Cliff-Hanger

This is one of a series of books about National Parks, Mysteries in Our National Parks. I love this series! I have always loved National Parks, and State Parks, and grew up camping in them. I enjoyed the reading Cliff-Hanger and knowing the places the characters were talking about and being able to have a picture in my head. 

Cliff-Hanger is the story of the Landon family, a mom and dad, and a son, Jack,  and a daughter, Ashley, who take in foster children. When this story opens the family is preparing to go to Mesa Verde National Park outside of Durango, Colorado. The family is going because the mom who is a veterinarian has been asked to come to the park and examine a cougar that has been attacking park visitors. The family gets word last minute that there is a girl named Lucky who needs a foster home, so the family decides to take her with them. Ashley begins to notice right away that some of Lucky's actions are not adding up. She is making mysterious phone calls and disappearances. Jack is instantly on Lucky's side because she has shows him special attention, and flirts with him. The rift between Lucky and Ashley begins to tear the family apart. Jack finally begins to believe Ashley as he notices the strangeness in Lucky's behavior. One night Jack and Ashley follow Lucky as she sneaks out and find out that Lucky is planning on sneaking away and meeting up with her father who is a con-man. In the end the park rangers arrest Lucky's father for breaking in, and the family comes together again. 

The Mysteries in the National Parks Series would be an excellent way for a library to promote the National Parks through passive programming. The library could have a poster created for each park that can include interesting facts about each park. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM POWELL'S BOOKS

When a cougar attacks a hiker in Mesa Verde National Park, the Landons have another mystery on their hands. Jack and Ashley are used to visiting parks with their wildlife veterinarian mother and photographer father, but this time their hands are full with a foster child called Lucky Deal. As Lucky and Jack become friends, Ashley becomes suspicious: What did Lucky take from the burn site? Who did she call in the night? In a midnight showdown at Spruce Tree House, Jack realizes there's more to fear than a killer cat. Cliff-Hanger weaves Native American folklore, natural science, and geography into a heart-pounding thriller. The afterword by Will Morris, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at Mesa Verde, outlines the dangers of cougar attacks and the need to protect wild animals.

Skurzynski, G., Ferguson, A., & Mehler, C. (20071999). Cliff-hanger: a mystery in Mesa Verde National Park. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.

James and the Giant Peach

James and the giant peach is a dark and beautiful children's fantasy. James is an orphan boy who is forced to live with his two evil aunts who make him do all chores all day, beat him,verbally abuse him, and hardly ever feed him. One day James' luck changes when he finds a bag of small magical beans. James accidently lets the magical beans loose and they dig into the soil. The next morning James and his aunts wake to find that there is a magical peach growing in their lawn. The peach continues growing until it is as big as a house and even bigger. The aunts begin to charge admission and people come from all over to see the peach. One night James is so hungry he eats his way into the peach where he finds a group of bugs that are as big as he is. The bugs and James disconnect the peach from the tree, and it becomes their vehicle for adventures. This book is sometimes band for its descriptions of how James is treated by his aunts, and the description of how they are killed by the giant peach. I found it to be a really fun book to read, and I enjoyed the darker parts of the book very much. I thought it added to the depth of the book. 

A good way to use this book in a library setting could be to center it around a program about bugs. 

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM www.acsu.buffalo.edu 

James and the Giant Peach is a fantastical and otherworldly journey into the imagination of Roald Dahl. The book is a classic read for late-elementary aged readers, a tale of adventure and friendship and a child hero beating the odds to find the life he always wanted. I loved this book as a child, and the world of Roald Dahl continues to feed my inner-child! The story of James is classic Dahl, in that he is a child mistreated and overlooked by the rest of society, whose heart of gold still survives the neglect and disrespect he receives at the hands of adults. This misfit quality is often the starting point for Dahl characters (think of Matilda Wormwood and Charlie Buckett in addition to James), and it would seem that because the rest of the world does not believe in their potential, the magical spirit that Dahl threads through his stories takes hold of these children and throws them into extraordinary circumstances that will reveal the child as ultimate hero in the end.

Dahl, R., & Smith, L. (1996).James and the giant peach: a children's story. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Group.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

This book is the first in a series about Alvin Ho. After reading a barrage of books about bad parents, suicide, evil friends, and teachers who are out to get students this book was like coming up for air. The main character, Avin Ho is a very anxious, and frightened of everything, especially talking in class. He is so anxious is almost unable to function. Alvin's father gives him advice on how to become and gentleman, and with the support of his family Alvin begins to have less anxiety. In the end Alvin is able to make a friend, even though she is a girl.

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

"Alvin Ho, a Chinese-American second-grader with 'so-so performance anxiety disorder,' is afraid of just about everything: elevators, tunnels, kimchi, wasabi. But one thing is especially frightening: 'I have never spoken a word in school,' Alvin says, and he's mystified, 'since I come from a long line of farmer-warriors who haven't had a scaredy bone in their bodies since 714 AD.' By the end of the story, his fears are pretty much intact — but he's found a friend, made progress on his 'How to Be a Gentleman' list and learned that joining a 'gang' is for the birds. Look's (the Ruby Lu series) intuitive grasp of children's emotions is rivaled only by her flair for comic exaggeration, as in Alvin's description of his elderly piano teacher: 'She bent like a question mark... and looked exactly like her pictures in The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Deluxe Edition.' It's perfection that Alvin's friend turns out to be his once-despised desk buddy, Flea, a one-eyed girl with one leg longer than the other, 'like a peg leg'; she prides herself on her understanding of him, and he enthusiastically thinks her eyepatch and legs make her look like a pirate. Ahoy! Ages 6 — 10.

Look, L., & Pham, L. (2008).Alvin Ho: allergic to girls, school, and other scary things. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

The Adventures of Fanboy Vs. Gothgirl

The Adventures of Fanboy vs Gothgirl of two high school outcasts, Donnie and Kyra who find each other and bond over the comic book that Donnie is writing. Donnie is in his sophomore year of high school. He feels like he is being bullied at school, and treated unfairly at home. Nothing is working out for him, but he can put up with anything because he is about to blow this bad life and become famous when his graphic novel is published. 
Kyra comes into Donnie's life and starts to shake everything up. Kyra becomes obsessed with Donnie's graphic novel, and takes things too far for Donnie's comfort. The novel shows Kyra and Donnie both struggling through their high school years trying to find out what is important, and who they can depend on. 
A library could run a very effective passive programming campaign centered around this book. There are many issues that this book talks about including suicide, violence, bullying, relationships, and family issues. The library could create a series of posters that centered around this book that offer help with these issues including phone numbers for help lines.
PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM TEENREADS.COM
THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL is an impressive first novel with heart and raw emotion that tackles serious problems real teens face today. The characters are so alive that they jump off the page and will stick in the reader's mind for days after putting the book down. Fanboy's voice is strong, sarcastic and often hilarious. He also has so much depth and heart that the reader can't help but root for him every step of his tumultuous journey.

   --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson
Lyga, B. (2006). The astonishing adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl . Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin.