60) My World 2.0

Title:   My World 2.0

Artist:  Justin Bieber

Label: Island Records
Year: 2010

Genre: Pop

Interest Level: all ages

Awards: 

Debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200

Sold 283,000 its first week

Tracks: 

• Baby
• Somebody to Love
• Stuck in the Moment
• U Smile
• Runaway Love
• Never Let You Go
• Overboard
• Eenie Meenie
• Up
• That Should Be Me                 

Review:  Over the last few years Justin Bieber has become the next big thing.  His YouTube videos were discovered in 2008, and he was soon signed to RBMG and a recording contract with Island Records.  My World 2.0 is the second half of his debut album; it was determined to release his debut in two parts.  The biggest hit of the CD is “Baby” and features rapper Ludacris.  The album features collaborations with Sean Kingston as well.  The theme of the CD is young love and will be very popular with tween girls.  While the radio singles are very popular, the other tracks are also good. 

Artist’s Website:  http://www.justinbiebermusic.com/believe/

59) Sparks Fly

Title:   Sparks Fly

Artist:  Miranda Cosgrove

Label: Columbia Records
Year: 2010

Genre: Pop

Interest Level: ages 9 and up

Tracks: 

• Kissin U
• BAM
• Disgusting
• Shakespeare
• Hey You
• There Will Be Tears
• Oh Oh
• Daydream
• Brand New You
• What Are You Waiting For?
• Adored
• Beautiful Mess  

Review:  This is Cosgrove’s debut album.  The songs are mostly about new love and losing one’s first boyfriend.  The songs are mostly pop, with a few slow songs.  There is not really a big dance feel to the album.  It’s more of a CD that one could play in the background as they are doing homework or getting ready for school.  The only single to come off of this CD is “Kissin U” and most promotion of this CD was done through music videos on Nickelodeon.  My favorite song on the CD is “Shakespeare.”  The song is a girl asking a boy if he likes the same things she likes.  I feel like this is the most honest song on this CD and the one that many girls will relate to as they get to know boys.

Artist’s Website:  http://www.mirandacosgroveofficial.com/us/home

58) Monte Carlo

Title:  Monte Carlo

Writer:  Kelly Bowe

Producers: Nicole Kidman, Denise Di Novi, Arnon Milchan; & Alison Greenspan

Director:  Thomas Bezucha

Year:  2011

Plot:  Texas senior, Grace and her friend Emma work as waitresses and have saved enough money for a trip to Paris after graduation.  Grace’s stepfather offers to pay for the trip if her stepsister, Meg, will also attend.  In Paris, the girls are left by their tour on top of the Eiffel Tower.  As they try to make their way back to the hotel, it begins to rain and they seek shelter in an upscale hotel.  At the hotel, Grace is mistaken for a British Heiress and flies off to Monte Carlo to take the heiress’s place.  The girls are able to fool the hosts in Monte Carlo and are find out more about who they really are.   

Review:  This is a movie that tween girls will fall in love with.  Grace, Emma and Meg get the chance to see a part of the world and explore their true identities through a small case of mistaken identity.  When the girls arrive in Paris they are disappointed by the rush of the tour and the state of the hotel they have taken.  Then the girls are left behind and their lives are changed forever.  The heiress, Cordelia, is a snob who decides to that she would rather spend time with her friends then help at a charity event for a school in Romania.  After a night in Cordelia’s hotel suite in Paris, the girls are flown on a private jet to Monte Carlo.  In Monte Carlo, the girls each meet someone that teaches them about what they really desire in life.  Emma realizes that her longtime boyfriend in Texas is the one for her, Meg meets Riley who helps her overcome the loss of her mother, and Grace meets Theo who shows her that people with money are willing to help those without money.  The storyline is great and the love stories are innocent.  Tween girls will love this movie and want to watch it over and over again.

Genre: Movie/Humor/Coming of Age

Interest Level: ages 9 and up

Related Shows: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; Bride Wars; Raise Your Voice.

Starring:

Selena Gomez as Grace Ann Bennett/Cordelia Winthrop Scott

Leighton Meester as Mary Margaret "Meg" Kelly

Katie Cassidy as Emma Danielle Perkins

Pierre Boulanger as Theo Marchand

Catherine Tate as Alicia Winthrop Scott

Luke Bracey as Riley

Cory Monteith as Owen Andrews

Andie MacDowell as Pamela Bennett-Kelly

Brett Cullen as Robert Kelly

Giulio Berruti as Prince Domenico Da Silvano

57) Faking Faith

Bibliography: Bloss, Josie; Faking Faith; Flux; New York; 2011; 240 pages; ISBN 978-0-73872-757-8.

Plot:  After a humiliating sexting incident and horrible breakup, Dylan has become an outcast at her high school.  Everyone ignores her and she has been abandoned by her two best friends.  Dylan’s only escape is reading the blogs of homeschooled fundamentalist Christian girls.  She figures she can pass as one of them and starts up her own blog as Faith.  She soon becomes very close to another girl, Abigail, and asks if Abigail’s family will host her for a couple weeks during summer vacation.  While staying with Abigail and her family, Dylan learns things about herself and learns the consequences of her actions as a false identity. 

Review:  This is such a great book.  I had tried reading Bloss' "Albatross" before, and was unable to get into it, but this book grabbed me.  It is told in first person narrative, giving the reader an inside look into Dylan's actions.  The story begins at a start of the year party where Dylan makes out with one of the popular boys.  Her actions lose are not supported by her two best friends and in the end Dylan alienates herself from them.  While her relationship with the popular boy does not last, her life is changed forever by dating him.  Her junior year of school ends in shambles.  Dylan is lonely and has been named the "school slut."  She has no friends and feels that the only thing worth value in her life is the internet.
Dylan stumbles upon the blogs of some homeschooled fundamentalist Christian girls.  She finds the life these girls’ leads fascinating and starts her own blog and a new identity.  Through her new identity, Dylan learns how to deal with the mistakes she made and is able to reconnect herself to the real world.

This book was so awesome!  Bloss shows the reader the importance of finding oneself.  This is a great book for young teens to read to inspire them.  The relationship that Dylan develops with Abigail is so interesting.  It gives Dylan the opportunity to re-evaluate her situation and come to realize her life isn't as bad as she believed it was.  The time that Dylan spends with the Dean family is so interesting.  Getting to learn a new viewpoint on the world is a great asset of the book.  While the book ends on a good note, I actually felt sad for Abigail and Asher.  I was hoping all through the book that Dylan would be able to influence Abigail into finding a different life.  Unfortunately, Abigail is devoted to her faith and the story ends with her devotion intact.  I would love to see what happens to Dylan and Asher in the future.  Bloss definitely left me wanting more on these two characters at the end of the book.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction/Coming of Age

Interest Level: age 12 and up

Related Books: Relative Strangers by Jean Ferris; Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden; Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer

Reader’s Advisory:

When Dylan finds herself an outcast in her high school, she reaches out to find a new identity through blogging.  Blogging shows her a world she would have never experienced otherwise.

Author’s Website: http://josiebloss.com/

56) Dead End in Norvelt

Bibliography: Gantos, Jack; Dead End in Norvelt; Farrar Straus Giroux; New York; 2011; 341 pages; ISBN 978-0-374-37993-3.

Plot: Eleven year old Jack Gantos’ plans for an awesome summer are put on hold when he accidentally shoots his father’s Japanese sniper.  However, Jack has played with this rifle before and he knows all about gun safety, so how did a bullet get into the gun?  To get Jack out of the house, his mother loans him out to the neighbor, Mrs. Volker, who suffers from horrible arthritis and needs someone to pen the town obituaries.  Even though his mother thought working for Mrs. Volker will be even more punishment, Jack actually enjoys his job and gets to learn more about his favorite topic, history.  A gang of Hell’s Angels moves into town and before too long, it seems like someone is poisoning the original resident’s of Norvelt.  Surprisingly, this ends up being one of the most memorable summers of Jack’s life.

