School Days
Staff -- School Library Journal, 9/1/1996
It's back to school time, and the titles listed below, all culled from past years of SLJ's "Best Books," are an ideal way to launch the fall season. Themes range from stories about the three "Rs" to those first-day jitters that many youngsters feel. All of these books should get the reading habit off to a good start.
AVI. Nothing But the Truth. Orchard Bks. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05959-6; PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-531-08559-7.
Gr 6-9 -- A riveting story about the misuse of authority and the devastating effects of miscommunication. Masterfully integrating diaries, letters, memos, newspaper articles, and conversations, Avi demonstrates the chaos that ensues when a ninth-grade boy breaks a school rule and ignites a nationwide controversy. (Sept. 1991)
BUNTING, Eve. Our Sixth-Grade Sugar Babies. Lippincott. Tr $13.95. ISBN 0-397-32451-0; PLB $13.89. ISBN 0-397-32452-9.
Gr 4-6 -- The take-care-of-an-egg-to-teach-responsibility theme is given a funny new twist when each member of a sixth-grade class is entrusted with the welfare of a personalized five-pound sack of sugar. Questions of reliability, honesty, and deception come to the fore in a novel that is right on target for the age group. (Oct. 1990)
BUNTING, Eve. The Wednesday Surprise. illus. by Donald Carrick. Clarion. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-89919-721-3.
K-Gr 3 -- A loving story about a proud granddaughter and her successful efforts to teach her grandmother to read. A plug for literacy is just the bonus; the real focus is on the lessons old and young share when they learn to read each other's hearts. A joyful surprise for any day of the week. (June 1989)
COLE, Joanna. The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System. illus. by Bruce Degen. Scholastic. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-590-41428-3.
Gr 1-3 -- It's blast-off time for Ms. Frizzle and her class, as their school bus takes them soaring skyward for a zany exploration of space and an almost incidental lesson in astronomy. A perfect way to ingest the wonders of the universe and a stellar story-hour choice as well. (Aug. 1990)
CRUTCHER, Chris. Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories. Greenwillow. RTE $14. ISBN 0-688-10816-4.
Gr 8 Up -- The stereotype of jocks as insensitive dullards is challenged in stories that grapple with the big questions of life as well as with athletic prowess, told with good-natured aplomb and gritty honesty. (Sept. 1991)
FINE, Anne. Flour Babies. Little. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-316-28319-3.
Gr 7-9 -- A teenage boy comes to an understanding of his father's absence when he and his misfit classmates each become a "parent" of a 6-lb. sack of flour for a child-development project. Finely drawn characters and laugh-out-loud situations in a story told with as much sensitivity as gusto. (June 1994)
HEIDE, Florence Parry & Judith Heide Gilliland. The Day of Ahmed's Secret. illus. by Ted Lewin. Lothrop. Tr $16. ISBN 0-688-08894-5; PLB $15.93. ISBN 0-688-08895-3.
K-Gr 3 -- A young boy is about to burst with a wonderful secret that he will share with his family after a long day of making deliveries along crowded Cairo alleyways. Children everywhere will empathize with Ahmed's anxious preoccupation and his justifiable pride in knowing how to write his name. (Aug. 1990)
HENKES, Kevin. Chrysanthemum. illus. by author. Greenwillow. Tr $13.95. ISBN 0-688-09699-9; PLB $13.88. ISBN 0-688-09700-6.
PreS-Gr 2 -- Tormented about her lengthy and fragrant name, a delicate mouse withers under the teasing of her kindergarten classmates, and it takes a charismatic teacher to help this flower bloom. Exuberant and expressive pen-and-watercolor paintings create a garden of delights. (Sept. 1991)
KING-SMITH, Dick. The School Mouse. illus. by Cynthia Fisher. Hyperion. Tr $13.95. ISBN 0-7868-0036-4; PLB $13.89. ISBN 0-7868-2029-2.
Gr 2-4 -- A resourceful young mouse with an unusual appetite for knowledge stars in this witty, adventure-filled fantasy. (Dec. 1995)
LASKY, Kathryn. The Librarian Who Measured the Earth. illus. by Kevin Hawkes. Little. RTE $16.95. ISBN 0-316-51526-4.
Gr 2-5 -- Although Eratosthenes lived in ancient Greece, he can be most accurately described as a true Renaissance man. Through the sparkling (and scientifically sound) narrative and exuberant acrylic paintings, this great thinker and his remarkable accomplishments are brought to life. (Sept. 1994)
McMILLAN, Bruce. Super, Super, Superwords. photos. by author. Lothrop. Tr $12.95. ISBN 0-688-08098-7; PLB $12.88. ISBN 0-688-08099-5.
PreS-Gr 2 -- "Clear, clearer, clearest" best describe this exuberant book about degrees of comparisons. Vibrant photographs of children having a great time as they act out the words bring the concept home. A superduper book. (Apr. 1989)
RODOWSKY, Colby. Sydney, Herself. Farrar. Tr $12.95. ISBN 0-374-30649-4.
Gr 7 Up -- Sydney works on her writing skills and on understanding her mother in a story that focuses on the conflict between dreams and reality. Peripheral characters leap to life in this astute, witty look at the life of a contemporary teen. (July 1989)
SCHWARTZ, David M. If You Made a Million. illus. by Steven Kellogg. photos. by George Ancona. Lothrop. Tr $16. ISBN 0-688-07017-5; PLB $15.93. ISBN 0-688-07018-3.
Gr 2-4 -- Razzle-dazzle mathematics and a wizard's canny timing instill this companion volume to How Much Is a Million? (Lothrop, 1985) with a financial distinction all its own. From simple penny antics to the complicated concept of how a check clears a bank, the book makes money matters matter to readers. (Sept. 1989)
SCIESZKA, Jon. Math Curse. illus. by Lane Smith. Viking. RTE $16.99. ISBN 0-670-86194-4.
Gr 3-5 -- Overwhelmed by the sudden proliferation of math problems in her life, a girl wends her way through mazelike collages filled with numbers, words, and patterns. Sum total -- pure fun. (Sept. 1995)
SLEPIAN, Jan. The Broccoli Tapes. Philomel. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-399-21712-6.
Gr 5-7 -- Through tapes mailed back to her class in Boston, Sara records the momentous highs and lows of her family's five-month stay in Hawaii. Each cassette relates real-life happenings, without easy resolutions. A bittersweet story of life's many scars and the power of love to heal. (Apr. 1989)
SNYDER, Zilpha Keatley. Libby on Wednesday. Delacorte. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-385-29979-6.
Gr 5-7 -- Educated at home by her eccentric family, Libby is exposed to the wisecracks of her classmates when she is sent to a public school. After a rocky beginning, she befriends some of her peers, and comes to have compassion for others. Characters are developed through Libby's journal, a third-person narration, and the work of the members of her writers' club, giving full dimension to an often troubled, but always touching cast of personalities. (Apr. 1990)
