Chapter Books

A good chapter book is hard to find. This, the reader's first introduction to long-form books, must have a quality mixture of entertainment, depth and reading challenge. If it is too wordy or deep, the young reader will give up. If it is too shallow or cheesy, he or she will lose interest just as easily. 

Here are three I just finished reading that I think do a pretty decent job of finding the Chapter Book sweet spot:

Bayars, Betsy. Keeper of the Doves. Puffin, 2004 
ISBN 0142400637

It is not an easy task for an author to write a story dealing with heavy subjects (family discord, mental illness, death) that is aimed at 7 to 10 year olds. However, Bayars does an excellent job of not only covering them, but embracing them as an intricate and necessary part of the story. What I loved about this book was that it came from the point of view of a child, as she would see it. Life just seems to come at her from nowhere (family members just show up. Mom is suddenly pregnant and about to give birth. Discoveries about her own story, told through other people...) and yet she has a playfulness and overall contentment throughout. 

Amie, the protagonist, has a way with words, and sees the world through her poems. This gives her a special connection to her father and grandmother, and allows her to notice many things others miss. Especially when it comes to the strange old man who lives on their property and takes care of the doves (whom her twin sisters are afraid of, and make up wild tales about). 

This story held my interest, and was not overly heavy. It would also be a great story to read aloud to younger readers who are not quite ready to tackle a Chapter Book on their own. 

Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father's Dragon. Illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. CreateSpage, 2010 (originally published in 1948) ISBN 1453782052 

As an adult, this tale was a tad boring due to the predictive, redundant nature of the story. However, this redundancy is also a useful tool when creating a Chapter Book. Predictability is comforting, and often helps beginner readers push through when the text may seem long. 

Still, the characters were fun and interesting. A young boy ("my father" as the narrator of the story begins) finds a talking cat. His mother hates the cat and throws it out, but feeling sorry for the cat, the boy befriends him and agrees to go on an adventure on the cat's behalf in order to save a dragon who is enslaved by talking animals on a wild island. 

The creatures are creative, and as the boy meets set after set of them, each time he is afforded the opportunity to use his cleverness to outsmart them, and eventually save the dragon. The illustrations definitely help the story along, as some parts are a bit tough to grasp, and they also provide a bit of comic relief. 

  

 Evans, Douglas. Apple Island, or The Truth About
Teachers. Illustrated by Larry Di Fiori. Scholastic, 2002
ASIN: B000VHE3CI 

I loved this book! I found it highly entertaining, funny, and extremely clever. 

As a kid, did you ever think that there was no possible way your teachers were ever kids, or did normal things outside of school? They practically lived at school, right? And furthermore, they never seemed to age. Some were crabby, and some were nice, and that was that. 

In The Truth About Teachers, we discover that this is exactly right! Teachers come from an island, where half live on the nice side and half live on the crabby side. The island is full of school-isms: Chalk Mountain, "Shhhh" Canyon, Office Palace, where Prince Apple ("principal") lives, a Big Book Building where Miss Library rides her motorized sliding ladder from section to section and never sees the light of day...everything that defines school was created and exists on Apple Island. 

When a group of students are kidnapped to this island, it is up to one of them to discover the truth about teachers and find a way to bring them all home. A truly fun read.  

Staying Nine and Silver For General Washington

This month I couldn't decide which book to review, so I am doing two. Both are aimed at the same age range, but one is geared more towards a girl, while the other a boy would enjoy reading. 

While taking juvenile literature classes in grad school, I was vehemently told to stick to new books only. My professor explained that young children and tweens cannot identify with children from even a decade ago and, with the exception of classics, (which are usually read by older tweens and teens) I would be doing them a disservice by introducing them to older books. 

However, I feel that relevancy plays a huge part in this. If the book covers certain feelings, circumstances and truths that will not fade with time, it will not only stay relevant for today, but can also be a treasured volume to read. 

