This is a sort of old-fashioned story, and I was quite surprised to discover that it was written in 2005, as it feels much older. The story follows the four Penderwick sisters (Rosalind - 12, Skye - 11, Jane - 10, and Elizabeth "Batty" - 4) on their summer adventures at Arundel. Rosalind is the quintessential oldest child, Skye is lively and a little rebellious, Jane is a little spacey and is writing a series of books, and Batty is silly and funny, though she keeps quiet around strangers. Arundel is an estate in the Berkshire Mountains where Mrs. Tifton and her son Jeffrey live. Mrs. Tifton has rented out a cottage on the property to the girls' father (their mother dies shortly after Batty was born). The girls befriend Jeffrey, as well as the estate's gardener, Cagney, and cook, Churchie, and though they can be a tad loud and overbearing, they are mostly good-intentioned.

I really enjoyed this book, and like I said, it seems older than it is. I think this is because the girls spend their time outside exploring and playing. Jane uses a computer to type up one of her books, and that is really the only time technology is mentioned. The girls don't call Jeffrey on his cell phone when they want to get together, and Rosalind doesn't spend her time reading Wikipedia to learn more to impress a boy she likes. I do not know if this will make the girls unrelatable to kids today, or if it will make the story timeless, but I thought it was a nice change of pace.

This is one of those books that I just did not get. I don't understand what is so funny and why this is so beloved. Perhaps having the entire comic all at once rather than waiting every day or week for a new page ruins the experience? Anyway, this book is completely written by 5-year-old Malachi Nicolle, and as such many of the characters are twisted and some of the plots are nonsensical. The illustrations are all done by Malachai's older brother Ethan, and they are all well done. This book includes the six original Axe Cop stories, sixty-two additional episodes (split into two stories), and a series of "Ask Axe Cop" which are short comics based on reader-questions. I found these questions the most interesting (only interesting?) part, because Ethan wrote a little note alongside each question giving back story or providing additional information. I also want to note how odd it is that this is written by a 5-year-old, but considered a YA graphic novel.

Meanwhile is a graphic novel that you will probably either love or hate. It's a choose-your-own adventure book, and instead of saying "to chose x turn to page 2, to chose y turn to page 3" it uses a series of "pipes" you must follow along the numerous tabs that stick out on the right side of the book. The pipes must be followed on the individual pages as well, because they doesn't follow the traditional left to right, top to bottom pattern. This can seem cool if you're loving the story, but can definitely grow frustrating. Some of the pipes even travel in a twisted knot, requiring you to follow the pipe exactly or get very confused when you turn to the wrong page. The plot is sort of silly, starting with a choice between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, but quickly turning to a mad scientist forcing you to pick between using three if his inventions. Overall, I think it is a wonderfully innovative idea, but the execution lacks.

This graphic novel is about a 14-year-old girl who is starting high school after being homeschooled. She has three older brothers who are already in high school, but that does not make her transition any less awkward, mostly because they all have their own problems that they are dealing with. These problems may or may not be related to their mom running out on the family, apparently needing a break after spending so much time home with her kids. The title comes from the fact that Maggie has never had any girl friends, apart from the ghost of a widowed lady who periodically haunts her.

Overall this is a fun read! The author does a good job of integrating text with the graphics but still using character expressions and body language to illustrate their feelings. She also mixes up the size and layout of the panels to show movement and better highlight certain areas (it also makes the pages more visually interesting, which is a plus).

Kampung Boy is an autobiographical graphic novel about a boy named Lat growing up in rural Malaysia on a kampung. The story starts when he is a baby and follows him through leaving the kampung for boarding school. There really isn't much of a plot besides Lat growing older. For example, as time passes, Lat's family grows with two younger siblings, but they just show up in a frame saying "now I have a younger brother" and that is it. The drawings are very funny, with characters wearing funny pants and having big teeth. I think this would be a good way to introduce kids to another culture. The story is fun and kids should be able to find some similarities between their life and Lat's life, but also will see the differences. The story does stop at an odd point, as an industrial company is interested in buying up the kampung, but Lat goes off to school without finding out what happens. There are sequels though, so I am sure the story picks up there.

This is a great book for kids! It includes a single page on each of the hundred dangerous things with a few fun facts, a simple explanation of what to do if you find yourself in the situation, a risk and survival rating, and a couple of pictures. Dangers are split into categories like natural disasters, lost in the wild, and dangerous animals.

I think the explanations give a good overview and could definitely inspire kids to check out more detailed books on some of their favorite dangers. I would be wary of recommending this to kids who are natural worriers, as they may find even more situations to be concerned about. However, it could also assuage their fear if the risk and survival ratings are low/high for their particular fear (though a new fear could replace it). The only detraction is that the author doesn't include where she got her information (especially how the survival and risk factors were calculated), and does not include any recommended books for additional information.

