Tag Archives: tender-hearted readers

Middle Grade Monday Book Review: Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder

In this companion to Bigger than a Breadbox a leap back in time and an unlikely friendship change a family forever. Annie has never even met her grandmother before. In fact, she’s never had much family to speak of. So when she and her mother pull into the drive of her grandmother’s home in Baltimore, Annie can hardly contain her excitement!

But when she actually meets her grandma, the bitter old woman doesn’t seem like someone Annie could ever love, or miss. Until one magical, stormy night changes everything.

It’s impossible that Annie could have jumped back in time. . . right? But here she is in 1937— the year her grandmother was just her age! Molly is an invalid. She lives by herself, on the top floor of a hotel. She seems a little lonely, but friendly and fun, nothing like the horrible old woman Annie just met.

Annie entices Molly down from her room, and together the two girls roam. They sneak around the grand hotel, and explore the brick streets of old Baltimore. Carnivals and taxis, midnight raids on the kitchen. The two grow closer.

But as Molly becomes bolder, and ventures further from the safety of her room, Annie begins to wonder how she’ll ever get back home. Maybe she’s changed the past a little too much. . .

3 Things for a Middle Grade Reader to love

1. TIME TRAVEL! One of my favorite kinds of story when I was a MG reader. And not some grand cloak and dagger plot but a unique friendship story set cosily within a single family.

2. The level of detail for the 1937 setting is just right. Lots of rich imagery and vivid details about city life in Baltimore, but not heavy handed historical themes. There were difficult things going on in this country in the late 30s and Snyder does a good job of mentioning them without highjacking the story. I had an ARC to read which suggested that there will be illustrations at the chapter headings but I haven’t seen them. Even without illustrations I had no trouble picturing the particulars of the setting.

3. There’s a dumb waiter! I was fascinated by those as a child. The details of sneaking in and out of the hotel are great! I remember climbing through the laundry chute and out the window and shinnying down drainpipes–not that I needed to mind you–I did all this for the sheer entertainment of it. Great fun! Okay, to be fair, there are sad bits. But I was totally won over by the fun and the sad parts only made the skulking around more appealing.

Something for a writer to think about

I am not brave enough to write a time travel book. I love them. They seem hopelessly complicated to me and bouncing back and forth, I think, can be a lot to ask of a reader. I really like how the time travel bit worked out in Seven Stories Up. I particularly like the way Annie’s character built herself a mental bridge of stories about her mother to keep the path home open. I do think that story, and family story in particular, is a way kids in trouble find their way home, like Hansel and Gretle’s pebbles in the forest.

How I found this book

Once again a non-objective review! Laurel is a friend and the ARC came to me by way of my regional sales rep. Thanks Deanna!

Middle Grade Monday Book Review

Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hillary McKay

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I’ve been working on a series for younger readers all summer long and part of my work was reading a bunch of books in early middle grade fiction that are already available. This one was recommended to me by a friend. I got it from my local library. I was eager to read this one because it was very well reviewed, garnering 5 starred reviews.

Here’s what it’s about:

Lulu loves animals. When Lulu finds a duck egg that has rolled out of its nest, she takes it to class to keep it safe. Lulu isn’t allowed to bring pets to school. But she’s not really breaking the rule s be cause it’s just an egg. Surely nothing bad will happen… A fun-filled new series for early readers and animal lovers alike.

Three Things for a Reader to Like

1. This is spot on for the tender-hearted reader. There’s enough tension but not too much. If Lulu brings another animal to school they will have to give up the beloved class guinea pig and have stick insects for a class pet instead–dreadful! And yet not dire or night mare producing.

2. Lulu is very appealing in her genuine and unabashed affection for all creatures great and small. She has a true blue best friend and a teacher who is stern enough to provide a formidable obstacle, but not so stern that she can’t also be part of the resolution.

3. I hear plenty of call for books with a non-white protagonist in which race is not the issue of the book. Well here you go! Lulu is a brown skinned girl with brown eyes and curly hair. Her best friend is of her same complexion, yet race and the usual class issues that surround such books is not an issue at all. I hope when people are making their lists of books with non-white characters that this one comes to mind.

Something to think about as a writer

So here is a “multicultural book” where the main character is clearly not white and yet in the text there is nothing at all to indicate her race, ethnicity, class, or cultural heritage. So is this cheating? Should a non-white character have something in her voice, or dress or manner of interacting with others the indicates an different point of view? I’m really not sure. I love it that Lulu is a little “every girl” and yet I wonder, is that really serving the non-white reader of the book well. I wish I had a good answer for that, but I’m not sure.

What do you think readers? Is it enough to just illustrate a character as non-white or is it important to say something about a characters background as well? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Middle Grade Monday Book Review: Oddfellow’s Orphanage

Oddfellow’s Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin

What do an onion-headed boy, a child-sized hedgehog, and a tattooed girl have in common? They are all orphans at Oddfellow’s Orphanage! This unusual early chapter book began life as a series of full-color portraits with character descriptions. Author/illustrator Emily Martin has fleshed out the world of Oddfellow’s with a cozy collection of tales that follows a new orphan, Delia, as she discovers the delights of her new home. From classes in Cryptozoology and Fairy Tale Studies to trips to the circus, from Annual Hair Cutting Day to a sea monster-sighting field trip, things at Oddfellows are anything but ordinary . . . except when it comes to friendships. And in that, Oddfellows is like any other school where children discover what they mean to each other while learning how big the world really is.

Three things to like about this book as a reader

1. What drew me to the book initially was Emily’s gorgeous artwork. It has a distinctive and retro feel, reminding me of the 1930s era needlework and quilts that my mother-in-law makes. Illustration used to be the norm in middle grade fiction, but lately the books with spot illustrations throughout tend to be very loose and cartoon-like in their style. Oddfellow’s Orphanage has carefully rendered art with a classic feel on every page.

2. The book also has a gentle and distinctive and retro sound. Each chapter is its own vignette, with a conflict simply presented and sweetly resolved. The book follows the cycle of a year through the eyes of the newest orphan Delia. Every chapter heading is faced by a portrait of a child or teacher from the orphanage and a brief account of how they came to reside at Oddfellow’s.

3. This is a book that begs to be read aloud by a grandparent. It’s perfect for a young tender-hearted reader and anyone looking for a break from the pizazz and relentless pacing of many contemporary novels.

Something to think about as a writer

One of the reasons I picked this book up is that I have an off-again on-again project for younger middle grade readers. Oddfellow’s Orphanage is so geared toward the visual it’s making me think about how I would want my own story to be illustrated–which elements I should describe myself and which I should leave for the illustrator to illuminate. How many illustrations per chapter? What would be best served by spot art and what would make a good full page illustration? I know that most of those choices will belong ultimately to the illustrator but I’m going to make my next revision with the visual more in mind.

How I found this book

It was my pleasure to appear with Emily at a teachers’ book event at the Vancouver Barnes and Noble last month. I bought a copy of her book for my mother-in-law. We are both published by Random House. I make no claims whatsoever to objectivity in my reviewing.

You can read more about Emily and see many examples of her artwork at her website.

Book Recommendations for the Tender-Hearted Reader

People ask me for book recommendations all the time and the type of books they are most often looking for are what I think of as books for the tender-hearted reader. Sometimes the reader is very young and reading well above grade level. This type of reader wants the challenge of a book with a substantial plot, but doesn’t want the emotional intensity, romantic interest or scary content found in some books for older readers. Sometimes the reader is an older child who suffers nightmares, is unusually empathetic, or simply prefers a gentler tale.

Often such readers either choose books written a generation ago when the public taste in children’s books was more restrained or historical fiction, which by the nature of it’s content tends to be quieter and less edgy. These readers often enjoy non-fiction and poetry as well.

Here is a list of contemporary novels that I think will meet the needs of the tender-hearted. I will only post books I’ve read myself. So it will be a slowly growing list. Please contact me if you have a title you’d like to recommend. I will post a very brief description of the books I’ve chosen and provide links to author websites where possible. Check back often for updates.

Middle Grade Novels

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman--This is an intricate and fascinating story of a world in which a tenuous treaty holds between dragons and humans and Seraphina walks a dangerous line between both camps. There’s a lot here for a precocious young reader: heaps of action without grotesque violence, intrigue without soul killing viciousness, a dollop of romance without off-putting detail.

The Spy Mice Series by Heather Vogel Frederick—James Bond for 9 year olds!

The Mother Daughter Book Club Series by Heather Vogel Frederick—a series similar to the

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but for younger girls.

Larklight and Starcross by Phillip Reeve—light-hearted science fiction with a very British sense of humor.

Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains by Laurel Snyder—as much adventure as you can possibly have when you bring along a prairie dog and a dairy cow.

The Five Ancestors Series by Jeff Stone—if you love action and adventure but don’t like magic, this kung fu series set in ancient China is for you.

The Penderwicks Series by Jeanne Birdsall—a story about the adventures of four sisters. It’s a contemporary story but in the spirit of Little Women.

Oddfellow’s Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin--I was originally drawn to this book by its wonderfully retro artwork. It has the feel of a classic from the 20s or 30s, and is possibly the gentlest orphan story every told with charming illustrations on nearly every page. This one is on the young end of middle grade and might make a good first chapter book to read aloud together.