The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

A. Bibliography.

Cleary, Beverly. The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Illustrated by Tracy Dockray. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN# 0380709244.

B. Plot Summary

Ralph, a mouse who resides in a motel, is in awe when a child named Keith plays with a toy motorcycle. While the family is out, Ralph gets on the motorcycle to try to ride it and gets startled when the phone rings. Both Ralph and the motorcycle fall into the metal wastebasket and Ralph gets stuck. Keith comes home and finds his motorcycle in the trash along with Ralph. Keith is very excited. The boy and the mouse are able to communicate to one another because they both have a love for motorcycles. Ralph takes the motorcycle for a ride during the day without permission and gets stuck under the bed and a vaccuum cleaner after him. Ralph loses the motorcycle in a pile of sheets when he has to eat his way out. Keith gets sick and Ralph has to save the day while experiencing many problems and close calls with humans.

C. Awards

ALA Notable Children's Book

Association Young Reader's Choice Award

D. Connections

*other books by Beverly Cleary

Beezus and Ramona

Sister of the Bride

Runaway Ralph

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

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Rules by Cynthia Lord

A. Bibliography

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. Scholastic Press. 2006. ISBN# 0-439-44382-2.

B. Plot/Summary

"When 12-year-old Catherine is embarrassed by her autistic younger brother's behavior, her mother reassures her that "real friends understand." But Catherine is not convinced, and she is desperate to make a friend of the new girl next door. She doesn't like it when others laugh at David or ignore him; she writes down the rules so he will know what to do. Catherine is also uncomfortable about her growing friendship with 14 year-old Jason, a paraplegic. Jason uses a book of word cards to communicate, and Catherine enjoys making him new cards with more expressive words. Still when he suggests that they go to a community-center dance, she refuses at first. Only when Jason sees through her excuse does she realize that her embarrassment is for herself."

C. Critical Analysis

The characters are so believable. Cynthia Lord does an excellent job with the development of the characters to help the readers care about them and have compassion for them. The language is also believable because it is written just the way kids would talk at that stage in their life.

The plot is definitely plausible because there are many siblings out there that are having to live with autism.

Cynthia Long set the story in a contemporary time period. The story could be told many years earlier or even some time in the future as well. This is one topic that has been around a while but it is being brought to our attention.

I commend Cynthia for bringing to the forefront such a difficult topic and to help young teens to learn how to be compassionate for those that have disabilities.

D. Awards/Review Excerpts

John Newberry Medal, 2007

Mitten Award, 2006

Schneider Family Book Award, 2007

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 5))

"Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences."

Robin Henry (Library Media Connection, October 2006)

"This is a great book to help students gain some understanding about autism, while also providing a good read."

E. Connections

*other books by Cynthia Lord (new author)

Hot Rod Hamster!

Touch Blue

*other books about people with disabilities

Teacher's Pet by Laurie Halse Anderson

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

A. Bibliography

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. Simon & Schuster. 2003. ISBN# 0-689-84922-2.

B. Plot/Summary

This is a story of a 16-year-old, Bobby, who becomes a father unexpectedly. He is bound and determined to "do the right thing." At first, the "right thing" was to put the baby up for adoption, however, when circumstances change, so does the "right thing." The book alternates between his present reality of caring for his baby girl, Feather, and the past events that led up to her birth.

C. Critical Analysis

The characters of Bobby and Nia are so believable. The situation they find themselves in is exactly what happens to many teenagers today. There is believable language, with occasional swearing and some references to Bobby's sexual experiences with Nia, the baby's mother. Additionally, the emotional growth of Bobby is remarkable. He always wanted to "do the right thing", which at first was put the baby up for adoption. However, after extreme circumstances, he decided that it would be to raise the baby himself while still trying to attend high school.

The plot was so true to life and very engaging. Johnson allows the audience to care about the characters and maybe in some cases, put themselves in that very situation. The story was so surprising because no one would expect Bobby to take on raising the baby. I really like how this story is told from the father's point of view.

