Naked Mole Rat Saves the World

Naked Mole Rat Saves the World 
by Karen Rivers 
304 pages; ages 8 - 12 years
Algonquin Young Readers, 2019


I love a good Karen Rivers middle-grade novel, so I read Naked Mole Rat Saves the World as soon as it came out last fall. And then put it on my desk to be reviewed. And stacked stuff on top.

This week, during an archaeological excavation of my office, guess what I unearthed? The cover is still bright blue, the lettering still shiny, bold yellow.

Twelve-year-old kit (yes, lower case k) was born small enough to fit in her mom’s hands - like a naked, wrinkled, hairless animal baby. Her life is full of normal twelve-year-old stuff: roller-skating, star-watching, volunteering at the animal shelter, and hanging out at the flea market with her best friend, Clem. kit lives with her mom, and her mom lives with a lot of fears: cancer, bad guys, crowds, traffic, spiders … the list is long and always growing.

kit's life is perfectly normal until one day ... it isn’t. The day Clem, part of an acrobatic family, falls during a TV performance. kit, watching her friend on TV, has a panic attack. Her eyesight gets blurry, her hand looks like a squashed grey leaf with wrinkly skin … she’s turned into a rodent. Maybe. Or maybe she imagined it. She even googles “hyperventilating and turning into a rodent” on her computer – is it some sort of superpower? (and if so, seriously? being a naked mole rat?)

In chapters that alternate between kit’s point of view and Clem’s, we are pulled into a story about growing and changing. kit is full of questions: why do people change? does everyone change? do we all turn into different animals, and is that a part of puberty?

But mostly, this is a story about friends who grow apart, then back together, and how hard it is to navigate through life.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Taking Cover

Taking Cover, One Girl’s Story Of Growing Up During The Iranian Revolution
By Nioucha Homayoonfar
160 pages, ages 12 &  up
National Geographic Children’s Books, 2019

“I knew I was in trouble when the white jeep made a U-turn. Driven by the Zeinab Sisters (or the Black Crows, as I called them), it raced toward me and screeched to a stop.”

This book opens like an action movie: a young girl is snatched off the street, pushed into the back of a car, and taken to an apartment building that’s under construction. There she’s locked in a room.

For what? Showing the tiniest bit of skin. A sliver of her wrist. A crime, in the eyes of the “Moral Police” and the religious leaders who, after the revolution, control Iran. Post-revolution, the country has become a place where women and girls have lost the rights to work, attend school, have an opinion.

Though it sounds like a dystopian novel, this is a true story of one girl’s life – Nioucha – and what happened to her country after the fall of the Shah.

But Nioucha didn’t always live in Iran. She spent her early life in Pittsburgh, PA until she was five years old. That was when her father wanted to move back to his home country, back to relatives and a vibrant civilization that he missed.

Things were fine, at first. But when Nioucha was eight years old the Shah went into exile and the country moved in a different direction. Where she was once free to run and play and go to school, now her world is circumscribed by rules. Her loss of rights begins simply: she must wear a scarf. Girls must attend a separate school from boys. There is mandated religion class. She can’t be seen in public with a boy who is not related.

This is a book about how easy it is to lose your freedom. Lose your voice. So Nioucha uses her words and stories to give voice to those who are still taking cover. And maybe to warn us about just how easily we could lose the rights we take for granted.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading.  Review copy provided by the publisher.

A Possibility of Whales

A Possibility of Whales
by Karen Rivers 
288 pages; ages 8 - 12
Algonquin Young Readers, 2019 (paperback)

On her fourth day at the new place, Natalia Rose Baleine Gallagher walked down the long, lumpy trail to the beach that lay at the bottom of the slope.

We learn a lot about Natalie, or Nat (as she’s called):

• Nat is 12 years old
• she’s moved a lot – dad’s job
• the Baleine in her name is silent – a secret between her and her mom
• her dad is famous – he’s an actor
• Nat loves possibilities – and there are many

Life as the daughter of a famous actor is challenging, and Nat wants just to be Nat. Not XAN Gallagher’s daughter. She also wants to know what kind of mom abandons her baby? “Even in nature, when animals were faced with actual danger, mother animals stuck by their babies,” she once told a friend. The friend who she left behind. The friend who, we learn, did One Terrible Thing.

Nat has found other friends. Harry, who she meets in the girl’s bathroom at her new school in Canada. Harry who is a boy on the inside regardless of the fact their birth certificate says they are a girl. Harry, who plans to write a book to help other kids feel OK in their own skin.

