Tag Archive for comprehension

Fleabrain Loves Franny

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Joanne Rocklin

Pittsburgh, 1952. Recovering from polio, Franny Katzenback listens to the sounds of her friends playing outside as she lies in bed and wishes her legs would move. With only books for comfort, she falls in love with the newly published Charlotte’s Web. If only she had a Charlotte in her life, she thinks. Her wish comes true when she receives a mysterious letter written in blood-red ink. The author happens to be a highly intelligent flea named Fleabrain, who lives on her dog’s tail.

The two strike up a correspondence. Fleabrain shares with Franny a love of literature as well as music and languages. Not only can he talk, but his saliva contains superpowers, which allow him to take Franny on all kinds of fantastical adventures based on his extensive reading. He flies her around at night on a magical horseback ride, he miniaturizes her á la Alice in Wonderland, and he zooms her around the globe to tour the Seven Wonders of the World. Their relationship strains, however, when she learns he cannot use his powers to cure her of polio. Issues of social injustice are touched upon when Franny faces discrimination upon her return to school.

Sixth graders will likely find the historical elements of this story interesting as it paints a solid picture of the polio scare during the 1950’s and what it was like to be on the receiving end of that terrible disease. While there certainly is enough advanced vocabulary and thematic elements to enhance one’s comprehension and literacy skills, the overreaching plot and fantastical elements may leave readers scratching their heads just like the poor dog who hosts Fleabrain.

Buy on Amazon

  • FleabrainTitle: Fleabrain Loves Franny
  • Author: Joanne Rocklin
  • Publisher: Amulet Books / Abrams, 2014
  • Reviewer: Lauren Abbey Greenberg
  • Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-4197-1068-0
  • Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

 

Posted in 2014, Fantasy, Fiction, History tagged with , ,

The Stepsister’s Tale

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Tracy Barrett

Sixth graders and above will love this quirky re-take on the familiar story of Cinderella. Looking beyond the unambiguous version where Cinderella was the good little servant and the stepsisters were malevolent, Barrett wonders what might have happened if all the characters were well-developed. Maybe Cinderella was a spoiled brat who told lies to elicit sympathy. Maybe the family was destitute after years of trying to live without the men who had promised to take care of them. (High-born women, in fact, weren’t allowed to do men’s work.) Maybe the prince was also spoiled and not even worthy of further thought.

Young Jane Montjoy is doing her best to keep her family together. Mamma is ineffectual and Maude is much younger than she is. Both Jane and Maude work very hard making butter and cheese and taking care of the house. They share with the people who live in the forest. One day, Mamma goes to market and comes back with a new husband and a new stepsister. The man does not live long. He was in debt and his daughter has no skills. A harsh winter nearly kills them all, until Jane has the good sense to ask the forest people for help. When the prince tries to marry Ella, adventure ensues.

The many details the author uses to explain away Cinderella’s story make this extra delightful and also very funny. It’s the humor which will make many boys enjoy this book. The pumpkin coach and the glass slippers are items Ella’s father spoils her with before his death. Ella doesn’t even think the coach looks like a pumpkin. The beautiful dress was Ella’s mother’s, which hasn’t been touched in years. Ella plays in the ashes in order to be close to where the heat was. Of course, some details remain unexplainable. Fairies?

As I said, the characters are well-developed, making this great for extending literacy skills and comprehension. There is a lot in this book about not taking things at face value and putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Wonderful new book worth a look.

  • Stepsisters TaleTitle: The Stepsister’s Tale
  • Author: Tracy Barrett
  • Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
  • Genre: Retold fairy tale
  • ISBN: 978-0-373-21121-0
  • Extras: Discussion questions to keep the thinking going

 

Posted in 2014, Fantasy, Fiction, Literature tagged with , ,

Bugged! How Insects Changed History

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Sarah Albee
Illustrated by Robert Leighton

Order on Amazon

Combining biology, history, and a little humor, the author of this amazing new book presents a different view of the world as we know it. Sixth graders, especially boys, will get a kick out of the idea that insects had such a huge influence on history. Information is presented in small digestible doses with clever section titles (e.g., “The Buzz on Locusts”). The author begins with a quick biology lesson on what an insect is. She then proceeds to the many facts of hygiene and some of the more unusual edible insects. Most of the rest of the book goes chronologically through human history, highlighting each event in which insect-borne disease or blight played a major role. Many examples of invading armies either being overcome by local insect-borne illness or introducing a new illness were shown to decide the conquerors. Valuable insect-related products helped decide where conquerors wanted to go. Cortes was so taken with the dyes used by the Aztecs, and derived from insects, that he hung around to learn their secrets. Countries outside of China tried for hundreds of years to find the secrets of silk.

