Category: chapter books

Finding Lost

I recently turned to social media for book recommendations that took place in the Pacific Northwest. I was traveling to Seattle and wanted a good book for the plane with ties to where I was going. I looked through the recommendations I received and saw a Holly Goldberg Sloan book, “Finding Lost.” I had no idea she had a book that took place in the PNW but I was thrilled to dive in.

I would read anything Holly Goldberg Sloan wrote. Literally anything. Her voice, storytelling approach, word choices…she pulls the readers into her story because it feels real. You will read her books and feel like a good friend is telling you their personal story. You will be invested in their story, you will know these characters, you will laugh with them, you will identify with them, you will think of them as friends.

I boarded the plane, opened my book and couldn’t put it down. Hours later I was looking out the window, finished book in hand, still thinking about those characters. In “Finding Lost” we meet Cordy Jenkins who lives on the Oregon coast in the “boat house” of a large property where her mother is the property caretaker. Her father died in a boating accident and her mother is saving for a new beginning away from Oregon, the one place Cordy and her brother have called home. Cordy finds a hungry lost dog who she brings home. Her mom, who doesn’t want a dog, tells Cordy and her brother they will find the dog’s home. This little dog, who they name Lost, wins all of their hearts and guides their new beginning in an unlikely place, right there on the Oregon coast.

Now here is the reason I love Holly Goldberg Sloan books for readers of all ages. There are the obvious reasons–I love her stories, I love her characters, but what I really love are these passages that make me think. I’ve texted photos of passages from every one of her books to friends. Her words, while written appropriately for children, will give readers of all ages something to think about. I remember in one of her previous books she wrote about photo albums and how they tell one family member’s perspective. I still think about that today.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Definitely check out “Finding Lost.” If you haven’t read “Short” read that one too (it’s one of my all-time favorites). Just save her name, and when you see a book she’s written, read it. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Liesl & Po

“Liesl & Po” by Lauren Oliver was highly recommended to me by my daughter. She repeatedly reminded me that this was a book I had to read. When my dear friend, Sally, and I were discussing books; I mentioned this one to her, and she read it that night. After reading it, she raved about the book as well. I knew I needed to read it, and last night, I finally picked it up. I wasn’t expecting that it would be impossible to put down, but it was. It was one of those incredible books that pulls you in. I was so emotionally invested in the characters, I needed to see how the story would end.

Liesl is trapped in the attic of her house, being held being a locked door by her stepmother. Her father has just died. She is alone, until a ghost, Po, appears in her room and becomes her friend. Po helps Liesl escape the attic, and they go on an adventure to bring her father’s ashes to the place he loved the most. They face many obstacles on their adventure, befriend a runaway orphan, and are chased by those who believe there is something far more powerful than ashes in the box Liesl is carrying. Will Liesl and Po make it to the far away favorite place and deliver the ashes to their final resting spot? Is the box Liesl carrying filled with something more powerful, like the others believe? This book is worth checking out to find the answers to these questions.

This book was so brilliantly written, I found myself photographing pages as I read, so I didn’t forget these passages. While the intended audience is children, the words speak to readers of all ages.These words make the reader think. They make the reader feel. Without giving away the ending, I will share my favorite quote from the book.

“And this, really, is the story-within-the-story, because if you do not believe that hearts can bloom suddenly bigger, and that love can open like a flower out of even the hardest places, then I am afraid that for you the road will be long and brown and barren, and you will have trouble find the light. But if you do believe, then you already know all about magic.” – Lauren Oliver

Oliver wrote this story to deal with the pain of the loss of her own friend. She didn’t write it with the plan of it being a book, she wrote it because she needed to write this story. As a reader, I needed to read this story. I highly recommend this book. Don’t turn away from this book because it starts off so sad, keep reading….it is worth it.

*This was originally printed on Books, Ink (HamletHub) in December 2015.

Travelling to Ancient Greece

I haven’t read many time travel books. If I’m going to read one, I need it to feel possible, believable, and realistic (although I read fantasy so I’m not sure why these are my rules on time travel but if the book doesn’t involve fantasy, then I want the time travel to feel completely possible).

I was given a copy of Caroline Lawrence’s “The Time Travel Diaries: Adventures in Athens.” Lawrence introduces her readers to Alex and Dinu, two friends who are enjoying newfound fame and popularity in their school after appearing in a popular video game. How did they end up in a video game? Well, they traveled back through time to gather information for the video game maker who in turn added them into the game. Life post time traveling (and appearing in a popular video game) is good for the two friends but they both vow they never want to time travel again. Their time travel mentor, the video game maker, is gone so they don’t expect they will ever be asked to time travel again.

Much to their surprise, their mentor shows up and makes them an offer they can’t refuse…. but it involves one more trip through time. The mission sounds simple enough, find one specific person. Who did they need to find and observer? Socrates. Like last time, they just need to follow 3 “simple” rules: 1. go naked, return naked 2. no eating, only drinking and 3. interact as little as possible (as it might change the course of history).

How bad could one more quick trip through time be? Could they find the one person they needed to and make it back without interacting with too many people? Could they handle a surprise person following them through the portal through time? I want to tell you what happens, but I want you to read this book.

