Readalikes for Out of My Mind, 2012-2013 Mark Twain Readers Award Winner

A few weeks ago, the winners of the Missouri Readers Awards were announced. I was thrilled to learn that the 2012-2013 Mark Twain Readers Award, chosen by fourth through sixth graders, was given to Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind.

During the course of this school year, I've had lots of eager middle grade readers come talk to me about the books they were reading and enjoying, and Out of My Mind seemed to always be part of the conversation. And rightly so--this story beautifully illustrates that people are people, despite any appearances or differing levels of ability. We all want friendships, to learn and be challenged, to feel love and appreciation from our families... Simply, we're all human and want to be treated humanely, lovingly. I am ecstatic that young Missouri readers latched on to that message.

I've already had a number of kids come ask me for more books like Out of My Mind, and I anticipate many such requests over the next few weeks and into summer reading. To meet that demand--and to help my reference colleagues who don't have as much familiarity with MG titles--I have put together a list of readalikes for Out of My Mind. Brief explanations included.

Readalikes for Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, 2012-2013 Mark Twain Readers Award Winner

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine -- Told from the perspective of a young girl with an ASD, this story wonderfully shows how every person must process difficult feelings and situations in life. How we interact with the world may differ, but we're all still very much a part of it.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio -- This novel cannot help but inspire children to be their best selves as it follows Auggie and his classmates on his first foray into a school setting. Like Melody in Out of My Mind, Auggie's special need is visually apparent. This story is told from multiple perspectives, and message that we all want a fair chance at being ourselves rings true.

Rules by Cynthia Lord -- This slightly older title is a bit different in that it is the protagonist's younger brother who experiences life with a special need, but the impact of the protagonist's story is no less profound.

The Joey Pigza Series by Jack Gantos -- Many a reader has fallen in love with the disheveled and energetic Joey Pigza who, when it comes down to it, unabashedly lives his life the way he knows how. Gotta respect that.

The Origami Yoda Series by Tom Angleberger -- Another example of novels told from multiple perspectives, this series subtly demonstrates that we're all different, no exceptions. One kid may be labeled the geek, another the weird one, another the bad attitude kid; but while these differences may distinguish us, they do not define us. There are so many characters in these books for kids to love and commiserate with.

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What titles would you add to this readalike list? What books won state awards this year in your neck of the woods? What sorts of quick readalike lists, if any, will you prepare for summer reading?

What I'm Doing These Days

The next few days will be slightly out of the ordinary here on the blog. I'll be in Indianapolis through Saturday for the 2012 ALSC National Institute--three days of all sorts of sessions aimed at those of us who serve children in our libraries, plus plenty of networking and author excitement. I'll be one of several attendees live-blogging all the great things going on at the Institute, so make sure you check out the ALSC Blog to stay on top of all that's happening in Indy. You can also follow #ALSC12 on Twitter to keep up with the chatter. I'll try to post some highlights here, too, but time and internet access will factor into whether that happens.

And now for some reading updates! You may have noticed that there haven't been many chapter book reviews on the blog lately. That absence is not due to lack of reading, I assure you--on the contrary, it's due to large amounts of reading due to two committee appointments:

• I was named a Round I panelist for the Cybils Awards in the middle grade fiction category! Reading hasn't yet begun for this appointment--book nominations don't even begin until Oct. 1 (start thinking of what titles you want to recommend!)--but I'm gearing up for what will surely be a very large stack of to-read books on my kitchen table.
• I've been working my way through the 2013-2014 Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominees as part of my reader/selector duties. That's 25 novels aimed at 4th-6th graders, and I'm happy to say that the genres and appeal factors run the gamut. I've really been enjoying reading these middle grade novels.

That's what I'm doing these days in addition to all the fun programming and collection management at my branch. Stay tuned to the blog in the next few weeks for some exciting program ideas as well as a celebration of one of my favorite weeks of the year: Banned Books Week! I may even have a surprise up my sleeve to help celebrate the freedom to read...

I hope to see many of you in Indy!

Mark Twain Reviews: The Familiars and Twenty Gold Falcons

I finished the last two Mark Twain Readers Award nominees, you guys! Now I can vary my reading for a bit! I must say, though, that while I'm glad to be able to pick up some other books for the next few weeks, this batch of a dozen titles is really great--there's something for every older elementary reader.


The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson is the story of Aldwyn, a stray alley cat who, through a series of evasive maneuvers and a bit of luck, finds himself chosen as the familiar of a young wizard. Despite his total lack of magical ability, Aldwyn has quite a bit of skill--which comes in handy when it appears the sorceress queen of the land has taken a turn toward evil. After the three young wizards whom they accompany are kidnapped, Aldwyn and his new friends go on an adventure of their own in order to rescue the children. And hopefully they'll thwart some evil along the way. This story is fast-paced, has characters with strong personalities, and takes place in a world ready for an imaginative reader. I'll be recommending this title to readers who enjoy fantasy, adventure, and animal tales.

Twenty Gold Falcons by Amy Gordon follows Aiden Farmer, who after the death of her father has recently relocated from her farm in Minnesota to the city in which her mother grew up. Aiden isn't a huge fan of this move--she's met some bratty kids at her private school, her mother seems too occupied with returning to her previous city life, and she misses the comforts of her familiar farm life. Everyone at the Ingle Building is friendly to her, though, and soon she finds out about some gold coins--twenty gold falcons--that are likely still hidden in its walls. Aiden thinks that finding the coins can allow her to buy back her farm, so she enlists the help of a classmate and a cousin to try to discover their secret hiding place. Along the way, she makes a few friends, gets into a few sticky situations, and learns a lot more about herself and her family than she could have expected. This book would be great for readers who don't quite feel like they fit in, as Aiden thoughtfully narrates how she feels about being in a new place where she feels alone. I'll be recommending Twenty Gold Falcons to readers who enjoy a bit of mystery as well as those who are looking for a soft-spoken character to relate to.

Mark Twain Reviews: Palace Beautiful, Hide & Seek, and Out of My Mind

I'm making good progress in getting through the rest of the Mark Twain Readers Award nominees. After this batch, I only have two more left to read.

Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams is a thoughtful historical fiction novel about Sadie and her sister, father, and step-father as they move from Houston to Salt Lake City. Set in 1985, the story documents Sadie's befriending the neighbor girl and discovering a secret attic room in her new house. Together with her younger sister Zuzu and her neighbor Bella, Sadie discovers the journal of one of the houses WWI-era residents. The girls make a pact to read the journal together a few entries at a time, and as the story of the journal's owner develops, they start to sense impending trouble in the writer's life. The journal writer's struggles mirror some of Sadie's own fears about her life, and she becomes comfortable in her new surroundings as the girls seek to find the journal's owner. This story is somewhat gentle and richly historical, and many young readers--girls in particular--will delight in the descriptions of life in WWI and the lovely friendship story between Sadie and Bella.

Hide & Seek by Katy Grant follows middle schooler Chase, an avid Arizona biker and hiker, as he encounters an interesting message while out geocaching. On his first solo geocaching adventure, Chase notices a strange message in the geocache's log: "HELP WE NE." Intrigued, Chase returns several days in a row, and he learns that the message has come from two young boys. Despite how much he enjoys spending time out in nature with these two youngsters, Chase starts to worry that they might be in some sort of trouble. What results is a captivating story, part adventure and part heartfelt, as Chase struggles to help his new friends while also keeping himself safe in the Arizona desert. This book will be a great read for sports-minded readers, young boys in particular.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper is narrated by eleven-year-old Melody, who has never spoken a word as a result of her cerebral palsy. Confined to a wheelchair and dependent on caretakers and family, Melody is bored out of her mind--everyone assumes that since she cannot communicate she is also mentally impaired. On the contrary, Melody is incredibly bright. When she finally finds a way to communicate with the people around her, Melody has lots to say. Despite her ability to assert her intelligence and unique personality, Melody struggles with her fellow fifth graders, not all of whom seem willing to accept her as a regular elementary school girl. Out of My Mind is a wonderful, wonderful story documenting just how frustrating Melody can find her life--and how, when push comes to shove, her frustrations, challenges, and fears aren't really that different from those of any other child. I'll be highly recommending this novel to readers who enjoy realistic fiction and school stories, and I'll be booktalking it along with Lord's Rules and Erskine's Mockingbird.

