The Bicycle Spy by Yona Zeldis McDonough

Marcel loves bicycle riding and dreams of one day competing in the Tour de France. Unfortunately the Tour has been canceled the last 3 years because of WWII.  Marcel keeps his riding dreams alive by using his bike to make deliveries for his parents who own a bakery shop. One day he discovers that his deliveries are more important than he could have imagined.  He tries to keep the truth about his parent's "deliveries" a secret, even from his new friend, Delphine.  Little does he know that his parent's secret work, and his bike riding skill, may some day save Delphine's family's lives.

I was so happy to read this new WWII historical fiction for grade-school-age readers. Marcel is a believable 10 year old boy who does things that a boy that age could conceivably do to save his friend. Best of all, McDonough does a good job of keeping the description of the fate of Jews during the war at an age appropriate level. I feel like I will be recommending this book a lot to kids who need to read a historical fiction. This is a great choice for children who liked Number the Stars, or The Snow Treasure.197 p.
 

Going Wild by Lisa McMann

Charlie (short for Charlotte) is not pleased to be moving from Chicago to Arizona, especially in the middle of the school year.  She soon, however, makes friends with Maria, who, like her, plays soccer, and Maria's computer geek friend, Mac.  Things are going along great until strange things start happening during soccer practice.  Charlie has bursts of speed and strength that seem super-human.  She figures out that the new abilities are connected to a sports bracelet she mysteriously received in the mail on the day she left Chicago.  As she explores her new powers she has no idea how much danger the bracelet will bring to her and her new friends.

This is the first in a new series by the author of the successful The Unwanteds series. It is a pretty standard "discovering you have special powers" book like a host of others that have come out over the last decade. The characters are likeable enough, and there is plenty of fast paced action.  The book ends without much resolution, so don't even start if you are not committed to read the whole series. 375 p.

Star on Stormy Mountain by Gill Lewis

Star is a student at the Puppy Academy.  Her mother is a champion sheep dog, and everyone expects Star to be one, too.  Unfortunately, Star doesn't seem to have what it takes to herd sheep.  She is too fast and reckless, but she keeps on trying.  On the day of the mountain sheep herding class, a storm comes up.  The other puppies race back to the lodge, but Star realizes there are lambs and humans still lost in the storm.  Will her fast feet and reckless courage help her help them?

This is my intermediate of the week. It is a cute story written on a good level for an emerging novel reader. Cartoon illustrations scattered throughout add to the book's kid appeal.  There are other books in the Puppy Academy series, and it seems like they are all about puppies discovering their true vocation.  It is an old theme, aptly presented here for a new generation. (115 p.)

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

Astrid has been best friends with Nicole since first grade, but that starts to change when the girls watch a roller derby match together.  Astrid instantly wants to become a roller girl, but Nicole finds the experience distasteful.  Astrid signs up for a summer roller camp, and is surprised and hurt with Nicole opts to go to dance camp with bossy Rachel instead.  Things don't immediately get better once roller camp starts. Roller skating on the team is much more difficult than Astrid had anticipated, and she comes home each day bruised and exhausted.  Does Astrid have what it takes to become an awesome roller derby star like her idol Rainbow Bite?

This graphic novel was a Newbery Honor winner this year. It is also the Mother/Daughter book club book for this month.  I think is is a pretty good choice for both.  It deals with issues that most kids face as they transition into puberty; changing relationships with friends, changing relationships with parents, and a quest to establish one's own identity.  The plot element of the roller derby, something most children will have never heard of, adds a fresh and interesting vehicle to explore these issues. It will be interesting to discuss this with the mothers and daughters this week.  (239 p.)

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt

Sylvie is one year older than her sister Jules. Their mother died a number of years before but they live pretty happily with their father on a big piece of wooded land in Vermont. One day there is a accident and Sylvie is killed.  As Jules and her father cope with another crushing loss in their family, a baby fox is born in the woods near their house.  The fox is connected with Sylvie and Jules somehow, and ends up having an important role to play in Jule's life.

Kathi Appelt is an amazing writer.  She portrays Jules' grief in aching terms and the way that Jules tries to deal with her grief is very believable for a character her age. Like Ghost,(see below), this is getting a lot of critical attention, but I actually liked Ghost better.  I felt like Appelt stuck in a couple too many social issues.  Not only is Jules dealing with the death of her sister, and the earlier death of her mother, but her best friend's brother is dealing with grief because of his friend who died while they were both serving in Afghanistan.  This brother of the friend also has a spirit animal, which is a giant mountain cat that is thought to be extinct.  If they had left out the friend's brother, the giant cat, and Afghanistan I think I would have liked the whole story better.  Still the writing is pretty amazing, so for that reason I can see why it has received some good reviews. (272 p.)

Ghost by Jason Reynold

Castle Crenshaw (he goes by Ghost) lives in a rough neighborhood.  His dad is serving time and his mom barely makes enough to put food on the table.  Ghost can't stay out of trouble at school, but when he gets a chance to be on an elite track team he is motivated to keep in step both on the field and in class.  For the first time he feels like he is a part of something, but when his past and his poor decisions catch up with him, he is at risk of losing it all.

This book has received a lot of starred reviews.  I liked it.  It was an above average social issues novel.  Some social issues novels try to stuff as many different issues as they can into one story.  This story sticks to one, poverty, and handles it in a very sympathetic and believable way.  As I read the book I thought, yeah, this could totally happen, and things like this probably do all the time.  If this ends up winning some awards, I won't be surprised or disappointed. (181 p)

Guys Read True Stories by Jon Scieszka (ed)

Jon Scieszka is the king of getting to get boys to read.  He has a great Guys Read website, and he has compiled a number of collections of stories especially chosen for boys.  This "True Stories" collection is the first one that I have read.  I must admit, I just picked it up because I had finished my other book, and some books I have on hold hadn't come in yet.  I was going to read a few stories while I was waiting, kind of as a filler book.  Once I got started, though, I found I was really enjoying it.  All the contributors were names I recognized as prominent children's nonfiction writers. There is a wide variety of stories, some, I was surprised to see, written by women.  Some were adventure stories; about being marooned from a ship wreck, getting attacked by a bear in the Rockies, or running Canadian rapids in a canoe.  One was a science story about studying tarantulas in South America another was about growing up in Vietnam with three older brothers.  Some were funny, some suspenseful and some a little gruesome.  All of them were very entertaining.  I think I am going to be recommending these stories and the other Guys Reads books a lot more, especially to reluctant readers.(242 p.)