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
Another Newbury Medal winner, I loved this book. When I first started reading Holes by Louis Sachar, I had so many questions: What kind of a place is this? Are parents really aware of the way the kids are treated? And why are they spending all day in the hot Texas sun digging holes?
- In: Tweens
This little book took me far longer to read than I expected it would. Life gets busy sometimes. But now that I've finished the book, I did enjoy it.
The story is told from a third party who interviewed the sister and brother (Claudia and Jamie). It reminded me a bit about a story I am currently working on where a boy chooses a library to hide out and live in.
- In: Tweens
Unfamiliar with the name Neil Gaiman when I saw it on the cover of my July/August 2013 issue of Poets and Writers magazine, I didn't read the article that was written about him. If I had, I may have searched out his books sooner.
But having remembered seeing his name in print, I found "The Graveyard Book', the 2009 Newbury Medal winner, at my local library. And I wasn't disappointed. A very engaging book, The Graveyard Book has it all: murder, mystery, ghost and ghouls, and the most frightening of all, the order of the Jacks of All Trades.
- In: Tweens
A simple, predictable story, "Pawns" by Willo Davis Roberts tells the story of Teddi who, at 14 years old, is orphaned when her mother dies from cancer, and her father, overcome with grief about losing his wife, commits suicide. She is taken in by Mamie, her next door neighbor, with a big caring heart, who also recently lost her twenty-six year old son.
- In: Tweens
Carl Hiaasen is becoming one of my favorite JFic authors. I just finished “Scat” and found it to be perfectly aligned with his other books. What I have come to admire in his novels is his subtle inclusion of those who are determined to damage and destroy the environment or the animal life living in it. I say subtle only because he doesn’t really throw it in our faces, as I fear I would do if I were to tackle a similar subject in my novels. I have often thought about it and wondered how I could approach the topic, without sounding too offensive (should I care if I offend?) of careless polluters or “great white hunters” who kill for sport without concern for anything except their own egos and/or potential for money in their pockets. See, too much anger. I’m not sure how he does it because he does seem to have an interest and concern for all things ecological.