Gettysburg.

Philbrick has captured the time of the Civil War like you’ve never seen it before. This story is not just for fans of historical fiction, but for anyone who loves a great story with a feisty hero.

If you liked reading The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg then you may also like other books written by Rodman Philbrick. My two favorites are Freak the Mighty and The Young Man and the Sea.

The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

I had the opportunity to hear Grace Lin talk last year about writing and illustrating books. After listening to her, I knew that I wanted to read The Year of the Dog, her first chapter book.

The story takes place over the course of 12 months, the year of the dog, according to the Chinese calendar.  This book is autobiographical and in each chapter, Grace tells us the story of a funny and heart-warming memory, such as becoming friends with the only other Chinese-American girl, entering a project into the science fair, liking the same boy as her best friend, and getting a part in the play, The Wizard of Oz. Scattered throughout the chapters are charming stories told by her grandmother of what it was like for her family to grow up in China. And, of course, Grace has included her illustrations throughout which are adorable.

I loved how simple and funny each chapter was. Grace is very honest when she writes about how she struggled with finding a place in her part Chinese, part American world.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved Tomie dePaola’s 26 Fairmount Avenue. If you want to read more about Grace then don’t forget to read the sequel, The Year of the Rat. Or, for a boy’s point of view, try Alvin Ho, Allergic to Girls, Schools and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look.

And here’s a very short video where Grace Lin explains why she writes about her heritage.

Grace has a great web site; don’t forget to check it out!

The students at the Fay School had a wonderful time yesterday being a part of the Mo Willems Simulcast! We had the chance to see how Mo creates stories and illustrations in his studio; we heard him read his new Elephant & Piggie book, Pigs Make Me Sneeze; and we even saw Mo dressed up in a tuxedo!

Mo has lots of fun things to do on his web site, Pigeon Presents.  So stop by to play Dress the Hot Dog game or make Elephant & Piggie dance.

And if you just didn’t get enough of Mo, then check out the video below from the web site, Reading Rockets. You can hear him talk about being an author and illustrator:

Neil Armstrong is my Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino

I did not think I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did when I first picked it up. Who knew behind that painfully long title and nondescript cover illustration that there was an amazing story?

Tammy lives on Long Island in a neighborhood where there is plenty of kickball games and secret meetings. Everyone gets along alright except the main character, Tammy, can’t stand the new foster kid, Doug McGinty. He’s constantly telling huge lies and it drives her so crazy that she names him Muscle Man McGinty.

In this story, Tammy is the bully. She torments Muscle Man and lives in pure frustration over the fact that no one else seems to care that he is always telling a whopper. Slowly, throughout the story, the source of Tammy’s real anger and bullying is revealed as well as Muscle Man’s own reason for his behavior. And the story all takes place around the historical event of the first moonwalk and the Apollo 11 mission.

What impressed me most was the strong voice of the characters. I felt Tammy’s pain and frustration every step of the way. It made me feel that her treatment of Muscle Man was justified (even though it wasn’t) because her pain was so real.

If you’d like to know more about the Apollo 11 mission, check out this site from NASA. Or to see what everyone was so excited about check out this video!

Everything about the language and plotline kept me wanting to read on. And I especially enjoyed hearing about the first moonwalk through the lenses of the people in Tammy’s neighborhood.

If you want to read more about liars and bullies, then maybe you would enjoy Notes From a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko or Vive La Paris by Esme Raji Codell.

Don’t forget to check out Nan Marino’s official web site.

Keeper of the Grail (The Youngest Templar: Book One) by Michael Spradlin

It’s the year 1191 in England. A baby boy is left at the door of the monk’s abbey St. Albans. He is left with a well-written note that asks the monks to take good care of the child, the writer of the note will come back to retrieve the child when the time is right.

Fifteen years later, Tristan (the orphan) enjoys his life at the abbey. But soon he must decide where to go next. Unless he takes the vows of a monk he will not be allowed to stay.

Then a small group of Knights Templar, warriors of the christian church, show up at the abbey looking for a night’s rest. When one of the commanding knights, Sir Thomas Leux, meets Tristan, he offers the young man the opportunity to become  his squire. With  no other opportunities, Tristan accepts and leaves the only place he has ever known in the world.

King Richard Lionheart is keen on recapturing Jerusalem from the muslims and Tristan joins Sir Thomas on these Crusades. When Sir Thomas confides in Tristan that the Knights Templar are the Keepers of the Grail (the most holy of all items), Tristan discovers that it is actually Sir Thomas himself who has it.

Will Sir Thomas be able to keep the Grail a secret and out of the hands of the enemy? Will Tristan ever discover who he is and who left the note on the abbey doorsteps fifteen years ago? After having lived  his entire life with gentle and compassionate monks, will Tristan be able to survive as the youngest Templar?

Evil knights, sword fights, secret passages, assassins, treasures, adventure and intrigue, etc. The action in this book was non-stop. Think of it as Indian Jones meets The Da Vinci Code and I loved it! The only bad part was the fact that the end leaves you hanging. I mean, really hanging! But don’t listen to me. Watch the video below and listen to the author, Michael Spradlin, tell you all about it.

Don’t forget to check out Michael Spradlin’s web site as well as the official web site of the book series, The Youngest Templar.

Listen and watch Gabbi’s review of Worst Enemies/Best Friends: the first book in the Beacon Street Girls series by Annie Bryant.

Listen and watch Teddy’s review of Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

Listen and watch Jeremy’s review of The Titan’s Curse: Book Three in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.

Listen and watch Harriet’s review of Marley: A Dog Like No Other by John Grogan.

Listen and watch Maisie’s review of Philippa Fisher’s Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler.