Bad Kitty for President

Bad Kitty for President Nick Bruel. Roaring Brook Press. (January 17th, 2012) 128 p.

Bad Kitty has decided to run for president of the local cat club. As Bad Kitty tries to woo all the other cats, we learn about the stages in the election process. Bad Kitty teaches us some very important lessons, including "every vote counts".



I am a Canadian, so I can't attest to the absolute accuracy of the text, but this seemed like a very good explanation of the American political system. I know this would be a fun way to help students learn about the electoral process.

Bad Kitty is one of the homeliest and charming cats you will ever meet, and Nick Bruel has taken a not so exciting topic and made it very entertaining. I found this book to be laugh out loud funny. Once again, Bad Kitty gets my vote.

Sidekicks

Sidekicks 

Dan Santat. Arthur A. Levine Books. (July 1 2011). 224 pages

Thank you, Dan Santat, for Sidekicks.  It was such a fun read, a graphic novel with strong comic book leanings.  Sidekicks has great comic book features including sounds in all caps - CRUNCH! CRASH! POW!  Even better, it has evil villains with maniacal laughs –HAHAHAHAHA!

I loved the amazing illustrations and all the comic aspects of this book, but the story is equally compelling. Naturally, there is the requisite conflict between good and evil, but there is also conflict within Captain Amazing’s own family. 

Our hero Captain Amazing has been undone by his weakness – a peanut allergy. While he is recuperating and auditioning for a new sidekick, his pets, Shifty, Fluffy and Roscoe , shift into action to try and develop their own superpowers. Along the way, they learn teamwork and perseverance. They learn that brains can be better than brawn, and most importantly, they learn forgiveness.

Santat’s charming drawings will appeal to a younger comic audience and will be perfect for my middle grade readers.  I am predicting that this will be a very popular read in my classroom, or should I say, “ WOW! GAH! AAAHHMAZING!"

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

Chris Van Allsburg. Published by Thomas Allen. (October 25, 2011) 208 p.

Every year, in our House At Book Corner, we each get a brand new Christmas book. This year, my book was The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, a response to Van Allsburg's earlier work, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  I have wandered through the pages of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick for so many years, that although I was very excited to read my new book, I was also a little scared.

Over 25 years ago, Chris Van Allsburg wrote The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, a beautifully illustrated book that had 14 pictures with mysterious captions. In The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, 14 powerful authors wrote responses to these pictures and captions. Here they are in alphabetical order: Sherman Alexie, M.T. Anderson, Kate DiCamillo, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar, Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket, and Chris Van Allsburg. Without knowing anything about this book, doesn't this list of authors make you want to read it right away? Their distinctive personalities draw you into the book as you watch this trailer.

These authors clearly have a sense of fun in their approach to writing, and the trailer does much to lend to the air of mystery around the book. I began to wonder about their collaboration on this project. At which point did the authors begin to discuss the stories? I wonder if they had whispered discussions before they began to write, or did they deliberately not talk about the stories together until publication? 

There are 14 wondrous stories, and I will share a little bit from one. In Mr. Linden's Library, Mr. Walter Dean Myers has written a short story about the all consuming power of a book. As a reader, I know that I have had this experience many times. Sometimes the call of a book overwhelms my brain's logic circuits, and food, family and sleep are abandoned. This line, whispered by a young girl named Carol, evokes the struggle within us as readers, a struggle that many #nerdybookclub fans share. "Don't open the book again," she pleaded with herself. "Please."

It turns out I didn't need to worry about Harris Burdick; the magic remains intact for me. This ensemble cast of authors take the promise of the original book and carried it further. In fact, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick has just opened up a world of new possibilities, a world which you can visit if you dare. Can you hear Carol whisper?