Review:  This novel is loosely based on true events that happened to Jack Gantos growing up in Norvelt, Pennsylvania.  Even though he is grounded for life, Jack is able to still experience some great changes that are happening in his town.  He is growing up in a town that was founded by Eleanor Roosevelt during the Great Depression.  However, the town is no longer prospering and is slowly being run into the ground.  There are a small few residents that were around when Mrs. Roosevelt first developed the town and are content to see it stay the way it is, including Mrs. Volker.  Mrs. Volker is determined to make sure that Norvelt will remain.  When the original members of the town start dying though it seems that her wishes will not last much longer. 

Jack is a very peculiar kid.  Since there are very few new members of Norvelt, he is one of a very small number of youngsters in the town.  He loves history and spends most of his time being grounded reading history books that his mother gets for free from the school.  He also has an issue with nose bleeds.  Anytime he gets scared or startled it starts flowing like a river down his face.

This is a very interesting novel.  Since it is loosely based on true events, the reader will be interested in guessing what is true and what is fiction.  The mystery part of this novel eluded me.  I kept waiting for more suspense, but I was let down.  I would actually suggest this novel to readers looking for humor.

Genre: Humor/Coming of Age/Historical/Mystery

Interest Level: age 9-12

Related Books: The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck; Grounded by Kate Klise; Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt.

Awards:

ALA Notable Children's Books - Older Readers Category: 2012

Newbery Medal: 2012

Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award

Author Information: http://www.jackgantos.com/

55) The Wednesday Wars

Bibliography: Schmidt, Gary D; The Wednesday Wars; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Boston/New York; 2007; 264 pages; ISBN 978-0-547-23760-2

Plot: Holling Hoodhood has just started seventh grade and his teacher, Mrs. Baker hates him.  On Wednesday afternoons Catholic students go to Catechism class and Jewish students go to Hebrew class.  Unfortunately, Holling is Presbyterian and will be the only remaining student for Mrs. Baker to look after. The first few Wednesdays Mrs. Baker makes Holling do classroom chores including cleaning erasers, cleaning the coat room, and cleaning out the rat cage.  Unfortunately, the rats get loose and Mrs. Baker realizes that Holling should learn something during the time they have together and assigns him Shakespeare plays.  Despite Holling’s first impression of Mrs. Baker, it doesn’t take long for the two to become close friends.  Taking place during the Vietnam War, readers will get a firsthand look at the issues that U.S citizens faced. 

Review:  This is a great story.  There is humor, drama, and a real life family dynamic.  Readers will be able to relate to Holling.  He is under the impression that his teacher hates him, just because of his inability to choose his religion.  When the story starts, Holling is forced to clean erasers and run various errands for Mrs. Baker.  It seems that he really is being tortured by Mrs. Baker when she makes him clean out the rat cage.  Despite his best efforts the rats escape and end up living in the ceiling tiles.  This is the first time readers see the vulnerability of Mrs. Baker.  It’s refreshing to see, since most teachers try to show they are infallible. 

Eventually, Mrs. Baker decides that the chores are doing nothing to break down Holling’s spirit and thinks that learning Shakespeare will help.  Holling is forced to read several plays by Shakespeare with Mrs. Baker instead of the chores, however, he ends up enjoying the various characters of the plays and he thinks that he has beat Mrs. Baker at her own game.  Through their Wednesday’s together, Mrs. Baker and Holling develop a deep kinship.  She helps him train for the cross country tryouts and he helps her get through the hardship of having a loved one away at war.  By the time the novel ends, readers will realize the impression a great teacher can make on a person’s life. 