There is Bird, a woman she knows only on the phone. A secret friend, and maybe her mom…

What I like about this book: I like the chapter titles. For example: “The things you find when you aren’t looking.” I like the postcards that Nat writes to Solly – or at least attempts to write. I like that Nat collects words from a diversity of languages to help her understand how she feels about things, and how to describe things. And I like the adventure to Baja with Harry’s family, where Nat discovers that she is definitely not ready to grow up.

Because of her middle name, Nat loves whales. I think she’d be a whale if she could. She loves to watch them, listen to their calls.

Want to learn more about baleen whales? Check out this NOAA website.

You can listen to a recording of a humpback whale here.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Still a Work in Progress

Still a Work in Progress
by Jo Knowles
320 pages; ages 10-14
Candlewick Press, 2016

If the cover doesn't get you, the title of the first chapter will: "Please Stop Standing on the Toilet Seats".

Yup - that was the magnet that drew me to this fun-and-serious novel. That one and "Please Ban Country Music from All Future Dances" and "The Fart Squad Needs to be Disbanded". These are just a few of the requests found in the Suggestion Box at Noah's school.

It's a small school, the sort where you sit in a circle and discuss such topics during morning meeting (I feel like I worked at this school) while the cat climbs over and around you.

For Noah and his friends, life is simple. He loves art and he's got cool friends who think Noah's sister is perfect. But at home, Noah knows the truth. Emma is far from perfect. The problem is that his parents avoid talking about it and tiptoe around the issue, which makes everything even more complicated. When she finally does get help, Noah's life gets even messier.

If you're looking for a book with issues, family life, friends, and complications, put this high on your list.

We'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy from Rosi Hollenbeck who reviews books at The Write Stuff

** Spring Break** Sally's Bookshelf is going to take a Spring Break to catch up on all that reading.... Back in a few weeks.

The Wolf's Boy

So you thought spring was coming...
It is - just not as fast as you were hoping. In the meantime, heat up a cup of cocoa and grab some "thought it would be spring but it's not" reading. Here's one I recommend:

The Wolf's Boy
by Susan Williams Beckhorn
240 pages; ages 9-12
Disney-Hyperion, 2016

I could not get free. The string of spit dripped closer. My brother was good at this game...

It doesn't matter whether you're living in the 21st century or back at the time when cave bears roamed, brothers haven't changed much. Especially when you're the weaker one.

Susan Beckhorn's tale transports us to that time just before wolf-relatives would become domesticated companions and partners with humans. This is a story of Kai who, by fate of birth, is an outcast. He longs to become a hunter - but born with a clubfoot he is forbidden to use hunter's weapons.

Kai has secrets; he was abandoned by his family and taken in by a mother wolf. Eventually Kai was reclaimed by his family, but he has never forgotten his wolf family. Nor have they forgotten him. When Kai discovers a motherless wolf cub, he brings her home to live with him. If you've ever had a puppy, you know that they like to chew things, like your best moccasins, the leather straps for your snares and traps. So Uff (the pup) and Kai are eventually exiled, and head north to a place where dangerous Ice Men live.

One of the things I love about this book is the language. Beckhorn introduces us to the culture of hunters by using their words: keerta (spear), nnnn-gata (hunter's prayer for luck). And especially oooni-alu-kas-pah-vard-ahh (fire-haired traveler with big hands, hear, and voice).

We'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy from author.

Flip the Bird & author interview

Flip the Bird
by Kym Brunner
368 pages; ages 12 & up
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2016

Mercer Buddie wants two things in life: a girlfriend, and the chance to show his father that he is serious about becoming an apprentice falconer. But on the day he and his master-falconer dad set out to capture a juvenile Red-tailed hawk, 14-year old Mercer screws up. He had one job to do: remember the mouse.

Time is ticking as they stop by a pet store to get a replacement mouse - bait for the trap that will humanely snare the hawk (and allow the mouse to be released into the woods). Will the hawk still be there when Mercer and his dad and brother arrive? And how long does it take to buy a mouse anyway? Turns out - when the girl of your dreams is in the pet store - it can take too long.

Mercer's dad is a demanding falcon master. He also runs a wildlife rehabilitation center, and is constantly impressing upon Mercer the need to do things correctly, so he doesn't lose his license (and livelihood). Mercer's older brother is working his way toward master-level. And the girl of his dreams? She's a member of HALT - a fanatical animal rights group that opposes mistreatment of animals including keeping hawks in cages. Shades of Romeo and Juliet...

Mercer tries to keep his hawk (named Flip) and his dad's rehabilitation center secret, but eventually the two worlds collide. When HALT members vandalize the center and release the birds, Mercer realizes he needs to take responsibility and do what's right.

