The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz Motion Picture DVD

ISBN 1419807730

For our continued pleasure we are presented (in the DVD format) with the adventures of Dorothy and her companions, Toto her dog, and Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion as they journey in the Land of Oz, all four with their individual goals.  This film has never fallen out of favor with audiences and in fact support for it has increased over the years.  With a heroine that has always appeared to be in the tween age range this is a work that would be a natural for this audience.

When You Reach Me

 

By Rebecca Stead

9780385737425

In this book, awarded the 2010 Newbery Award, our main character is Miranda a sixth grader who presents the reader with a good representation of the present day life style of many young people around us.  Yes, Miranda is a Latchkey Kid living with her mom in New York City.  Miranda’s father is not in the picture.

Miranda and her next door neighbor, Sal, another sixth grader, negotiate their way every day back and forth to school past the homeless, in particular one man who sleeps at night under the mailbox, and the older youths who hang around and look menacing to the passing Miranda.  Miranda and her mother, a paralegal, have their dreams for a possible financial windfall should Miranda’s mom be successful on a game show.  The preparation for this game show has become a family project with even Richard, mom’s boyfriend, taking part by lending his support also.

Early in this story Miranda is presented with the challenge of trying to determine the identity of the sender of notes that are coming her way in mysterious methods.  These notes convey the baffling message that the writer will be coming to save the life of a friend of Miranda’s but that Miranda must write back to the writer of these notes.  For almost the entire length of the book the identity of the note sender is unclear.  However the reader to who takes note of Miranda’s interest in time travel will consider that the final turn of this book makes more sense.

The Westing Game

By Ellen Raskin
(1968) 0525471375

The “Westing Game” is thoroughly intriguing, complex in its plot and full of characters upon characters.  It is suggested that it’s reading is undertaken only by readers with a sufficient amount of time as well as a location where distractions can be held to a minimum.  The variety of twists and turns as well as character transformations in this work call for readers who are able to pay close attention.  It is the confident view of this reviewer that overall, readers will be well rewarded for their efforts.  There is never a dull moment in this book but it is necessary to focus fully from start to finish.  This book, winner of the Newbery Award in 1968, is one of the most enjoyable mystery books that this reader has ever encountered.

In that the main character, at least a very important one, is a 13 year old girl, this book seems ideal for the Tween audience.  This work however can be fully enjoyed by a very wide age group.  The interesting constant twists and turns that start from the beginning and end only when one closes the book ensure the attention of its audiences no matter who they are.

The main theme of the book is that of a huge fortune available to one of 16 potential candidates, with the winner to be the one who is able to determine who is person responsible for “taking the life of Samuel W. Westing”, the person who is the extremely wealthy person after whom this book is named.  To help you start solving this mystery, the immediately preceding sentence has been written so as to contain two important hints to get you started in the “Westing Game.”

Sounder

By William Howard Armstrong

VHS 96 minutes.  ABC’s Wonderful World of Disney V1188

The struggles undergone by an African-American family living in Louisiana during the time of the Depression is the subject of this video/film based on the 1970 Newbery Award book by Armstrong.  The father in the family is driven by desperation to steal and getting caught is sent to prison thus setting the family further into poverty.  The son, referred to only as Boy has to assume the role of breadwinner by working in the farming chores.  Despite the tragedy that is portrayed in this book/video, it is the drive and the perseverance and love of the family that will stay with the reader/viewer.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the First, The Bad Beginning

By Lemony Snicket

(1999) ISBN 0064407667

With warnings galore we decide to venture nevertheless into the unique world of the unfortunate Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus and Sunny.  We start our acquaintanceship as their world falls apart with the deaths of their parents (we are told of the deaths, no bodies found) and the loss of their beautifully comfortable home, these incidents brought about by a great fire.  Their problems are compounded by the sketchiest of provisions for their care left by the parents.  There seems to be a good case for a malpractice suit against who was their attorney.  Per the terms of the parents instructions, only a relative can take charge of the trio and no specific persons were named and certainly no research was done so as to eliminate the odious and dangerous Count Olaf who claiming to be a relative immediately takes charge of the children and immediately set out to separated the children out of their huge fortune, a fortune that is not to be touched until Violet come of age and we quickly learn Olaf’s way around that problem.  It is due to their own resources that the Baudelaires do manage to live another day and escape from the Count’s clutches at least for the time being but since this is only the first volume in a series there is much suffering or fun to look forward to depending on how you like your reading or the bend of your sense of humor.  The Illustrations give the reader the proper start from the beginning and keep the mood in the right course, the unfortunate world of our friends, the Baudelaires.  This series is quite unique and the one comparison that comes to mind is the old films called The Perils of Pauline.

A Day No Pigs Would Die

By Robet Newton Peck

(2001) ISBN 0394482352

We meet Rob, full name Robert Peck, as he has struggled again to live with the ways of the Shaker holdings of his family.  How he longs to let go and light into a classmate who ridicules him.  Rob in handling the situation by leaving school in mid-morning encounters a situation that will bring about some good changes in his life and routine.  When Rob comes to the aid of a neighbor’s cow, he is rewarded with his own piglet who he raises in the hopes that she will become a brood sow and bring some financial relief to his family’s standing.  After becoming fond of Pinky, the pig, Rob finds that he must endure some of the pain of growing up as he realizes that he need to place the survival of his family above that of his beloved pet.  This is a touching and well-told story.  This is a recommended work for introducing young readers to the realities of farming with its hardships, its joys and the feelings of accomplishment that are a natural part of that style of life.  The recounting of farming life and the way that children cope with its aspects reminds one of the children’s life in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books although not as cheerful a tale.  This book deals more with the progression into adulthood than did the Little House in the Big Woods. 

ALA Notable Children's Books, 1995

Number the Stars

By Lois Lowry

(1989, 1998) ISBN 0440227534

Two friends are walking home together with a younger sister, or running as the mood strikes them when they are confronted by the realities of their world.  Their running catches the attention of German occupation soldiers patrolling the streets of Copenhagen and stopped for questioning.  No, they have done nothing illegal or threatening to the occupiers but have committed a tactical error by calling attention to themselves with their running.  It is 1943 and Denmark has been occupied since 1940 when as a survival tactic it surrendered to Germany.  Annemarie Johansen and her family are neighbors of the Rosen family whose daughter, Ellen is Annemarie’s friend.  Before we progress very far in the story we see Annemarie’s family and circle of friends endanger their lives to insure the safety of the Rosen family.  The Rosens and all Jewish people are being targeted by the occupiers for “relocation”, a term which in fact pertained to the attempts by the German occupiers to annihilate the Jewish People. Newbery Award 1990.