Leighton’s sketches and choices of photos add a fun dimension to the project. Bugs with muscle power. Bugs chomping on the Roman Empire. Bugs inside caskets labeled malaria.

Added bonuses include a table of contents, glossary (helping with comprehension), further reading and surfing (literacy skills), notes on sources, picture credits, and index. The author’s website, http://www.sarahalbeebooks.com/, has more information and reading activities.

  • BuggedTITLE: Bugged! How Insects Changed History
  • AUTHOR: Sarah Albee
  • ILLUSTRATOR: Robert Leighton
  • PUBLISHER: Walker Books for Young Readers/Bloomsbury, 2014
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • ISBN: 978-0-8027-3422-8
  • FORMAT: Paperback, 176 pages
  • GENRE: Nonfiction, History, Insects, Disease
  • RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
Posted in 2014, Disease, History, Insects, Nonfiction tagged with , , ,

Dreary & Naughty: The ABC’s of Being Dead

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by John LaFleur
Illustrated by Shawn Dubin

Buy on Amazon

It’s tough out there for a teen, especially when your dad’s the Grim Reaper. In this short story, written as a quatrain poem, we meet Dreary, a skeleton who frets about his future. He’d rather die than grow up to be like his dad, waving a scythe and ushering the dead to the underworld. He commiserates with his friend, Naughty, the daughter of Hade’s Gatekeeper. Dressed in a crop top and low-slung mini (to show off her devil tail), she rejects her laid-out future as well; she’s not convinced she wants to rule Hell. But, unlike Dreary, she has already broached the subject with her father, and she nudges her pal to do the same.

Mr. Death isn’t an easy sell, however. He reminds Dreary that he’s part of an important legacy and reviews the many facets, the A,B,C’s, if you will, of this grim job.

 

A is for arsenic, quite subtle you know.

B is for band saw, no new head will grow.

C is for cudgel, for striking a blow.

D is for dungeon, a process that’s slow.

 

And so on, all the way to Z. Dreary can’t be convinced; he wants no part of this Reaper business. Later, when he meets up with his friends, War, Famine, and Pestilence, it turns out they all suffer from the I-gotta-be-me blues (Famine whines to his dad that he just wants a chimichanga). Whether Mr. Death ultimately gives Dreary his blessing is left a mystery, but the overall message, albeit heavy-handed, is clear: life is short, so follow your heart.

LaFleur injects a lot of camp into this macabre tale, while Dubin breathes life into the ghoulish characters with his sufficiently creepy black and white watercolor illustrations. Reluctant readers may find the book’s brevity and subject matter appealing, while the poem’s rhyming scheme can bolster their comprehension and literacy skills. This is the third title in the Dreary & Naughty series. For other titles, see the publisher’s website: www.schifferbooks.com

  • ABCs of Being DeadTitle: Dreary & Naughty: The ABC’s of Being Dead
  • Author: John LaFleur
  • Illustrator: Shawn Dubin
  • Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2013
  • Reviewer: Lauren Abbey Greenberg
  • Hardcover: 72 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-7643-4496-1
  • Genre: Fiction / Poetry / Horror / Dark Humor
Posted in 2013, Occult, Poetry tagged with ,

Liberator

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Bryan Davis

Buy on Amazon

In the last, twisting, turning, tense installment of the four-part series, Davis succeeds in keeping each character’s story tense until the end. We jump into this book in the middle of the war on the planet Starlight. Dragons fight humans, slaves are yet to be set free and many people are dying of disease. Starlighter Cassabrie holds a secret that may help, but her plan is risky. Moving to peace means not only finding a resolution with the dragons, but discovering a cure for the disease, and changing the attitudes of both slave holders and slaves. With the epic’s cast numbering in the tens, keeping up with all their perils is a bit of work, but worth it in the end. Jason, Elyssa, Koren, etc. all of them have their own personal troubles. These individual issues allow us to see their war as something that affects these people personally. And we know that the outcome of the war, good or evil, will not just be affecting a wash of humanity, but our “friends.”

