Book Review: Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana

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Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere cover imageArmani is excited to celebrate her 10th birthday with her family and close friends from the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. But as a hurricane named Katrina closes in on the city, it threatens to blow her party away before it even arrives. She’s happy that her family decides to stay put, and she’s thrilled that one of the presents she receives is a special locket her grandma passes down to her. But the next day a wall of water washes away all her happiness and everything comforting and familiar. Before her ordeal is over, Armani will have matured well beyond her years.

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana tells the story of Ninth Ward life through the eyes of the Curtis family, with its hard working parents, five children and a grandma that helps provide care for the whole clan. Armani’s life before Katrina included school, squabbles with her older brother and younger sister, and lots of interaction with extended family. She knew where she fit into the neighborhood and where everyone else did too. Her biggest desires were to get donuts for breakfast and a puppy for her birthday.

The flood after the storm changed all that. As everything she knows gets turned upside down, Armani faces the death of loved ones, chaos in the city, and uncertainty about the future. Facing losses that would break even adults, Armani changes from a carefree child to someone who knows that family is the most important connection in a crisis, and sometimes family is forged from the people you would least expect.

The publisher recommends Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere for ages 8 to 12. I recommend the book because I think it does a good job of capturing what life was like in New Orleans both before and after Katrina and because Armani’s journey will give readers a lot to think about and discuss. But parents will want to know that it doesn’t flinch when describing the death and destruction that hit New Orleans during that time and be cautious with younger, sensitive readers.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren

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What the Moon Said cover imageEsther’s Ma pays attention to a lot of signs to keep her family safe. Frequent occurrences, like seeing a ring around the moon or a spider before breakfast, have to be analyzed to determine whether they will bring good luck or bad. And when it comes to Ma, Esther feels like she always needs good luck.

The family lives in Chicago at the start of the Great Depression, but when Pa loses his job, they all move to a farm in Wisconsin. The place is run-down, has no electricity or indoor plumbing, and requires lots of hard work, but Esther finds joy in country life. She doesn’t understand why Ma is always looking for signs to help direct their lives, but Esther is also looking for signs—actions that will tell her that Ma truly loves her even though she always seems to be messing up.

What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren is fun to read because Esther’s voice is innocent, hopeful, and trusting. She wants to believe her mother loves her, buy Ma is not one to show her emotions outwardly. Always focused on the tasks at hand, she doesn’t take time for hugs and kisses. It’s not until Esther experiences a few setbacks and begins to see the faults in other lives she thought were perfect, that she truly sees how Ma shows love.

Esther is lively, thoughtful, considerate, and wholly irresistible. You’ll fall in love with her as she struggles to understand the people in her own family as well as the world around her. I highly recommend What the Moon Said for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 8 to 12.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

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Maybe One Day cover imageZoe has been best friends with Olivia since elementary school, spending long hours dancing ballet in an elite program and hanging out together. But when the ballet program cuts them because they’re not quite good enough, they suddenly find themselves wondering what they’ll do with the extra time. Olivia volunteers at a community center dance program until she’s diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Without her best friend at school, Zoe is suddenly adrift, questioning who she is without Olivia and wondering how God can let a young, vibrant teen get so sick.

Zoe is right beside Olivia during her treatment, and she’s a great support to Olivia’s family too. But as the months drag on, Zoe discovers than cancer and it’s treatment take a toll on everyone who knows and loves the person fighting it.

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor delves into the difficult issues that arise when someone is being treated for a serious illness. Olivia’s parents constantly question whether they’re doing the right thing. Physicians don’t always know the best course of action. Friends on the sideline can feel helpless. Zoe struggles to find where she fits into it all. She feels like part of the family, yet there are times Olivia’s mom says no visitors, which includes her. Because Olivia is so important to her, she can’t concentrate in school and she skips classes sometimes to be at the hospital. Her grades start to slide.

Then there’s Calvin. A guy Olivia has a crush on but who grows close to Zoe in Olivia’s absence. There are also thoughts about college applications and what comes after high school in two years. It’s all a bit overwhelming, and Kantor does a great job of revealing Zoe’s conflicting emotions.

Maybe One Day is a great book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up to read and discuss issues about friendship, what to do to support someone with an illness, religious faith during difficult times, and finding inner reserves to get through the worst situations while learning about yourself in the process.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Giveaway and Author Post: Julie Sternberg Talks About Her Series for Young Readers

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Julie Sternberg’s first book, Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, won quite a few awards and launched a series that followed with the title Like Bug Juice on a Burger, which also garnered awards. She received her MFA in writing for children from the New School, and she lives in Brooklyn with her family. Visit her website at www.juliesternberg.com. (To find out more about the illustrator, Matthew Cordell who lives outside Chicago, go to http://matthewcordell.com/.)

Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake cover imageThe next book in Sternberg’s series, Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake, is soon to be released, and Sternberg is celebrating with a blog tour that includes a stop here. Below you’ll find her essay about her inspiration for each of the books featuring Eleanor, a series targeted to readers aged 7 to 10. You may be surprised to find out what she had in mind when she planned to write her latest book.

I’m thrilled to be able to give away a complete set of the three books to one reader at Mother Daughter Book Club. com. Just leave a comment below the post about what appeals to you about the series and you’ll be entered to win (U.S. addresses only please). Comment before midnight (PDT), Thursday, March 20. Please note: the giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Sewing on winning.

Julie Sternberg Talks About Her Inspiration for Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake

Julie Sternberg photo

Julie Sternberg photo by Meredith Zinner

My daughters don’t complain about my writing, but they should. I have a bad habit of stealing difficult moments from their lives and turning them into stories.

After their beloved babysitter moved away, while all of us were still feeling miserable, I wrote a story about a girl named Eleanor who is struggling because (this is not going to shock you) her beloved babysitter has moved away. That story evolved into my first book, LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE.

Sometime later one of my daughters became deeply homesick at sleepaway camp. And so, in my second book, LIKE BUG JUICE ON A BURGER, Eleanor faces a slew of troubles at a similar camp.

I have another series in progress, too, called THE TOP SECRET DIARY OF CELIE VALENTINE, that was drawn in part from various fights my two daughters have had.

But neither of my daughters inspired my third book about Eleanor, LIKE CARROT JUICE ON A CUPCAKE, which comes out this month. Since bad things happen to Eleanor in her first two books, I wanted her to do something bad this time. As my inspiration for that story, I looked only to myself.

I think I’m a nice person. (I try!) But there have been times when I’ve said or done the wrong thing and ended up hurting someone. And then I’ve felt rotten. So, in CARROT JUICE, Eleanor says and does the wrong thing, and ends up hurting her best friend, Pearl, as well as a new girl in school. Then Eleanor feels awful and sets out to make things right.

I can’t say whether either of my daughters has acted as badly as I have. And, now, as Eleanor has too. I hope it’s happened to many people. I’d feel better about myself, and it’s always nice to write about an experience lots of folks can relate to. Regardless, I enjoyed making Eleanor naughtier this time around, and trying to figure out how she could possibly fix it.

I enjoyed thinking about kindness in expected places, too. Or the mix of good and bad in all of us. So Eleanor finds surprising support from a boy in her class, Nicholas Rigby, who usually just misbehaves and gets her into trouble. And Eleanor’s typically thoughtful father helps her by revealing an alarmingly thoughtless moment from his past.

I love that I’ve had the opportunity to write a series of Eleanor books, because with each one I’ve learned more about the characters; and they’ve become ever more real to me. I hope that’s true for my readers, too.

Want to Know More About Sternberg and Her Books?

Here are the other stops on the blog tour:

Fri, Feb 28—Kid Lit Frenzy
Sun, Mar 2—Teach Mentor Texts
Mon, Mar 3—5 Minutes for Mom/5 Minutes for Books
Tues, Mar 4—Susan Heim on Parenting
Wed, Mar 5—Geo Librarian
Fri, Mar 7—Sharpread

Book Review: The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh

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The Moon Sisters cover imageAs sisters, Jazz and Olivia Moon could not be more different. Jazz is practical and sensible, and since she’s the older sister she’s also had to be responsible for Olivia, a free spirit who tends to wander where her dreams take her. When their mother dies, most likely from suicide, they respond as expected. Jazz bottles up her emotions and wants to move on. Olivia wants to fulfill her mother’s dream by traveling to the cranberry bogs of West Virginia in search of an elusive natural phenomenon that will complete her story.

Setting off together, the two encounter unexpected obstacles and meet others who will change the course of their journey—tattoo-covered Hobbs whose ink seems to hide more than his skin and crusty Red Grass, who has a hidden interest of his own. As their stories converge, secrets are revealed that threaten to tear them all apart.

The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh is a story of sisters, mothers and daughters, and the ways that family members can both hurt each other and lift each other up. Lyrically told, the story shows how the secrets we hold close push away those who may help us deal with the difficulties in life.