Mark Twain Reviews: Drizzle, Ghost Dog Secrets, and Half Upon a Time

I've been making progress toward my goal of reading all of the 2012-2013 Mark Twain Readers Award nominees. Here are the synopses and recommendations of the last three I've finished:


Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve is the story of Polly Peabody, who lives on her family's magical rhubarb farm. You don't think rhubarb farming can be magical? Well, it is on this farm, which grows giant rhubarb and chocolate rhubarb, and where it rains every Monday at exactly 1 p.m. despite the farm's location in a drought-prone area of the country. Things start to seem much less perfect and magical, though, when Polly's beloved aunt decides she wants to sell the farm despite the protests of Polly and her family. When her aunt leaves town, that much-needed rain suddenly stops--and all sorts of chaos breaks out. Polly must determine if she's the sort of girl who can reverse the bad luck while her family and their livelihood seem to be headed for total disaster. This fanciful yet heartfelt story deals with such ubiquitous topics as bullying, feeling afraid, the trials of friendship, and the difficulty in living up to your potential. I'll be recommending this book for some of my more self-conscious readers who may need a bit of literary encouragement to come out of their shells.

Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret is a lovely story about doing the right thing and fighting for the underdog--literally. When Rusty sees a dog chained to a tree day after day without food, water, or shelter, he and his best friend decide to try to help. Their class at school has been focusing on addressing problems in their community, and Rusty takes this message to heart as he "rescues" the dog, who he names Ra. It turns out Ra's owner very much wants his dog back--and he's willing to intimidate and threaten Rusty in the process. To make matters even more interesting, Rusty can see a ghost collie who seems to want him to protect Ra at all costs. Ghost Dog Secrets mixes the realistic themes of a boy and his pet, school difficulties, family dynamics, and animal cruelty with some supernatural elements and a bit of thriller suspense that will hook almost any young reader.

Half Upon a Time by James Riley is a fantastic fractured fairy tale. Jack has never been keen on his hero training--all the princesses are spoken for, so why risk his neck with adventure? When a princess literally falls from the sky, however, Jack finds himself engaged in a quest beyond anything he could have imagined. He and the princess, May, don't quite get along, but Jack is willing to put up with her, a slightly annoying prince, and a good deal of danger to help May find her kidnapped grandmother. Along the way we meet a giant, some dwarves, the Wolf King, and all manner of characters from fairy tales of old. There is plenty of adventure and humor in this tale to appeal to the average school-age reader, but the wonderful spin on fairy tale classics and some great fairy tale puns make this novel an above-average addition to the genre. I'll be recommending this title to readers looking for adventure, humor, and a bit of fun, and I'll probably read aloud from it at some summer programs, too.

Mark Twain Reviews: Because of Mr. Terupt & Belly Up

I've been working my way through the twelve Mark Twain Readers Award nominees for 2012-2013--I want to be able to book talk these titles to upper elementary kids once summer reading starts on June 4. As I make progress through my stack of novels, I'll post some synopses of the books as well as notes about what type of readers might enjoy them.


Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea is everything that is wonderful about a school story. Mr. Terupt is the new fifth grade teacher, and the story is told from the varying perspectives and voices of several members of his class. There's Peter, the trouble-maker; Lexie, the mean girl; Jessica, the new girl; Luke, the academically-driven young boy; and a handful of other fifth graders with real voices, interesting backstories, and genuine fifth-grader problems. The story progresses through the months of the school year, beginning with everyone growing comfortable with Mr. Terupt's unique teaching style and leading up to an incident that shakes the students and shapes the rest of their fifth grade experience. So many young readers can identify with this book--there really is a character for every personality--and the frank yet tender portrayal of the difficulties in growing up makes it a stellar novel. I'll be recommending Because of Mr. Terupt to readers looking for realistic stories as well as those looking to connect with a book character.