  

Conrad, Pam. Staying Nine. Illustrated by Michael Wimmer. HarperCollins, 1990 ISBN 0064403777


The reason this book is so appealing, is because it deals with a subject every child and tween experiences: that in-between stage, when one is no longer a baby, but not yet an adult. I distinctly remember these emotions. 

In one particular example, I remember stomping around the house, and my grandmother admonished me to "walk more like a young lady." At that moment, I felt an almost overwhelming desire to not become a "lady". I didn't want to grow up. I didn't want to stop being a kid who could climb trees and stomp around the house. However, it was also at that moment that I realized the hand of time could be stopped by no one. 

Heather, the young protagonist in this Chapter Book (suitable for readers who are not yet ready for a Novel, but too old for Easy Readers) does not want to grow up. She decides to try and stay nine by having an unbirthday party and wearing the same clothes as last year for the school picture, among other things. This causes conflict with friends at school who do not understand her need, but is offset by a supporting mother. (These moments, both humorous and somber, are enhanced beautifully with Wimmer's detailed pencil sketches.)

One fear of Heather's is that growing up will take the fun out of life. No more make believe, no more climbing up the door frames, and no more fun. However, in probably the best moment of the story, a 23 year old friend takes off her shoes and stealthily climbs up the door frame -- thus proving that you can choose to stay young in the ways that matter most to you. 

Meadowcroft, Enid LaMonte. Silver for General Washington: A Story of Valley Forge. Scholastic, 1974. ASIN: B000PC5CYM


I wanted to mention this title because, like the above title, I have a memory associated with it. To refute the idea that, unless a book is a classic, tweens and teens will not read older books, I remember my brother and I both reading Silver for General Washington more than a decade after it was first published. 

The only reason I read it was because my older brother said that he had loved it. I balked at first (it looked like a boring war book, and the cover art harkened back to the 70's -- SO old!) but since my brother insisted it was good, I decided to give it a go. 

It didn't take long before I was swept into the world of two cousins living at the time of the revolution. Their patriotism and decision to risk taking a a dangerous journey to retrieve their family's stash of silver, for the sole purpose of giving it to General Washington (in order to help with the war effort), was instantly appealing to me. 

Would I have taken such an adventure? Why did it mean so much to them? What must it have been like, to live during the time of the revolution?

The excitement of the story kept my interest, even though the protagonists were boys. In fact, by the end of the book, I longed to take such a journey on my own. My brother had been right: it was a good book!

Poppy

Avi. Poppy. Illustrated by Brian Floca. Orchard Books, 1995. ISBN 0-531-08783-2

The heroine of this story is a mild-mannered, respectful, yet curious and independent, deer mouse named Poppy. Poppy has always obeyed the laws that her father set before her and her many siblings and cousins. These laws were passed down from Mr. Ocax, a fierce owl who rules the land and threatens sudden death to any mouse who challenges his authority. Normally Poppy would never dream of undermining any authority figure, but her fate is forever changed by a ruffian mouse named Ragweed who comes from afar, shifts her paradigm and helps her use her mind to think beyond a dictatorship, and to what may lie beyond. Jaded by Ragweeds tragic death and devouring by Mr. Ocax, Poppy is forced to make a decision about her own destiny.

The heavy themes (death, challenging authority, and dictatorship) are handled by the author in a very quick, mild-mannered way. A young reader would understand the concept, but would be able to move quickly on to the lighter themes (adventure, redemption, free will). Therefore, this book was not the most exciting work of fiction I have read. However, the style and vocabulary will be appropriate for many ages and reading abilities. Imaginative tweens who have an appreciation of nature and the animal kingdom may find this story appealing.

This illustrations hold the story as much as the text, if not more. There were some points when I was unsure what the author was describing, and the corresponding illustration gave me a better idea. Drawn in charcoal and pencil, the detailed sketches are only slightly cartoonish, and the attention to shading and anatomical structure is strong. Nearly every other page has an illustration, which also enhances the ability for young readers to grasp the plot and stay entertained throughout.

