Experimented with a different brush on this one - Summer Reading no 13. Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson. It took me a chapter or two to get into it, but I loved it once the story got going. A boy named Clay lives at the edge of woods that have secret paths between worlds. Soon he’s adopted Elf hound Elsinore, and having adventures with Owl-head friend Amos. Great fantasy with gentle influences from the pandemic. Hard to believe this is the same author who wrote Feed.
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Summer reading no. 12, SSYRA title no. 10: Stuck by Jennifer Swender. I think this book should really be called “Unstuck.” A boy who struggles with reading finally makes a friend and feels a sense of belonging at his welcoming new school. Sweet and quick read.
Summer Reading no. 11 / SSYRA title no. 9 (six to go!) The Haunted Mustache by Joe McGee. Quick read - Early chapter book with a good mix of spooky and funny. Reminded me a little bit of a less wacky Tom Angleberger’s Fake Mustache.
Summer reading no. 9 / SSYRA title no. 8. The Area 51 files by Julie Buxbaum. Quirky story about a girl who goes to live with her uncle in Area 51. Should appeal to fans of Strangeville School.
Summer reading no. 8 / SSYRA title no. 7: Strangeville School is Totally Normal by Darcy Miller. This one was like a more intense / darker cousin to the Wayside School Stories. Very funny, but still had a lot of heart. Beware the supply closet!
Summer reading no. 7 / SSYRA title no. 6: Bedhead Ted by Scott SanGiacomo.
Quick read - Graphic novel about friendship with a few supernatural quirks. Summer Reading no. 6 / SSYRA title no. 5: Glitch by Laura Martin. I have trouble with time travel stories - what do the stakes matter if you can just go back and change them? There was a lot of world building and set up in the first part of the book, and at 364 pages, I think it might test a lot of younger readers’ patience, but it had a pretty entertaining time heist type adventure by the end of it. I liked the alternating p.o.v. chapters between two students who loathe each other at first, to becoming partners and actual friends by the end.
Summer Reading no. 5: Big Tree by Brian Selznick. This is a strange book, and I loved it. (One of the stranger things about it is that it began life as a Steven Spielberg movie that got cancelled during the pandemic. ) Two sycamore tree seeds try to find their way in the world, starting in the age of dinosaurs and ending in modern times. I think the thing I love most about it is that it is a story of hope, something the world is in sore need of at the moment. Would be a fantastic read aloud for a science class.
SSYRA title no. 4: Good Dogs on a Bad Day by Rachel Wenitsky and David Sidorov. A “bad” dog teaches a trio of “good” dogs how to be bad for one day. Starts out fun, but maybe being bad isn’t quite as entertaining as they thought. Not my favorite of the titles I’ve read so far, but I am admittedly at cat person.
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Melissa TisonI'm an aspiring author / illustrator. Archives
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