This is a humorous novel, with glimpses into the impact the Vietnam War made on America.  Readers will be touched by the relationship between Holling and his friends, including Mrs. Baker.  They will also find themselves cheering for Holling as he fights to discover his true identity.

Genre: Coming of Age/Historical/Humor

Interest Level: age 9 to 12

Related Books: Where Have all the Flowers Gone? By Ellen Emerson White; The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; War & Watermelon by Rich Wallace.

Awards: 

Newberry Honor Book: 2008

ALA Notable Children's Books - Older Readers Category: 2008

Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category: 2007

Oprah's Kids' Reading Lists - New Releases: 12 Years and Up

Texas Lone Star Reading Lists: 2008

Author Information: http://www.hmhbooks.com/schmidt/

54) Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicholson

Bibliography: Rennison, Louise; Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicholson; Harper Tempest; London; 1999; 234 pages; ISBN 978-0-064-47227-2.

Plot: Georgia Nicolson has fourteen days left before summer holiday ends.  She has to figure out how she is going to wear “natural” looking makeup, fix her unibrow, correct her reputation from a costume party, and help her best friend get the boy of her dreams.  She ends up shaving off her eyebrows right before school starts and wonders if she will have to spend the term locked in her house for eternity.  Right before school starts her brows return and Georgia meets Robbie at a greengrocer.  However, Robbie has a girlfriend and Georgia begins her exploration in having a boyfriend through a couple of boys that only want to “snog.”  The book is told through Georgia’s journal entries, and readers will be laughing at the crazy predicaments that she finds herself in and her crazy family.

Review:  Georgia Nicolson is hilarious and the book reads like a young adult Bridget Jones.  Georgia’s family is enough to drive any tween or teen girl crazy.  Her Uncle and father think they are hilarious and try to include Georgia in their crazy ideas.  Her mother is trying very hard to keep her youth; however, she is only an embarrassment.  Georgia’s cat Angus is part wild and is constantly terrorizing the neighbor’s yappy dog.  Then there is Georgia’s baby sister Libby that is super cute but also a complete handful. 

Just like any other fourteen year old girl, Georgia finds her first crush in Robbie.  Unfortunately, Robbie is older and in a relationship.  Georgia refers to Robbie’s girlfriend as a “wet wally.”  Some of the British terms will stop readers, but thankfully there is a dictionary included.  A “wet wally” is defined as a drippy, useless, nerdy idiot that has no clothes sense.  In order to get over Robbie, Georgia starts seeing Peter, who only wants to make out with Georgia.  After Peter, Georgia starts seeing Mark who is another boy interested in nothing more than kissing.  Just when Georgia realizes that boys aren’t all that they are cracked up to be, she starts having to deal with friend trouble. 

Readers will love this book and luckily the first novel ends quite abruptly, making readers anxious to see what happens next. 

Genre: Humor/Coming of Age

Interest Level: age 12 and up

Related Books: Truth or Diary by Catherine Clark; The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot; Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon.

Awards:

Printz Honor Book for 2001

Nestle’ Smarties Book Prize

Series Information: This is the first book in a ten book series about Georgia Nicolson.

Author Information: http://www.georgianicolson.com/meet.html

53) Fame

Title:  Fame

Writer:  Allison Burnett

Producers: Mark Canton, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg & Richard Wright

Director:  Kevin Tancharoen

Year:  2009

Plot:  Based on Fame 1980 by Alan Parker, Fame follows the students of New York City High School of the Performing Arts.  Students are selected through auditions in music, theater, and dance.  Students come from all walks of life to spend four years becoming the best they can be at their performing art.  The movie focuses on students from each performing art as they learn to challenge themselves and put their talent to the test.  Viewers will see the students fall in and out of love, create new friendships, and find their true identities. 