This is another book to sort into the "so famous that I can't believe I somehow didn't read it as a kid" category -- and I have to say, I totally understand why people like this book so much, now that I've read it. For the uninformed, it's based on the true story of an Indian girl who spends 18 years by herself on an island off the coast of California. It seems like nearly two decades of solitude shouldn't make for super exciting reading, and yet I thought this book was great. There was something just quiet and beautiful about the book as you live through those 18 years with Karana, watching her befriend sea otters and wild dogs in lieu of any human companionship. I particularly enjoyed the way that O'Dell marks the passing of time, and yet it takes on the sort of fuzzy quality for the reader that I'd imagine time would actually take on if you really were by yourself for years on end. At some point, you realize Karana's been by herself for a really long time, but you're not at all sure how long it's been. At the end, when - spoiler alert! - she leaves the island at last, you find yourself feeling sad. It's not that I'd want to spend 18 years by myself (I don't do well with even 18 hours by myself) but something about this story makes it seem not so bad, all in all. I completely understand why this book is such a classic.

I kept going back and forth while I was reading about whether I actually liked this book, and yet by the end I found myself enjoying it more than I expected. It's the story of a 12-year-old boy in New Jersey who befriends an immigrant man who does odd jobs around town. Eventually, Andy (the kid) is at the head of a local effort to build the man (Onion John, as he is called, since no one knows his last name since he doesn't speak English) a new house. I was sort of skeptical of the premise when I began, plus I think I'm inherently skeptical of Newbery winners (this won the medal in 1960) because I've disliked so many of the ones I've read so far, but there were elements of this that I really enjoyed. There's this whole underlying story about Andy and his relationship with his dad, and how his dad is projecting his own dreams and ambitions onto Andy, and it ties in well with the main storyline (about building Onion John a house), and Krumgold wraps up both of these interwoven storylines in a nice way. The more I read it, the more I appreciated the story he was telling. I'm still not 100% sure it would appeal to a huge number of children, but I have to say that I thought the book overall was quite well-done.

The Disney movie "The Princess and the Frog" was loosely based on this novel, but I honestly think the plot is one that works better on film than on the page. I was unable to get really engaged with this book. I liked both the hero and the heroine, they were quite likable characters, but the book itself was pretty predictable and everything felt very routine, as if the author were just tossing in elements required in any fairy tale retelling. Furthermore, some of the elements of the book that did have potential to be interesting - such as Emma's relationship with her mother - were given very shallow treatment, which seemed like a wasted opportunity to me, personally. This could have been a really enjoyable novel, it certainly had potential, but I ultimately found myself unable to care much about the outcome.

I somehow never read this book as a kid, which is surprising given how famous it is, so I'm glad that my never-ending Newbery project finally made me read it, because I quite liked it. It's the story of Kit Tyler, who leaves a comfortable life in Barbados upon the death of her grandfather to go live with her stuffy relatives in New England. I love books about New England and colonial-era history and sassy female protagonists with various romantic and non-romantic problems, so I totally enjoyed this, and I bet a lot of girls today still like it. It provided a really vivid picture of what life in the colonies was like in the 1600s without getting bogged down in too much historical detail, and the climax of the book, when Kit is accused of witchcraft, was legit really stressful. Being able to stress me out is generally, in my opinion, a marker of a good book.

The graphic part of this graphic novel was beautiful: beautiful colors and pictures that are the perfect combination of realistic and cartoon. However, the story moved way too quickly, with Siena moving from flat-footed child in ballet class to dancing at a prestigious New York ballet academy. Because it is so short, there is not a lot of discussion of Siena's feelings or conflicts, only the events that occurred in her progression. Still, it is nice to see a graphic novel autobiography and one that is more geared to girls. And I have to say, the ending is quite cute, showing the author leaping across the beach with her young daughter, mirroring the opening beach scene where the author states "big, empty spaces always make me want to dance".

I've been reading the occasional Trixie Belden book over the past few months, despite my vague feeling that they're just sort of a lamer version of Nancy Drew. Despite that less-than-ringing endorsement, I keep reading them, and enjoyed this installment in the series for the following reasons:

1. The audiobook reader did a good job. That seriously can significantly change my opinion about a book.

2. Time actually seems to be passing! Unlike Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, where they are the same age forever and the seasons jump around like crazy, this is the third book in Trixie's series and they've all taken place in the same summer, and each book sequentially follows the one that preceded it. I want to keep reading the series just to see if the seasons progress in their proper order and if Trixie and co get older.

3. Trixie is sassy!

4. Half the book is Trixie, her brothers, and her friends Honey and Jim bickering. It gets tiresome, and yet I find it refreshingly realistic at the same time. I don't know. I enjoyed it.