Rick Riordan's New Series - The Kane Chronicles #1

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan is the first installment in his new series The Kane Chronicles. Following in the steps of his enormously popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, this new series takes the reader into the world of ancient Egypt. Told as though the book was the transcript of a digital recording made by Carter Kane (14 years old) and his sister Sadie Kane (12 years old), the chapters switch back and forth between the two telling the story of their experience. It all starts with them being reunited after six years of living apart. In short order an explosion at the British Museum causes the disappearance of their father, world renowned Egyptologist Julius Kane. From this point on the siblings are on a non-stop roller coaster of an adventure. This time instead of Greek gods, its the Egyptian gods that are battling it out. As the young heroes try to find their dad, they begin to discover their real link to the ancient House of Life and their role in a race to stop the most of dangerous of the ancient gods. Fast paced action, loads of mythological creatures and a good dose of humor will keep any reader turning pages.

Caudill 2010- Yellow Star

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy is another Holocaust story based on real people among this year's Caudill nominees. Jennifer Roy listened to her Aunt Sylvia's (aka Syvia) stories of surviving the Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland. She decided to write the story from the point of view of her aunt who was one of only 12 children to survive and four years old when her journey began. Told in free verse, this fast paced historical fiction manages to balance the tension, fear and uncertainty of those horrible times by telling the story through Syvia's youthful hope and optimism. The Holocaust is never an easy story to tell and Syvia's is another part you may not have heard a lot about. Be sure to read the introduction and the appendix because they both extend the true history of the story in ways you will appreciate.

Caudills filled with Nature

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost is an unusual adventure story because it has two styles of narrative: Concrete free verse and short chapters. Concrete poetry is poetry that has a significant shape that relates to the content of the poem. In this case the free verse poems are shaped liked the diamond shapes that appear in the bark of the diamond willow tree branches. The story is about 12 year old Willow who is a young musher and helps her father with the family sled dogs. While Willow is worrying about her life at school and making friends, she makes some bad decisions that result in a serious injury to her favorite dog. Willow is a brave and resourceful young person. In the face of this tragedy she is determined to make things right. In the process, she discovers parts of her life she never knew about, challenges her own parents have faced and the real meaning of friendships both human and canine. A great read for anyone who likes adventure and dogs. This one flies like a dog team on new snow.

If snow and cold are not for you, come join three bothers on a sailing adventure sure to leave you on the edge of your seat. Personal tragedy sets the stage for 15 year old Ben, 11 year old Dylan and 5 year old Gerry. The boys' father over come with the accidental loss of his wife and the boys' mom, decides to take them all on a sailing adventure through the Bahamas for an entire year. Each boy must learn to handle not only their nautical duties but their own grief as well the increasingly erratic behavior of their dad. Soon the boys find themselves completely alone on board their small vessel battling a huge storm, lost at sea and then castaway on a deserted island. Told from the point of view of Ben the oldest, you will come to understand his strong feelings about his father and his younger brothers, boys you will learn to admire. The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong is a modern survival story full of intense action, emotions and plenty of sailing.

Caudill 2010 - two more great reads!!

A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack and Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy are both about young girls with important issues going on in their lives. Both stories are fast paced with a real strong sense of setting, one in 1954 St. Louis and one in modern 2009 rural Ireland.
Scarlett, 13, has been sent to live with her dad in Ireland having been kicked out of yet another school in England. Her mother is at the end of her rope and hopes that this change may make a difference in her rebellious, angry daughter. But why is Scarlett so mad? Maybe she has very good reasons. Living with her dad and his new family will force Scarlett to confront not only her own feelings but those of others including the mysterious boy on a black horse that she meets near her dad's home.
Rosemary, 11, is an only child who is about to be the first African-American student at a new school in her area. JJ, her best friend, was supposed to go with her but he is now battling Polio instead. Rosemary's story follows her first full year in Robertson Elementary. She is not only faced with the challenges of integration but she also has plenty of things going on at home: her parents are not getting along and it is only getting worse.

Any reader will have plenty of action, up and downs, twists and turns to carry them through to the end of both of these realistic stories.

Caudill entry: 11 Birthdays

If you ever watched the movie "Groundhog Day" then you will have a better understanding of 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass. This realistic comedy-fantasy tells the tale of two very close friends, Amanda and Leo. Born on the same day, at the same hospital, Amanda and Leo end up celebrating their birthdays together for ten years. Now about to turn 11, they have not spoken for a year due to an unfortunate incident at their last birthday party. Told from Amanda's point of view in the first person, the reader will experience some very strange goings-on as Amanda wakes everyday to discover that it is the Friday morning of her birthday, over and over again. She tries to understand what is happening to her and in the process discovers that she is not alone experiencing this time warp issue. Adventure, disasters, confusion, detective work, friendship and family issues abound as an old legend of her town turns out to be more than just ancient history. A great read for anyone looking for well drawn realistic middle-schoolers stuck in a time rut.