Even though the sisters are so different, Walsh brilliantly captures the essence of each, revealing their flaws, strengths and vulnerabilities. I found myself lingering over passages, taking in the words to consider their meaning beyond the story Walsh created. I highly recommend The Moon Sisters for adult book clubs or mother-daughter groups with girls aged 16 and up. Issues to discuss include expectations put on family members and how that can affect behavior, making judgments about those who are different than us, forgiveness, and meeting family obligations versus following your dreams.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

For more information about Walsh and her book, check out my post yesterday about sisterhood and the blog tour to celebrate the book release.

Book Review: Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan

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Skin and Bones cover imageJack is in a program for people with eating disorders because his parents want him to be there. He knows the truth: his thin frame looks good and he could even stand to lose a few pounds. Jack has been obsessed about his weight ever since middle school when a store clerk assessed his size and handed him a pair of “husky” jeans. He doesn’t think he needs to change.

As he gets to know the other members in his six-week, live-in program he sees people who are just as obsessed with food as he is, some with eating it, some with not eating it. He’s attracted to Alice, a young, anorexic ballerina who has been in and out of treatment several times. As Jack sees the things Alice does to lose weight, he starts to reassess his own point of view. He and others in the program experience group sessions, family meetings, and individual therapy, but it isn’t until one of their own suffers a crisis that the true meaning of what they’re dealing with becomes evident.

Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan looks at the nature of eating disorders and how they can affect the lives and threaten the health of teens and young adults. With Jack, nicknamed Bones in the program, and his roommate Lard, an overeater, Shahan shows that girls aren’t the only ones who get eating disorders. She also really gets the voice of a teen struggling with issues around food. Jack believes he is healthy. He will do anything to burn off the extra calories he’s required to consume each day. Readers get to see why he thinks the way he does and why it’s so difficult to change that thinking.

Skin and Bones is a great way for moms and daughters in book clubs to approach a difficult topic and discuss it. What is the danger of eating disorders? Why can’t those who have them see their actions are hurting them? How do you react to someone you care about who has one? There are also facts about eating disorders and a list of resources in the back of the book. I recommend Skin and Bones for groups with girls aged 14 and up.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Clubs Can Help Coax Reluctant Readers to Read More

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If you’re worried that your daughter won’t want to be in a mother-daughter book club because she doesn’t like to read, don’t be discouraged. A book club can be a great place to nurture a love of reading for children of all ages, particularly if you feel that your child’s interest in books has not been piqued. For one thing, when you get together for meetings she’ll see other moms as well as her peers talking about books they enjoyed reading. If she has fun in the social time of book club, it may encourage her to put effort into the preparation time, which involves reading the book.

What if your daughter doesn’t like to read fiction? A book club can include nonfiction, poetry, and many different types of fiction. Reading a variety of genres can help her discover that she likes to read more than she thinks she does.

While it may be true that your daughter can’t choose every book you read in book club herself, you can talk with other members about adding more genres to your selections.

When we started a book club with my youngest daughter, she didn’t like spending much time with a book. She was active and loved being outdoors often, and I worried that she wouldn’t want to stay in the group if she wasn’t interested in the books. But we read lots of different genres in our first year: two non-fiction memoirs, one book of historical fiction, two fantasy tales and one novel about a girl in modern times. The variety helped my daughter get much more interested in reading than she had been previously.

Of course, if you suspect your child has an underlying difficulty in understanding how to read, the tactics above may not help. You may want to talk to her teacher about diagnosing possible learning disabilities if you see her struggling to decode words that she should be able to understand.

Book Review: Peter Panda Melts Down by Artie Bennet, Illustrated by John Nez

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Peter Panda Melts Down cover imagePeter Panda is a typical toddler, happy one minute, throwing a tantrum to get what he wants the next. That’s part of what makes Peter Panda Melts Down such a great picture book for parents to read with their young children. They can see themselves in Peter’s situations, and maybe laugh a bit about all the drama.

As Peter and his mom go about their daily lives, they do things like go to the grocery store, visit the library and stop by the playground. At each stop, Peter is happy for a while, but then when something happens like he drops a toy in the car, or asks for sweets he can’t have at the grocery store, or has to leave the playground, he melts down. Mama Panda is very patient…most of the time. Author Artie Bennett has captured the ups and down that make getting through days with a toddler so difficult sometimes, and he’s done it with humor.

Reading the book is a great way for parents and kids to look at all those situations during calm moments and possibly talk about what to expect the next time they happen. Illustrations by John Nez do a great job of capturing the expressions to go along with the emotions expressed in each setting. It all comes together to make Peter Panda Melts Down a book to read again and again.

The author gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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