The setting is definitely contemporary. This story can take place at any point in time and place because the topic of teen pregnancy is a huge at any place or time, especially lately.

D. Awards/ Review Excerpts

Coretta Scott King Award 2004

Michael L. Printz Award 2004

YALSA 2004 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

Kristi Lainhart (The Kutztown University Book Review, Fall 2005)

"This is a well written and touching book that will appeal to young adult readers for its true-to-life characters."

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, January 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 1)

"Johnson has a way of getting to her readers' emotions with few words, creating characters we really care about."

E. Connections

*other books by Angela Johnson

Heaven

The Wedding

One of Three

* other books on teen pregnancy

Dancing Naked: A Novel by Shelley Hrdlitschka

Doormat: A Novel by Kelly McWilliams

November Blues by Sharon Draper

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

A. Bibliography

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet Books. 2007. ISBN # 978-0-8109-9313-6.

B. Plot/Summary

"Jeff Kinney uses laugh-out-loud humor to convey the middle school experience of Greg Heffley: a video-game playing, undersized geek, who computes his class ranking to be "around 52nd or 53rd most popular this year." In a combination of text and comics, Greg brings us through his sixth-grade year, as he runs for class treasurer (he loses), survives the wrestling unit in Phys Ed, and participates in the school play under parental duress. When he takes his buddy Rowley for granted, Greg discovers he's underestimated the importance of Rowley's friendship. Often lighthearted and silly, Greg's journal also manages to tap into common issues of early adolescence--controlling parents, school bullies, evolving friendships--that will resonate with his real-life peers." Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008

C. Critical Analysis

The main characters of Greg and Rowley are so realistic that it reminded me of what it was like in middle school. What they experienced is so close to what happened to me that it is scary. The emotional journey that Greg takes is absolutely remarkable and believable. Greg learning the valuable lesson of not taking friends for granted and how to get along with others is one lesson that all children of middle school age needs to learn. I love how Jeff Kinney takes such an important lesson and expresses it with humor so that it doesn't seem so "preachy".

D. Awards/Review Excerpts

Choices, 2008

Children's Choice Book Award, 2008

Quill Awards, 2007

Todd Morning (Booklist, April 1, 2007 (Vol 103, No 15))

"At every moment, Greg seems real, and the engrossed reader will even occasionally will see the logic in some of his choices."

Matt Oldenburg (The ALAN Review, Spring/Summer 2007 (Vol. 34, No. 3))

"This book is definitely meant to tickle the funny bones inside all of us."

E. Connections

*other books by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

* other diary fiction books

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My Brother's Keeper by Mary Pope Osborne

Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix [audio recording]

The River Between Us by Richard Peck

A. Bibliography

Peck, Richard. The River Between Us. Dial Books. 2003. ISBN # 0-8037-2735-6.

Peck, Richard; Read by Lina Patel, Daniel Passer. The River Between Us [audiobook]. Listening Library. 4 CD's. n.d.

B. Plot/Summary

The story begins at the start of the Civil War with a 15-year-old girl named Tillly Pruitt who takes in two mysterious women, Delphine and Calinda, from New Orleans when they get off the boat in a Mississippi River mud town called Grand Tower, Illinois. Tilly's twin brother, Noah, falls in love with Delphine and goes off to fight in the war. Tilly and Delphine travel to find and nurse Noah back to health when he becomes sick. During this time, Delphine's secrets are revealed.

C. Critical Analysis

The characters are well developed, mysterious, and interesting. The dialogue among them is believable and realistic.

The plot reveals an fresh storyline with several unexpected twists and turns that keeps the reader engaged.

The setting is placed during the Civil War and Peck does an amazing job with the descriptions of the locations as to make the reader feel as though they are there.

The themes of family, race, war, and history or intricately woven throughout the book with the use of the characters, plot and setting as not to over indulge or moralize the story.

The style is very interesting with this story because the beginning of the book is from the point of view from a young boy in the early 1900's visiting his great uncle and great aunt. The great aunt Tilly tells the young boy about the story so the point of view then shifts to Tilly for the majority of the book, until it shifts back in the last chapter. This can be confusing for some readers if they are not following along very closely.

