Meetings in Full Swing!

After our first 2013-14 meeting, which was packed full of information, we divided up about 100 books among 27 kids – who immediately started reading to find the best book of the year!  Yes!
At our second meeting we discussed one of the Newbery criteria – plot.  We each shared one or two books that we have read so far, especially the plot characteristics.  There are a LOT of books this year that we are looking forward to.  You can see some of our comments from the left column here (“Recent Comments”), and you are welcome to comment on titles that you are reading as well.  Which new title looks especially great to you so far?

Doll Bones, by Holly Black

Summary:  Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed acting out imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll made from the ashes of a dead girl.

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Find it at WCPL

The The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle, by Christopher Healy

Summary:  Prince Liam, Prince Frederic, Prince Duncan, and Prince Gustav, the charming princes from the fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Briar Rose,  have to save the day by keeping a magical object from falling into the hands of power-mad warlords who would use it for evil.

Walden Pond Press

Find it at WCPL

Falcon in the Glass, by Susan Fletcher

Summary:  Eleven-year-old Renzo must teach himself to blow glass with the help of a girl who has a mysterious connection to her falcon.

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Kicks: Saving the Team, by Alex Morgan

The Kicks series
Summary: After moving to California, seventh-grader Devin is afraid she will not make the soccer team but finds, instead, a team is so bad that she is compelled to take the lead and turn it into something the players and coach can all be proud of.

Simon & Schuster

The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic, by Uma Krishnaswami

Summary:  Complications ensue when Bollywood star Dolly Singh premieres her new movie at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., and super fan Dinni and her best friend Maddie present a dance at the grand opening.

Atheneum

Sound of Your Voice Only Really Far Away, by Frances O’Roark Dowell

Summary: Best friends Marylin and Kate compete for limited school resources when Kate helps her boyfriend seek funding for the Audio Lab, while Marylin covers her interest in the student body president by claiming she only wants his support for new cheerleading uniforms.

Atheneum