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs has a remarkably unique premise: when push comes to shove, it's a mystery about a murder--of a hippo. Teddy Fitzroy lives at FunJungle, the world's largest and most impressive zoo, where his parents are an animal photographer and a highly respected gorilla researcher. FunJungle has only been open for a few weeks, and it would appear mayhem has already struck: Henry the Hippo, the park's not-so-friendly mascot, has been found dead. After a rather humorously-described autopsy, the head vet determines Henry has been murdered. Luckily Teddy was spying on the autopsy, because FunJungle appears to want to cover up the murder. Teddy takes it upon himself to solve the mystery, but not without some zoo-specific dangers to his own life along the way. Teddy is a great narrator, and it is really enjoyable to tag along throughout his animal investigations. There is also plenty of gross-out humor in the novel, perfect for young male readers, that keeps the book light-hearted. I'll be recommending Belly Up to reluctant readers, especially boys, as well as readers with interests in animals.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is the first book in a legal thriller series for young readers by John Grisham. You know all of those slightly argumentative (in a good way!) older elementary school kids who seem always ready to pick an arbitrary fight over books, movies, anything? Consider getting those kids started on this series.

Theo Boone is the only child of two lawyers, and the way he tells it, he had no choice but to become steeped in law and justice as well. When a murder trial is set to take place in his town, Theo uses his familiarity with the judges and courts to get his government class seats at the opening arguments of the trial. Theo's desire to follow every detail of the trial becomes somewhat complicated, though, when a friend confides he might know something about the case--something big. Suddenly Theo is torn between keeping his friend's confidence and seeing justice prevail.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer could have easily spiraled into a boring, dumbed-down legal story, but I'm glad to say that is decidedly not the case. The thriller is exciting and captivating enough to keep almost any reader's attention, yet it is not so sensational as to turn away fans of realistic fiction or sensitive readers. I love the narration style, too; everything is told from Theo's perspective, and that means we're privy to all Theo's snarky thoughts while he presents an outward reserved politeness. What kid can't relate to having to agree politely with a grown-up when he'd rather tell said grown-up off? Theo Boone may be acting like a young lawyer, but he is very relatable.

I listened to the audiobook version of Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, which is read superbly by Richard Thomas. The pacing is perfect to build suspense and develop Theo's character, and Thomas does enough voice variation to keep the plot moving along quickly without generating confusion. The five-hour audiobook makes for great listening on an otherwise uneventful car ride, perfect for summer travels.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is nominated for Missouri's Mark Twain Readers Award for the 2012-2013 school year. The award recognizes books for readers in grades 4 through 6.

The Clockwork Three

Every school year, twelve fiction titles are nominated for Missouri's Mark Twain Readers Award. These novels are meant to appeal to kids in the fourth through sixth grades, and the topics and genres always run the gamut--there's something to appeal to every Missouri reader in that age range! Many, many kids come to the library looking specifically for Mark Twain books, so I make a point of familiarizing myself with all of them. I just started in on the 2012-2013 nominated titles. First on my list: the audiobook version of Matthew J. Kirby's The Clockwork Three.

The Clockwork Three tells the story of three children in an unnamed, steampunk American city. Giuseppe is originally from Italy but, after his parents' death and his sale to a not-so-nice guy who exploits children in the New World, he has been slaving away as a street musician for over half his life. When he finds a green violin washed up near the docks, he starts to think that escaping his busker life and returning to Italia might be a possibility. Then there's Frederick, a precocious clockmaker's apprentice. He is obsessed with clockwork automatons and perfecting his secret creation for the clockmakers guild, but he routinely shoves aside the lingering curiosity and hurt he feels regarding his becoming an orphan. Lastly there is Hannah, a bright young girl who has been forced to get a job as a hotel maid after her father's sudden and drastic illness. Hannah overhears talk of a fortune hidden in the hotel, and she sets her sights on finding it in an effort to alleviate the financial and mental strains on her mother, father, and twin sisters.

The chapters rotate through focusing on each of the three protagonists, and eventually their storylines intersect as the three children become friends. They've all been loners of sorts, but they develop fondnesses for one another and realize that together they may be able to meet each of their goals. Together the clockwork three dash through city streets, brave the wild park of the city, encounter quite a few enemies who have ill intentions toward them, and embark on a series of adventures that tests their mettle beyond anything they had expected.

The action of the story is evenly-paced and keeps one's attention, and the reader (Marc Thompson) performs a variety of strong voices to further illuminate the story. The audiobook is nearly twelve hours long, so it's a large chunk of a story--but there is more than enough intrigue and character to keep listeners engaged. I enjoyed hearing The Clockwork Three develop, and I would definitely recommend the audiobook to school-age kids looking for something for long car rides during upcoming summer vacations. The 2012-2013 Mark Twain Readers Award nominees are certainly off to a good start.