The Deep

Dunmore, Helen. The Deep. HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 0060818581

This is the third book in the Ingo series. However, it is enough of a complete story that it can be read easily as a stand-alone book. Dunmore does an excellent job balancing the concept of a young girl struggling to live in two worlds. Sapphire, the protagonist, has blood that is mixed with both human (Earth and Air) and Mer (Sea). Her brother is mixed as well, but the Earth is strong in him and he is not pulled as strongly to the ocean as Sapphire. The main plot is rooted in the previous books (but explained well) and describes how Sapphire has the ability to go to the Deep (a place even the Mer cannot go) in order to convince the mythical Kraken to return to sleep and stop tormenting the oceans and the inhabitants thereof. The place Sapphire longs to be is called Ingo, and she has a very strong, arrogant yet playful Mer friend named Faro who tempts her to choose Ingo as her final home. However, Sapphire is pulled to Earth by her mother, friends and love of her dog.

Although this is a large book, it is easy to read and the subject matter is suited to tweens who still love to imagine about Mer people, and are interested in friends, pets and the more simple pleasures of life. There are some mild love themes, but nothing is overly done and a tween audience could relate.

The strongest element of this book is the imaginative way the author paints the picture of both Ingo and the shoreline surrounding it. She creates a world that is so enthralling one could easily imagine the pull Sapphire feels towards it and the struggle she has balancing her two lives. Dunmore's familiarity with mythological creatures and concepts is subtly woven into the plot as well.

There are four books total in the series to date: Ingo, The Tide Knot, The Deep, and The Crossing of Ingo.

A Word About Twilight

Meyer, Stephanie. The Twilight Saga. Little, Brown Young Readers, 2008. ISBN 0316031844

I must make the point of saying, first and foremost, that these books can be addicting. It's the type of story that the reader begins and then looks up at the clock and suddenly realizes an entire afternoon is gone. This fact, and the fact that there is very little objectionable material in the stories, would seemingly make it ideal for tweens. However, I must disagree.

Although there are scores of tweens reading these books and watching the movies, I feel that this series is better suited for young adults. My reasoning for this is due to themes presented throughout that require some maturity to fully grasp or understand: mortality, damnation, sexuality, violence and what some have said are unhealthy, codependent romantic relationships, to name a few.

That being said, I can also appreciate that at least the tweens reading these novels are indeed reading. If I knew a tween personally and felt he or she were ready for such themes and would discuss them openly, then I would most definitely not prohibit them from enjoying a delightfully captivating work of fiction. A word of caution and a grain of salt is all I'm asking. Especially because these books are so wildly popular, and many tweens, who never would have looked at them otherwise, are feeling pressured to read it simply in order to fit in.

Gregor the Overlander

Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander. Scholastic Inc., 2003. ISBN 0-439-43537-4
Initially, one would not think that this book would be appealing to very many audiences. Darkness, giant talking rats who kill people, giant spiders, a princess who is mean...none of these descriptions liken to the typical idea of a "fun read". However, fun is exactly the word I would use to describe this fantasy world Suzanne Collins has created.

In addition to the scary creatures I listed above, Collins uses flying bats who exude nobility and bond with humans, exciting falls through space, sword fights, and an unlikely hero who often has to change the diaper of his precarious little sister (who is also very lovable).

A quest, a boy searching for his lost father, courage in the face of fear, and strong familial ties are all themes that run throughout despite a few parts in the book that are a little over-the-top. For instance: a young boy so adept at riding flying bats he reclines while he rides and has no need to hang on, and Gregor, who is a typical New York city boy, jumping into a boat and navigating rapids.

Despite this, and due to my own familiarity with some of the author's other works, I would feel confident in saying this is book one in a series that is sure to continue delivering a fun, although sometimes a bit unbelievable, adventurous read.