Review:  I grew up watching the original and was very weary of the remake of such an awesome and original film.  The new version of Fame does not live up to expectations.  I found the storylines hard to follow.  The new movie tries to include too many different story lines, rather than focus on just a couple select few.  The issues that the characters have to deal with are also downplayed in the remake.  The dancing has been updated to follow more a contemporary flow.  The music department is barely covered in the new movie.  The focus of music is in the chorus and through two characters that are trying to get a record deal.  The theater scenes are very close to the original scenes.  However, the characters seem much younger than the original version.  Tweens will enjoy the concept of Fame and like the music; however, they will be lost with the continuous back and forth between characters.  This movie could have benefited from a bigger focus on select main characters.

Genre: Movie/Musical/Drama

Interest Level: ages 9 and up

Related Shows: High School Musical; Bandslam; The Princess Diaries

Starring:

Students

Kay Panabaker as Jenny Garrison

Collins Pennie as Malik Washburn

Asher Book as Marco

Paul Iacono as Neil Baczynsky

Naturi Naughton as Denise

Anna Maria Perez de Taglé as Joy Moy

Paul McGill as Kevin Barrett

Kherington Payne as Alice Ellerton

Walter Perez as Victor Tavares

Kristy Flores as Rosie Martinez

Teachers and staff

Debbie Allen as Principal Angela Simms

Charles S. Dutton as Mr. Alvin Dowd

Bebe Neuwirth as Ms. Lynn Kraft

Megan Mullally as Ms. Fran Rowan

Kelsey Grammer as Mr. Joel Cranston

Movie Website: http://www.mgm.com/view/Movie/630/Fame-(2009)/

52) Good Luck Charlie: Season 1

Bibliography: Baker, P & Vaupen, D (Creator); Baker, P, Staley, D & Vaupen, D (Producers); Good Luck Charlie; Disney Channel; Original Run Date April 4, 2010 to Present.

Plot:  The Duncan’s are a family living in Denver, Colorado.  They have four children, PJ the oldest, Teddy the only daughter, and Gabe the youngest son.  They have just added a fourth child to their family, Charlie a baby girl.  The show follows the family as they adjust to the addition of a fourth child.  The mother, Amy, is a bit of a showoff and often gets herself and Charlie in trouble with other mothers, Gabe is against the idea of having to help care for Charlie and often find himself in sticky situations, PJ finds that having a baby sister can benefit him for good, and Teddy is so happy to have a sister that she has created a video diary to show the situations that Charlie may find herself in as a teen.  The Duncan’s are very eccentric but at the end of the day they couldn’t be happier with the family they have.

Review:  The first season sets the stage for the various personalities that will be shown throughout the series in the Duncan family.  PJ is the oldest sibling and he is portrayed as not very smart.  The show often highlights PJ’s naivety and makes it seem like he is not mature enough to be the oldest sibling of the family.  Gabe is also shown as quite immature.  In most episodes, Gabe is up to something and finds himself in several sticky situations, like when he has his first crush and decides to tell her that his parents are also divorced.  Teddy is a good student and is trying her hardest to set a good example for Charlie. 

Overall, I think this is a good show for families to watch together.  It shows the different dynamics of a family system. 

Genre: Humor/Coming of Age

Interest Level: age 8 and up

Related Shows: iCarly; Victorious; Shake it Up; How to Rock

Characters:

Teddy Duncan – protagonist, big sister

PJ Duncan – oldest sibling, absent minded

Gabe Duncan – third child, a troublemaker and prankster

Charlie Duncan – the fourth child, baby

Amy Duncan – mother, works as a hospital nurse

Bob Duncan – father, works as a bug exterminator

Awards:

British Academy Children’s Awards for Best TV Show in 2011

Official Website: http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/goodluckcharlie/

51) VicTORIous: Season 3

Bibliography: Schneider, D. (Creator); Schneider, D., Bell, W., & Weiner, R. (Producers); VicTORIous; Nickelodeon; Original Run Date March 27, 2010 to Present.

