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August
2002 Vol.3 Issue 8
This
month's book reviews
A
book by an author who knows kids
and tells a good story with a message to it
Andrew Clements,
author of "The Janitor's Son," writes about middle
grade kids like he can see inside their heads. His first two
books, "Frindle" and "The Landry News"
have been popular with kids and praised by reviewers. In his
third book, Clements tells the story of a young boy who is
made to feel ashamed of his father's work and embarrassed
by being in the same school building where his dad is the
janitor. The boy acts out by committing an act of vandalism
on a school desk. As a consequence of being caught and punished,
he finds out that his dad in reality is a war hero who has
deliberately chosen the kind of work he does and uses the
opportunities it offers to help out other people.
There are a number
of messages in the book for a young reader. One is don't be
quick to rush to judgement. Another is to not give in to peer
pressure from those who are governed by prejudices. What makes
Clements a great children's writer, though, is that he gets
his messages across while telling an interesting and totally
believable story.
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A
horror novel for kids who like
really gory movies and books
Obviously, not
everybody had the same tastes in reading. Stephen King's novels
and movies wouldn't be such blockbuster sellers unless there
were lots of adults who liked to read bloody and gory books
and see the movies based on their plots. Some kids go through
a phase where they like to gross out each other by talking
about kids' versions of such movies and books. It doesn't
necessarily mean that they will go through life wanting only
to read about and view blood and gore.
Paul Zindel writes
horror stories for kids. "Rats" is one of his more
recent publications in that genre. There is an attempt at
social value and justification in the paperback. A kid heroine
is involved in saving her neighborhood and, perhaps, the country.
Clearly, there is an environmental message in the story. But
a reader has to wade through some really graphic blood and
guts scenes in order pick up any such message or messages.
This book is one for select audiences - readers who enjoy
being "grossed out" by what they read. Caution -
this one is not a bedtime story.
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For
the young reader who is into helping endangered species, especially
dolphins
A twelve-year-old
gets to go on the adventure of a lifetime with her marine
biologist parents. The family is embarking on a funded research
project to study dolphin behavior. It just happens that the
captain of their sailing vessel is newly divorced and at the
last minute is forced to take his daughter with him on the
voyage. The captain's daughter, because of her resentfulness
and mean behavior, is a source of dissonance on the otherwise
blissful voyage. The heroine has to win over her unhappy shipmate
and turn her into a dolphin admirer. Of course, at the same
time, the normal trials of a sea voyage on a relatively small
sailing vessel also have to be dealt with.
"Dolphin
Diaries" presents a good mixture of adventure, respect
for nature's creatures, and a treatment of interpersonal human
relations with which a young reader can identify. The publishers
report a fourth grade reading level for this paperback. The
interest level ought to range well beyond that age range.
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A
famous horror story retold
as a "Cracked Classic"
The paperback
"Trapped in Transylvania," a book in the "Cracked
Classic" series, purports to tell the Brom Stoker story
of "Dracula." The author, Tony Abbott, apparently
feels there is some merit in retelling the stories of some
old novels through the eyes of a couple of today's sixth graders.
Since the retelling is farcical and filled with sixth grade
humor, he might be on to something. If his purpose is to introduce
certain classics early before most kids are likely to read
the originals and, thereby, promote the reading of the books
later by the kids, the strategy seems to be a legitimate one.
If you have seen
old moves like "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein,"
you have a fair idea of the nature of this book.
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