As with most books from this publisher, the religious overtones are strong, though no particular religion is mentioned. Instead, as all technology and magic fall away, the war will be won or lost because of the young characters’ abilities to live up to high standards of truth, love, faith, courage and mercy. Sixth grade readers and above will enjoy this book, especially if they have read the earlier installments. However, some of the references to Christianity may be beyond their comprehension.

  • LiberatorTitle: Liberator
  • Author: Bryan Davis
  • Publisher: Zondervan, 2012
  • Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen
  • Format: Paperback, 432 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-310-71839-0
  • Genre: FICTION/ religious/Christian/fantasy
Posted in 2012, Fantasy, Fiction, Religion tagged with ,

Carrying Mason

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Joyce Magnin

Buy on Amazon

Young people enjoy reading about people their own age facing and conquering difficulties.  Carrying Mason will be of interest to those at the sixth grade reading level. This story requires good comprehension at the sixth grade level, but is not a strenuous read for that age.

Luna is thirteen years old and lives with her parents, three sisters, and a brother in a small town. It’s a full house, but, for the most part, a happy one. Until, that is, Luna’s best friend Mason dies when hit by a car while riding his bicycle. Luna and Mason had a very special bond. It affects the whole town, but Luna more than anyone. Anyone except Mason’s mother, Ruby Day. Mason had taken such good care of his mother. She is somewhat developmentally delayed and, while some are cruel to her, many in the town look out for her. But she needs more than that. When Luna visits Ruby Day, she finds mildewed clothes in the washer and dirty dishes in the sink and realizes Ruby Day hasn’t bathed in too long. Luna decides it is up to her to take care of Ruby Day. She convinces her parents to let her move in with Ruby Day and promises she will keep up with her school work and will go to college when the time comes. She does remarkably well in her new role, but is faced with her greatest challenge when a relative shows up and insists she should take Ruby Day away. Luna is in for the fight of her life.

 

Young people will cheer for Luna and appreciate the difficulty of her situation. Most will imagine what it is like to take on such responsibility and will be interested in the idea of living away from their family. They will learn the kind of strength of character it takes for such a task and will also learn they have that kind of strength within themselves. There are a lot of discussion starters in this book. It is more of a girl’s book than a boy’s book, but many boys will probably like this one. The author’s page can be found at http://joycemagnin.blogspot.com/.

  • Carying MasonTitle: Carrying Mason
  • Author: Joyce Magnin
  • Publisher: Zonderkidz, 2012
  • Reviewer: Rosi Hollinbeck
  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-310-72682-1
  • Genre: Fiction, Coming of Age
  • Lexile Score: 810
Posted in 2012, Coming of Age, Fiction tagged with ,

Booboo Stewart: Twilight’s Breakout Idol

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Marcia Amidon Lusted

Buy on Amazon

Middle school students will be interested in movie stars and most of them have an opinion of the movie and books centered on Twilight, the movie Booboo Stewart is best known for. Booboo Stewart: Twilight’s Breakout Idol is a good start for sixth grade level readers and a great introduction to nonfiction biographies.

Teachers will appreciate the Action movie star series because it represents more than the hype of Hollywood.  Sixth grade student readers will enjoy a complete picture of how Booboo Stewart started in his movie career. The book is broken into short chapters covering topics like how he started his singing career, how he made it initially in Hollywood, and how the part in the movie Twilight came to be.

The author gets to the heart of what interests Booboo Stewart and his goals for the future. This is a perfect introduction to sixth grade lessons on career planning, personal talent goals, and helping the sixth grade student begin making a plan for success. Although most sixth grade students may not aspire to reach for Hollywood, this biography gives students a stepping stone to discussing what it is in life that they would like to do.

The book is realistic and offers sixth grade level reading students encouragement to include charity, goal setting, and positive standards into their own life plan. The book is a challenging for the sixth grade level student and offers reading and comprehension at this level which will also encourage reading for pleasure making reading fun.

