Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World

Meow, nya, miao, or miav?

Yolen, Jane. Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World. New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, 2005.

Plot: As the title implies, the book offers several stories about felines from a number of locations. Additionally, the text includes popular sayings, rhymes, and proverbs about cats. Colorful, elaborate illustrations adorn the text and complement the stories.

Genre: Animals, Folklore, Folktales

Reading Level: Grades Kindergarten - 4

Similar Titles: Puss in Boots, Three Samurai Cats

Personal Thoughts: The book nicely balances cat stereotypes. For example, the title includes hunting cats, compassionate cats, rude cats, polite cats, smart cats, and silly cats. The variety prevents the stories from becoming monotonous. 

Babymouse: Rock Star

Real Dragons Read Pink Books

Holme, Jennifer and Holme, Matthew. Babymouse: Rock Star. New York : Random House, 2006.

Plot: Babymouse loves playing the flute and practices dutifully. However, she still sounds terrible. She dreams of becoming a popular musician, but seems doomed to remain in the school's last chair. A brief lesson from a hidden prodigy may change her fate, though.

Genre: Graphic Novel

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: Giants Beware, Ariol 2: The Knightly Horse

Personal Thoughts: Like most of the Babymouse series, the title blends a common plot, funny drawings, and quirky fantasy to relate to readers. However, the story also manages to avoid falling completely into a cliche. Sometimes, despite the assurance to the contrary, working harder and learning more does not launch students to the level they want to reach and that is okay. Tweens, like all readers, need to know improvement, not excellence, is ultimately something to strive for. By constantly making characters into experts in tween texts, readers get unrealistic expectations for practice and dismissive toward legitimate improvement. Babymouse does not instantly become the rock star she wishes to be. She does not even become the best flutist in the school. Instead, she becomes a better musician, which is enough. Such is a valuable lesson not often discussed in tween, or even teen, titles.

The Little Prince

 Almost Alone in the Universe

de Saint-Exupery, Antone. The Little Prince. San Diego : Harcourt, 2000.

Plot: While desperately trying to fix his broken airplane in the middle of the desert, a pilot is found by a determined child who requests a picture of a sheep. The boy remains elusive, but he eventually reveals his story to the frustrated pilot. His story is one of a flower, a snake, a fox, and friendship. The prince learns the bittersweet joy of making friends through rites and taming. He shares his secrets with the worried pilot. Yet, while the pilot eventually opens up to the prince, he receives several warnings about becoming close. Being friends always brings the risk of tears.

Genre: Fantasy, Everyday

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: What Is My Song?, Sky Sweeper

Personal Thoughts: The title is a charming, haunting, and surprisingly serious. Concepts like friendship, loss, purpose, and relationships find their place through lighthearted concepts like roses, wells, and foxes. As a result, the story provided the basis for films, operas, and plays. Additionally, some of the title's concepts influence science, art, songs, and video games.

One Cool Friend

Bring your penguin to work day

Buzzeo, Toni. One Cool Friend. New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012.

Plot: Elliot, a prim, proper young man joins his father for Family Day at the aquarium. While the boy does not care for the crowds, he becomes enchanted with the Magellanic penguin exhibit. He asks his father for one. Believing his son wants a plush penguin, the father agrees, never noticing Elliot quietly stuffing one of the birds into his backpack. Elliot works hard to provide and train his penguin, but his father's ignorance may not be quite as obvious as expected.

Genre: Animals

Reading Level: Grades Pre-K - 4

Similar Titles: Billy Twitters and the Big Blue Whale Problem, 365 Penguins, An Octopus Followed Me Home

Personal Thoughts: The title captures readers with a classic plot with an unexpected twist. Reading through the book a second time allows readers to find foreshadowing of the reveal. As a result of the entertaining story and classy illustrations, the title earned a Caldecott Honor Book Award.

 

Black Beauty

There will be tears

Sewell, Ana. Black Beauty. New York : Children's Classics, 1998.

Plot: An autobiography of a horse in nineteenth century England. Black Beauty enjoys his early life on a manor with kind masters. Eventually, he makes friends of other equines on the manor, who give dire warnings of poor conditions elsewhere. His later years prove the legitimacy of their fears. He suffers repeated mistreatment in the name of fashion, economics, and ignorance. Bearing reins, poor care, reckless work, and bad luck ruin his health. Yet, he may still find some peace waiting for him.

Genre: Animals

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: King of the Wind, The Winter Pony

Personal Thoughts: Reading the title as an adult differs greatly from reading it as a tween. As a tween, it was a sad story about an innocent horse. As an adult, I realize it is an animal rights novel.  To Sewell's credit, though, she also explores the plight of the horses' abusers. Most do not want to harm their animals. However, due to their employers' demands, poor working conditions, and unreasonable customers, many of the owners are forced to place their animals in unsafe conditions. Such conditions also damage the horsemen, especially the cab drivers. At the time of the novel, blaming the working class for poor animal care was the default expectation. However, Sewell pointed out much, if not the majority, of the damage began with the upper class.

As a result of the novel, the bearing rein that plagued the horses were eventually outlawed.

The title inspired a number of films and theater productions, both good and bad.

Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon

Never close, but always there

Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012.

Plot: A detailed catalog of the discoveries, politics, and actions leading to the creation of the world's first atomic bombs. The story of the weapon covers the pages with intrigue and tension, even through the results are well-known. Still, the title manages to reveal some less-frequently mentioned aspects of the history surrounding one of history's most dramatic changes in warfare.

Genre: History

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: Two Miserable Presidents: The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War

Personal Thoughts: The title offers an intriguing view of an often-ignored aspect of modern history. It also manages to avoid much of the "good guys versus bad guys" mentality often plaguing such attempts. However, it does display President Truman unexpectedly negative and Oppenheimer strangely naive in the last few pages. Nevertheless, the book offers an explanation for the tense state of modern warfare, particularly in regards to the fears surrounding wars in the Middle East and Asia.

The book recently received a Newbery Honor.


 

The One Hundred and One Dalmatians

The cover actually tells the story

Smith, Dodie. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Puffin Books, 1956.

Plot: The Pongos are delighted by their first litter of puppies. The pure white babies grow quickly into spotted pups due to the care of their mother and their brown-spotted wet nurse, Perdita. However, an old grudge and acquaintance of their humans sets off a chain of events destined to change the family forever. Pongo and his wife must save their puppies, as well as nearly one hundred other pups, from the evil intentions of Cruella de Vil. However, rescuing the puppies may not be enough to save the dogs of England. The Pongos must utilize the skill every available ally in their quest to secure the future of dalmatians everywhere.

Genre: Animals, Fantasy

Reading Level: Grades 4-9

Similar Titles: Sounder, Big Red

Personal Thoughts: The Disney version of the story was one of my favorites when I was a tween. However, I think I like the book a bit more. It includes more information about dalmatians as a breed, as well as more humor, than the animated title.

The book inspired a sequel known as The Starlight Barking. Since the title features dogs granted psychic abilities and humanity placed in stasis in an elaborate plot to prevent atomic war, it is seldom mentioned.