I love the tidbits of falconry history and lore scattered throughout the book - like that people have been hunting with falcons since 2,000 BC! I loved the description of the mews, and crafting the hoods and leashes, and the training that Mercer and Flip shared.
So I just had to ask author, Kym Brunner Three Questions:

Sally: What inspired this story?

Kym: I went to a dinner show at Medieval Times, and near the end they had a falconry demonstration. I remember thinking, Wow! I never knew you could train a hawk to fly around and come back to you on command! I came up with the idea of a time-travel story of a modern kid going back into medieval times - and then found out I'd have to do a ton of research for medieval times AND for falconry. Eeek! So.... I decided to write a contemporary story about falconry.

Sally: You have so much authenticity in the story. What kind of research did you do?

Kym: I knew I wanted a story that revolved around falconry, but wasn't sure what the plot would be. So I took falconry lessons - six or more seven-hour apprentice lessons at SOAR (Save Our American Raptors). The master falconer told us a story about how they were once scheduled to do a demonstration at a forest preserve and animals rights demonstrators showed up. They made so much noise that the falconers had to cancel the event. When I asked about going on a hunt with a group of falconers, the SOAR leaders (George and Bernadette Richter) connected me to Troy, a falconer who lived in my neighborhood. Troy was extraordinarily helpful. He let me study his mews, and go on a couple hunts. Later, he read my manuscript to check for accuracy.

If I had one wish it would be that I could convey how dedicated falconers are to these majestic birds, and how fragile the relationship is between bird and prey. There are no guarantees; may the best bird - or prey - win.

Sally: I love the "Romeo/Juliet" aspect of the story. How did that evolve over the writing?

Kym: At first I thought about having a random group of protesters mess things up for Mercer and his family. But then a wonderful "what if..." question popped into my mind. What if, instead of being a random protester, the ones responsible for causing grief to Mercer's family business ended up being the parents of the girl he was hot for? The more I thought about it, the more I realized what a quandary that would be. I once dated a guy in high school who had a motorcycle - something my parents had forbidden me to ride. But this guy was cute and mysterious... so we met at the end of the block so my parents wouldn't know that he had a bike. I think being in love can override a lot of rational thought... and that's exactly the turmoil I hoped to portray in Flip the Bird.

If you'd like to learn more about falconry, here are two sites you might find interesting:

NY state regulations and a falconry exam study guide - check your own state for licensing regulations and examination requirements
the North American Falconers Association. 


Review copy provided by publisher.

Woodford Brave

Woodford Brave
by Marcia Thornton Jones; illus. by Kevin Whipple
192 pages; ages 9-12
Calkins Creek, 2015

Cory Woodford's best friend has deserted him, his father is fighting overseas, and a Nazi spy lives just down the street. Cory needs to be brave, like his father and grandfather. Like his favorite superhero, Mighty Space Warrior. He needs to be Woodford Brave. He writes letters to his dad, drawing cartoons at the bottom of the page - the Space Warrior's Kid. Will his dad notice that he's drawn his own face tucked inside Warrior Kid's Helmet of Power?

This is a fun mystery - is the guy with the suitcase really a Nazi spy? - with a dash of ghost story - is the house down the street really haunted?- some baseball, and a crazy go-cart race that nearly ends in disaster.

The black-and-white comic book illustrations add to the feeling of going back in time. And even though it's fiction, there's an author's note with resources for anyone who wants to lean more about World War II, women's baseball, and the history of comic books. Review copy provided by the publisher.

The Girls of Gettysburg ~ and a give-away

The Girls of Gettysburg
by Bobbi Miller
160 pages; ages 8-12
Holiday House, 2014

Take three girls from three very different backgrounds and put them in the center of the decisive battle in the Civil War - that's what Bobbi Miller does. There's Grace, a free black living in fear that soldiers will come north and capture her and her family as "runaway slaves". There's Tillie, the genteel daughter who believes the Rebels wouldn't dare come this far north. And there's Annie, who takes her brother's rifle and dons her father's woolen pants and cotton shirt and sells her service to replace a rich man's son.

Three girls. Three stories. One big battle - and everything changes. While this is historical fiction, it is based on situations and people who lived at that time. There were female soldiers who fought in the Civil War - some in the Battle of Gettysburg. They went undetected until they were carried off the battlefield, wounded or dead.

This book raises lots of questions, and might inspire young readers to look further than what they read in their history texts. Beyond that, it's plain good storytelling, and a fun read to boot.

Today we're hanging out at the Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday round-up. Drop by Shannon's blog to see what other reviewers are talking about. Review copy provided by publisher.