  • Booboo StewartTitle: Booboo Stewart: Twilight’s Breakout Idol
  • Author: Marcia Amidon Lusted
  • Publisher: Lerner Publication Company, 2013
  • ISBN: 978-1-4677-0746-6
  • Reviewer: Terri Forehand
  • Genre: Middle grade, Nonfiction
  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Lexile: 990
Posted in 2013, Biography, Nonfiction tagged with ,

Cybercrime: Data Trails Do Tell Tales

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by Sara L. Latta

Buy on Amazon

Cybercrime is a hot topic these days. Recent attacks on several huge corporations, apparently by China’s military, have raised people’s awareness of the dangers involved and the extreme security measures being taken to secure information. Huge companies, government agencies, and individuals alike have been dealing with digital security for as long as computers have been in existence, but the problem has intensified with the introduction of networks and the Internet. This title explains the many ways that computers play a role in both causing and solving crimes.

Naturally, computer geeks will be interested in this title, but many sixth grade readers and older will find it a fascinating read. Real crimes and their consequences are included, along with some of the details on how each case was cracked. Each chapter is filled with true tales of the forensic work that caught the double agents and computer users who crossed the line from ‘white hats ’to black hats’. Many of the stories will sound familiar and others will serve as cautionary tales of what happens to people who make poor computing choices. ‘Zombies’, ‘bots’, ‘phishing’, ‘pirating’, ‘spam’, ‘worms’, ‘phreaks’ are some of the many terms that readers will be introduced to as they build comprehension skills. The last chapter explains the skills, experience and credentials required to join the fight against cybercrime.

The edgy design includes plenty of color photos. Extra information is included in contrasting spreads on topics like avoiding e-mail scams, copyright and file-sharing.

The author’s website: http://www.saralatta.com/

Here you’ll find an interview in which the author shares how she writes her science books. It includes a picture of her office: http://blog.enslow.com/2012/11/interview-with-author-sara-latta.html#links

  • CybercrimeTitle: Cybercrime: Data Trails Do Tell Tales
  • Author: Sara L. Latta
  • Publisher: Enslow Publishers, 2013
  • Reviewer: Carol S. Surges
  • Paperback: 104 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-59845-361-4
  • Genre:  Nonfiction, Technology
  • Lexile Score: 1120
Posted in 2013, Nonfiction, Technology tagged with ,

Dreary & Naughty: Friday the 13th of February

Posted on by Leave a comment

Written by John LaFleur
Illustrated by Shawn Dubin

Buy on Amazon

Monsters and romance make an interesting combination for young people. It is not often one can find a rhyming picture book at the sixth grade reading level. Because it is a rhyming picture book for older children, many higher level words are used which might help to build vocabulary and comprehension skills. Since the book is so short, it is not likely to find its way onto many reading lists, but will be a good way to get reluctant readers engaged.

Dreary & Naughty: Friday the 13th of February is a most unusual book for older children. The two protagonists in the book are sophomores in Whispering Hills High School in a small, monster-filled town. Dreary is a skeleton boy and Naughty a beautiful devil girl. All the boys have a crush on Naughty, but it’s Dreary with whom she spends her time. The last day of school before Valentine’s Day, Friday the 13th of February, finds Dreary with nary a Valentine card while Naughty has received hundreds. They spend the evening with Greta Ghoul watching movies at Naughty’s house. Dreary spends the rest of the night working on a wonderful, handcrafted gift for Naughty. When he presents it to her on Valentine’s Day, Naughty realizes Dreary is the one for her. She has nothing for him, but it’s not too late.

The story is a sweet one for a book full of monsters, and young people will enjoy the story. The rhyming is often forced, there are several near rhymes, and the meter is uneven at best, but the artwork, the characters, and the story will find fans for this book and the others in the series. Reluctant readers will be enticed by this little book.

Shawn Dubin has a web site focusing on his art at http://shawndubin.com/ and a blog at http://shawndubin.wordpress.com/ which students should find interesting.

There are two other picture books by the same authors in this series: Dreary and Naughty: The ABCs of Being Dead and The Misadventures of Dreary and Naughty.

  • Friday the 13thTitle: Dreary & Naughty: Friday the 13th of February
  • Author: John LaFleur
  • Illustrator: Shawn Dubin
  • Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, 2013
  • Reviewer: Rosi Hollinbeck
  • Paperback: 64 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0764344954
  • Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Poetry, Graphic book
  • Grade Level: Six and up
Posted in 2013, Art, Fantasy, Fiction, Occult tagged with , , ,