Lawrence writes in a way that traveling back through time to find Socrates felt completely possible. I didn’t doubt any aspect of the time travel. I was invested in this trip, the possibility of finding Socrates, the wonder of seeing the streets Alex and Dinu had just walked in modern times as they were originally built. I loved this trip through time. My only disappointment was that I could only travel through time to search for Socrates in the pages of the book because after reading it, I wanted to go too.

Definitely check out this book! Join Alex and Dinu on this epic adventure through time. I highly recommend it.

The book I waited too long to read…

I was introduced years ago to Holly Goldberg Sloan books through a text message from a friend. She sent me a photograph of a page from “Counting by 7s” and said “you need to read this book.” That same friend texted me another page photo when reading “Short” because the writing is just that incredible that one page will draw you in. “Short” is on my list of the 10 best children books I’ve ever read.

So you can imagine any time I see a book written by Holly Goldberg Sloan, I need to read it immediately. Yet for some reason, I’ve walked past “Appleblossom the Possum” multiple times without picking it up. I didn’t expect a book about a possum to be as powerful a read as “Short” and “Counting by 7s.” I realized how wrong I was the moment I finally picked up a copy and started reading on a train ride into the city.

I could not stop reading except to dogear corners of pages and sending texts to friends about this book. I finished the book during my train ride, and I have three regrets. First, I regret waiting so long to read this book. Second, I wish I read it slower just to savor this story. Finally, I regret judging a book by its cover/title and thinking a book about a possum wouldn’t live up to books like “Short.” This book is just as amazing as Goldberg Sloan’s other books and what I love most about her writing is that each book is different and amazing in its own way.

Appleblossom is the smallest of her siblings, cautious, but also a little bit curious. A disagreement with her brothers over her curiosity about monsters (humans) leads to her falling down a chimney which starts this little possum on an awfully big adventure. I want to tell you more, but really, I want you to read this book and have the joy of watching this story unfold.

In addition to the story being captivating, I loved how the book covered the young possums learning appropriate possum behavior. It was like an introduction to sociology for children. The sociological concept that we are all actors learning our role in society was explained in a way that children would follow and understand…the young possums all learning possum behavior while bringing their own personalities into how they interpret those behaviors. This understanding of how we as humans (and possums in this case) learn and evolve in our roles was so well done throughout the book.

Holly Goldberg Sloan is one of the best children’s authors of our time. I will read any book she’s written, and I highly recommend you check out “Appleblossom.” Readers of all ages will enjoy this amazing story.

The one and only bob

Last week, Katherine Applegate released “The One and Only Bob” which follows Bob, the dog, from “The One and Only Ivan.” Ivan became one of my favorite characters and I wasn’t sure what to expect as we journeyed into Bob’s story.

If you haven’t read “The One and Only Ivan,” it is based on the true story of a gorilla named Ivan who spent over 20 years living in a cage in a shopping mall. The story is told from Ivan’s perspective. When I first read it, it was my first encounter with a story in “first person gorilla” but Applegate managed to capture this trapped gorilla’s voice in a way that was both authentic and believable.

In “The One and Only Ivan,” Bob, a stray dog, finds his way into the mall searching for food and squeezes himself into the gorilla cage to steal a piece of banana. He succeeds but also finds a friend in Ivan. He remains at the mall with Ivan and Ruby, an elephant also held in a cage in the mall, until rescuers save the gorilla and elephant.

One of the employees, whose daughter Julia often visited Ivan, Ruby, and Bob, takes Bob home and he becomes a part of their family. We begin “The One and Only Bob” with Bob living with Julia and her family. Julia’s dad has a job at the animal sanctuary where Ivan and Ruby now live and Julia and Bob are able to visit them often.

Bob is a tough little dog who had a rough life prior to living with Julia’s family. The entire story is told from his perspective. While Applegate captured the voice of Ivan so brilliantly, she managed to capture the very different, but equally entertaining, voice of Bob perfectly. Bob shares his view of the world as only a dog could see it.

While I read and found myself laughing out loud at times, it was this passage that made me realize Bob’s view of the world was more than just sharing his story, it was words of wisdom from a smart little dog.

Dogs ain’t perfect. But I’ll tell you one thing where we rule: tolerance.

For us, a dog is a dog is a dog. I see a Great Dane, I say howdy. I run into a puggle, it”s Glad to meet ya, how’s it goin’, smelled any good pee lately?

Go to a dog park and you’ll see. We are equal opportunity playful. You sniff my rear, I sniff yours.

You don’t see that with humans, obvious.y Constantly seeing differences where none exist. All those things like skin color? Dogs could care less. You think I won’t hang with a dalmatia ’cause he’s spotted? Or a sharpei ’cause she’s wrinkled?

I’m not saying I love every dog I meet. (Snickers comes to mind.)

But I’ll always give a dog the benefit of the doubt. Life is short. Play is good. And there are plenty of tennis balls to go around.

While it is challenging for many second books to live up to the first, “The One and Only Bob” is a great second book. Applegate’s talent for bringing animal voices to life is incredible and believable. Pick up a copy of “The One and Only Bob” to see what happens with all the incredible characters in “The One and Only Ivan.” You will laugh, you may shed a tear, you will be reminded of the importance of true friendship and perseverance.