The audiobook version of this book was very helpful for readers who have comprehension problems or difficulty reading foreign words. The four CD, unabridged version, contained two readers for the two different points of view. The female reader did a wonderful job with reading. She included various voices for different characters as well as accents. The French accent for Delphine was excellent. The male voice was soothing and easy to understand.

D. Awards/Review Excerpts

National Book Awards, 2003

Parents' Choice Award, 2003

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2004

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 16))

"A rich tale full of magic, mystery, and surprise."

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2004)

"...mesmerizing historical novel that doesn't hesitate to confront big issues, such as race, politics, war, and moral attitudes."

E. Connections

* other books on the Civil War

Annie, Between the States by L.M. Elliot

Private Captain: a Story of Gettysburg by Marty Crisp

Death on the River by John Wilson

*other books by Richard Peck

A Year Down Under

Strays Like Us

A Long Way from Chicago

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park

A. Bibliography

Park, Linda Sue. Keeping Score. Clarion Books. 2008. ISBN # 978-618-92799-9.

Park, Linda Sue; Read by Julie Pearl. Keeping Score [audiobook]. Listening Library. 4 CD's.2008.

B. Plot/Summary

Maggie, a young Dodger's fan, learns how to keep score of baseball games from a fireman named Jim, who is a Giant's fan. Jim is drafted to the Korean conflict. Maggie then learns everything she can on her own about why the Korean conflict started and keeps track of the progress with maps and notations. Later, Maggie learns that Jim came back traumatized and unresponsive, so Maggie does everything in her power to "help" Jim recover, including saving her allowance money to take Jim to a Giant's and Dodger's game at Ebbet's Field. Will her plan work?

C. Critical Analysis

The characters are fun, interesting, and realistic. I enjoyed Maggie's youthfulness and plotting to try to help Jim and the Dodger's. Maggie, like most pre-teen children, believe that what they wear or do effects the outcome of games or other events. She is superstitious. The dialogue that Park uses between the characters is authentic and believable. I really like how Maggie grows from focusing on herself and her favorite team to how she willing to sacrifice everything to help someone else.

The plot was slow to develop, but was very interesting and "can't put the book down" in parts that had a lot of action or planning. The story line was quite surprising in parts and enjoyed the twists as they developed.

The setting in the 1950's Brooklyn was very believable. Park did an excellent job with the descriptions and research on the historical facts of the baseball games and Korean conflict to make the story plausible and enjoyable. The setting was described in such a way that the reader can get a vivid image in their head and "see" what is transpiring.

The themes of hope, friendship, war, perseverance, and loyalty are wonderfully intermingled with the characters, plot, and setting to "paint" an overall picture of love for one another.

The audiobook was a great companion to reading the book as well. Julie Pearl did a wonderful job with the reading. She not only used different voices for the characters, but she gave them accents as well. For example, the mother of Maggie was Irish, so she had an Irish accent and Maggie had a Brooklyn accent. There wasn't any kind of background music or sound effects, but they really weren't needed since the different voices was used. This technique definitely helped make the story more compelling and interesting. Since the story was slow to develop, I believe that having the audio version as well helped me get into the story and stay with it once it started rolling.

D. Awards/Review Excerpts

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Cybils, 2008.

Kirkus Book Review Stars, March 1, 2008.

Melissa Johnson (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 21, No 3))

"If you are looking for books about girls who love sports, this would be an excellent choice."

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No 5))

"A winner at every level"

David Goodale (VOYA, April 2008 (Vol. 31, No 1))

"This book will become a cherished favorite in every library."

E. Connections

*other books on baseball historical fiction

Keystone Kids by John R. Tunis

The Brooklyn Nine: a Novel in Nine Innings by Alan Gratz

The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp by Suzanne Lieurance

*other books by Linda Sue Park

When my name was Keoko

A Single Shard

Project Mulberry