WIN a COPY of this book:  I like this book so much that I'd like to pass on my nearly-new copy to a history-loving reader. To get in the raffle, just do these two things:
1. leave a comment below, and
2. send an email to sueheaven[at]gmail[dot]com - or go to my profile and click on the email there. I will contact the winner by email next week.
caveat: You've got to have a US address to win the book.

Jasmine and Maddie

Jasmine and Maddie
by Christine Pakkala
192 pages; ages 9-12
Boyds Mills Press, 2014

Jasmine has just moved to Clover, Connecticut. She's going to a new school where she can start a new life - and she would rather go hungry than let anyone see her buy the reduced-price lunch. Or get off the bus at the trailer park.

Maddie lives in a mansion and if she misses the bus it's no problem - dad will give her a ride to school. It's a brand new year and she really wants a chance to become a different person.

So how do two very different girls end up being best friends? And then best enemies? And then best friends again? And what does Emily Dickinson have to do with it?

Author Christine Pakkala captures the voices of eighth-grade girls pitch-on... and really, one wonders: hasn't anything changed in the past (unreadable number) years? The girls deal with typical almost-teen problems: friendship, trust, popularity... and a bit of soul-searching. They keep journals and we get a deeper peek into their hearts through their poetry. Everything comes to a head when a ring that may-or-may-not have been willingly traded has to be rescued from a consignment shop.

Another fun read from the author of the Last-but-not-least-Lola books. Today we're hanging out at the lockers of the cool MMGM kids over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Review copy provided by publisher.

The Center of Everything

The Center of Everything
by Linda Urban
208 pages; ages 9-12
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013

Good thing I dug down to the bottom of my book basket because I unearthed this treasure. The Center of Everything is a fun read, best accompanied by a mug of hot cocoa and a glazed donut [in a pinch a fritter will do].

Don't believe me? Then listen up, because this is how the book opens:

In the beginning, there was the donut.
At first, the donut was without form - a shapeless blob of dough, fried in fat of one sort or another.

We learn that the Ancient Greeks ate donuts, as did the Mayans and Vikings. And we meet Ruby Pepperdine - who is not eating a donut but is getting ready for the town's annual Bunning Day parade. Ruby is twelve. She has made a wish. And by the end of the day she hopes that her wish comes true, because she has really messed up. She's on the outs with her best friend Lucy, her just-becoming-friend Nero, and is buried under a whole lot of guilt about the last thing she did - or didn't do- for her grandma.

There's even a bit of math tucked in with the sixth-grade drama. Ruby learns that donuts are actually tori (one torus, two tori). No equations, but a pretty good explanation about the donut shape. Ruby even tosses in a bit of wisdom about the theory of relativity.

I don't want to spoil the ending except to say it's sweet.

Today is Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday round-up. Drop byShannon's blog to see what other books are under review. Advance Reader's Copy provided by publisher.

Elan, Son of Two Peoples

Elan, Son of Two Peoples

by Heidi Smith Hyde; illus by Mikela Prevost

32 pages; ages 8-10

Kar-Ben publishing, 2014

The year is 1898 and Elan has just turned 13. In his home of San Francisco he has chanted from the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah. Now he is on the train with his family, heading to Albuquerque. There, in his mother's ancestral home, Elan will take part in the Pueblo ceremony celebrating his coming of age. 

On the mesa Elan reads the Torah again. He wears the prayer shawl that his mother has woven, with symbols from both cultures: a Star of David, the Ten Commandments, a stalk of corn, an oak tree. Later, dressed in a tunic and leggings, he and his father follow the elders into the ceremonial kiva. He emerges later, with his face painted yellow and covered with eagle feathers. With others, Elan flaps his wings and pivots in the Eagle Dance.

What I love about this book - besides the soft sandstone colors of the paintings -  are the words Elan's mother says when she gives him the prayer shawl: "Remember, you are the son of two proud nations whose roots are as sturdy and deep as this oak tree." I also love the historical notes at the back of the book. While many East European Jewish immigrants settled in New York, some headed west. One of those adventurers, says the author, settled in New Mexico, opened a trading post, and married an Acoma woman. They celebrated their son's coming of age in both cultures.

Many cultures celebrate coming of age for young women as well as their young men. Here is a video of the Mescalero Apache coming-of-age ritual.  

I realize this book is fiction, but it's so nicely grounded in history and culture that it would be a great book to pair up with an informational text on different cultures or coming of age celebrations. For some more traditional nonfiction head over to the Nonfiction Monday blog. Review copy provided by publisher.