Tag: Kid/YA books

City Spies

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City Spies (March 2020)
by James Ponti

Sara Martinez has been in and out of foster homes her whole life.  But when she hacks the computer network for the juvenile justice system to prove her current “caretakers” are guilty of breaking the law and taking cruel advantage of the system, she catches the attention of a man named Mother.  He recruits her for his team of young secret agents based in Scotland.  There, Sara (now “Brooklyn”) meets her team – Sydney, Paris, Kat, and Rio.  She’s got a very short amount of time to prepare for her first very large mission.  The team will be attending an international youth summit in Paris, trying to protect lives, rig the contest, and solve the mystery of what’s really going on.

This book is like Mysterious Benedict Society meets Alias.  I don’t even remember how it ended up on my library list, but I’m so very grateful it did.  It’s definitely one that grabs you and keeps you reading past bedtime.  I am SOooo excited to see this is a trilogy, and I have the next one sitting on the library hold shelf with my name on it.  Here’s the thing–I’m a genuine wuss about books and movies that involve tense situations, death, murder, and all those things that usually come along with suspenseful, exciting stories like this.  I loved this book, because even though there were some of those elements, they didn’t overwhelm the plot.  It was like the action was there without the ucky parts getting in the way, if that makes sense.  But, I think it would also satisfy those readers who don’t shy away from things the same way I do.  Anyway, definitely a must-read.  If you want to get lost in a book or you have a reluctant reader, read this!

(Some very interesting plot points considering the timing of its release too…)

 

Update:

Read City Spies: Golden Gate (book 2) and it was also great!  Now patiently awaiting the release of Book 3….

Astrid the Unstoppable

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Astrid the Unstoppable (2009) by Maria Parr, translated by Guy Puzey

The “little thunderbolt” of her Norwegian mountain village, Astrid is the only child around.  She’s perfectly capable of making her own fun, between testing the limits of her new sleds, singing her way past grumpy Mr. Hagen’s wellness retreat, and spending her days with her 70-year-old best friend/Godfather.   This book makes remote mountain living sound idyllic and adventurous all at once.  But Astrid’s life gets turned around in the best and worst ways when her best friend has to spend time in the hospital and a new visitor comes to town.

This book has the feeling of Heidi with the silliness and feistiness of Pippi Longstocking.  It’s truly entertaining and an all-round sweet book.  I read it to myself first and then turned right around and read it again as a bed-time book to the kids.  I did omit a few passages here and there while reading it (no need to mention reindeer meatballs so close to Christmas), but the read was enjoyed by all, and I can’t wait to read more by Maria Parr!

Rump

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Rump (2013) by Liesl Shurtliff

Rumpelstiltskin had never been a fairy tale I’d paid much attention to, but in my 20s I read a hilarious books of six short stories by Vivian van Velde called The Rumpelstilskin Problem.  I adapted it into a short play for the class I was teaching at the time, and so this tale has been on my radar ever since.  Rump was published in 2013, but I only just found it.  I think I read two chapters the first night, and then the second night I stayed up waaaay too late so I could finish the whole thing.

In this story of Rumpelstiltskin, ‘Rump’ is an extremely sympathetic character, given only half a name and seemingly trapped by circumstances and fate.  But as Rump finally comes into his inner power at the end of the story, we see the strength and courage he has in creating his own destiny.

I was surprised that the author was able to incorporate all the elements of the well-known tale in ways that flowed with the story.  There are so many bizarre elements to Rumpelstiltskin, so Shurtliff’s cleverness in getting these to connect with Rump were truly impressive.  The book was a page-turner, for sure, and such a pleasure to read.  But it actually wasn’t until the Afterword by the author that I cried.  Names have been on my mind these past years, and her words really touched me.

I’m so eager to read the other three books in this fairy tale series!

Mysteries for Kids

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As I mentioned in this post, our daughter has been all about mysteries lately.  As a kid I used to love reading mystery books.  I read Agatha Christie novels when I was probably far younger than I’d want my kids to do so.  I enjoyed any and all mysteries.  But in recent years, I just can’t do the murder mysteries.  At all.  Perhaps it’s being older and having heard real-life tragic stories.  I just can’t bear to read or watch a story about anything scary or gruesome.  But that doesn’t mean I have to write off mysteries completely.  I love that my daughter has helped me re-connect with this genre.  I’ve been searching for detective activities and kid-friendly mysteries, and here’s my collection so far:

–This is a great collection of  Observation Ideas.  I thought our 8-year old would be really into the activity of observing a scene and noting the changes, but it was actually our 3-year old who took this activity and ran with it.


–I am pretty particular about what our kids are allowed to watch, but The Inbestigators on Netflix has my Stamp of Approval.  Four cute/sweet kids solving mysteries around their town and school (Well, mostly just one of them solving) and culprits who show remorse.  Interesting cases and the whole family can enjoy.


—The Mysterious Benedict Society  by Trenton Lee Stewart
Our daughter first read this two summers ago, and we’ve re-read this together too many times to count.  It’s been a favorite of mine for many years, so I was super excited to see how much she loves it.  (There are at least four other books in the series!)


—Mysteries According to Humphrey by Betty Birney
(Oddly, of all the other mystery references we’ve seen, this was the one that triggered our daughter’s fascination with mysteries.  Gotta love Humphrey.)  I haven’t read this one, but the kids seem to love it.


—Stories to Solve – Folktales from Around the World
These are some of my FAVORITE kinds of puzzles/mysteries/brainteasers.  They’re short and clever and timeless.  (I do censor some of these or tweak them, depending on the story.). We also checked out Still More Stories to Solve from our library, so I’m assuming there are at least three of these.


–The Mystery of King Karfu by Doug Cushman
Detective Seymour Sleuth and his assistant, Muggs, must make their way to Egypt to solve the case of the missing Stone Chicken!
This light-hearted mystery has lots of interesting and funny details in the illustrations and story.  I love that it involves the reader in looking at clues and decoding puzzles to help crack the case.  (Check your library or local used bookstore first, but here’s a YouTube reading someone did)


—Sophie Mouse:The Great Big Paw Print by Poppy Green
Our kids love the Sophie Mouse books, and I do too!  In this one, Sophie and her friends work together to find out the cause of some curious mysteries around Pine Needle Grove.

(CHECK BACK–STILL ADDING FROM OUR CURRENT STACK OF MYSTERY BOOKS)

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Littler Women

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Littler Women: A Modern Retelling (2017) by Laura Shaefer

This book takes the characters and story of Little Women and sets them in modern day.  The girls are younger, but they’ve got their same personalities and go through many of the same life experiences, although usually with a bit of a twist.  Littler Women, of course, doesn’t cover the entire plot, but it felt like a wonderful way to introduce Alcott’s story to younger audiences who might not be inclined to sit through the entire original.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book.  While I don’t feel that I know Little Women as well as some other books, I did use to read it once a year for awhile.  I also recently saw the Greta Gerwig’s new film version.  Well, I am so pleased to say, that the book is charming.  Only a few chapters into my library copy, I ordered one for our family.  The author finds clever ways to unfold the story in modern times, while still keeping the lovely feel of old-fashioned coziness.  Each chapter ends with a recipe or knitting project or some such wonderful goodness.  The story is told simply, but it hits many of the story’s events and really keeps the heart of the characters.

This book is probably advertised as a middle-grade novel.  Some of the story does deal with a bit of middle-school age insecurities or transitions, but I would probably feel comfortable sharing a majority of the book with our seven-year old.

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“Sometimes it was fun to dream about the day and years ahead, and sometimes it was better to leave them alone to take care of themselves.” ch 13

 

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