Tweens Book Reviews
Parents and Grandparents.....
Here you will find book reviews for Tweens, ages 8-12. The goal here is to introduce you to books that would be appropriate for kids who are between 8 and 12 and who love to read. Since I tend to look for books that are Newbury and Caldicott winners, most of the books I've read tend to be gems. But there are also some that were suggested to me by others who enjoy a good kids' book, too! If you enjoy these books, don't hesitate to send me an email and let me know! Or suggest books for me to read before you purchase it and I will review it for you. Thanks!
- In: Tweens
I first saw "Crispin" by Avi at my local library. A Newbury Medal winner, the book did catch my eye mostly because it was by Avi but I never took it out of the library to read it. Then my sister-in-law Kathy, who loves children's books as much as I do, was visiting recently and told me how much she liked this book even though 'it looked like a boys' book'. My thoughts exactly which surprised me that I would even let that stop me from reading a book that had the potential to be a great read. That did it. The next time I drove uptown, I stopped at my library and checked out "Crispin".
- In: Tweens
"Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin is an amazing adventure story. I love the stories within the story that filled the book. And the illustrations are a beautiful addition to the book.
Little Minli see how hard her parents work for she, too, is in the fields working alongside them. She wants to help and at the suggestion of a talking fish, she sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon who, based on her father's stories, will help her find the answer to good fortune.
- In: Tweens
Although I've heard of Judy Blume and own a couple of her novels (obtained free from my local swap shop) I was not aware that she also writes for children. I was quite surprised, also, when I found out that this story "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" won the Great Stone Face award in 1972.
Today there are so many more authors out there since it is now possible to self-publish your own novels (and have them printed and/or made into ebooks). But back in the 70's there was little more than a handful of publishers you were competing for to publish your book. Because of this I think the quality of work that was published was probably superior to what we see now. Personally, I have seen far too many errors in some of the novels that people are sending out to the public than there should be. But that's another story for a later time.
- In: Tweens
The 2014-2015 Great Stone Face winner is "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein. I really enjoyed this mystery-at-the-library novel. Grabenstein is obviously familiar with a lot of JFic novels and used many of them in his clues. I recognized many that I had read and also added several to my own reading list.
- In: Tweens
While at my local library I noticed another Avi book that I hadn't seen before. It looked like a quick read and I do love Avi so I decided to check it out.
A simple story, the setting is Oregon in 1855. "The Barn" comes to symbolize hope for Ben, a nine-year-old whose father has suffered a stroke that leaves him completely dependent on Ben and his older siblings; brother Harrison and sister Nellie.