Plot: Teenager, Tori Vega has recently been accepted to the Hollywood Arts High School, a high school for teens interested in the various performing arts fields.  The show follows Tori as she finds her place at Hollywood Arts.  The show shows Tori’s various crazy adventures and interactions with the different students at Hollywood Arts.  Tori’s friends include Andre, a musical prodigy, Robbie, a ventriloquist, Jade, a mean girl who has a love hate relationship with Tori, Cat, a naïve and sweet spirited girl, and Beck, a musician.  In season three, the friends have all found their place in their social group and they must also deal with the breakup of Jade and Beck’s relationship. 

Review:  In the third season, the group is older and has been friends for some time now.  Even though Jade and Beck breakup in the third episode, the group dynamic does not change or even shows that the breakup has any effect on them.  Tori is the leader of the group and I wonder if any of them would be friends if she had not come to Hollywood Arts.  The characters are all very different, which is refreshing to see teens being friends despite these differences, but there are still the stereotypes.  Jade is extremely mean spirited and even though she hangs around the group, she treats Tori and Cat as if they are no more than minions that she deals with regularly.  Cat is portrayed as nothing more than a dumb pretty girl.  I wish that producers would stop casting this character.  It does nothing to promote teen and tween girl’s self worth.

Tweens and teens love this show.  While it is humorous to see the different situations that the group gets into, I feel that the main pull of this show is the music.  Both Tori and Andre are very driven in their desire to be singers and the show highlights this in several episodes.  Otherwise, the show does nothing to inspire girls’ to be more than the popular one, the dumb one, or the mean one.

Genre: Humor/Coming of Age/Musical

Interest Level: age 10 and up

Related Shows: iCarly; Victorious; Shake it Up; How to Rock

Characters:

Victoria Justice as Tori Vega – the main character

Leon Thomas III as Andre Harris

Matt Bennett as Robbie Shapiro

Elizabeth Giles as Jade West

Ariana Grande as Cat Valentine

Avan Jogia as Beck Oliver

Daniella Monet as Trina Vega

Awards: Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite TV Show in 2012 

Official Website: http://www.nick.com/shows/victorious

50) Boyslife.org

Boyslife.org provided by Boy Scouts of America

Summary:  Boys’ Life is the official magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.  The magazine publishes two magazines each month aimed at the different demographics of Scouts.  The first edition is suitable for Cub Scout members, while the second edition is suitable for older Boy Scouts starting with the second year of Webelos.  The first edition was published in 1911 by George S Barton.  It was made the official magazine of the BSA in 1912.  The magazine features content on Adventure Stories, technology updates, video game information, and comics.  Boyslife.org also provides supplemental information to the magazine, including Joke of the Day, photos and videos. 

Review:  When I first pulled up boyslife.org, I felt immediately lost.  The site does not feature any articles.  Instead there is a box at the top with words in different fonts that are actually links to the material on the site.  The information that is covered on the website includes jokes, games, outdoors & gear, videos, photos, contests, and other “fun stuff to do.”  There is also a poll available.  Further down on the website, viewers will find five blogs on games, news, scout gear, scouting, and Pedro’s Mail.  The jokes are provided by scouts and allow users to write comments on the numerous jokes available.   The photos section features photos of scouts doing everyday things such as playing soccer, camping and crafting.  The video section provides videos of exercises, author webcasts, and science exploration.  A Hobbies & Projects section provides information on crafting and excelling in school.  After the getting past the homepage, the navigation of the site is quite easy.  The site also provides great information for boy scouts to use to gain their badges and have fun with gaming and jokes.  This is a great site for boys.

Genre:  Website

Interest Level:  ages 6 to 18

49) Girlslife.com

Girlslife.com provided by Girls’ Life Acquisition Co.

Summary:  Girls’ Life magazine first hit newsstands in August of 1994.  It is currently considered as the #1 magazine for ten to fifteen year old girls.  Girls’ Life and Girlslife.com contains information for tween girls and advice on academic success, peer pressure, time management, stress-relieving ideas, and self-esteem.  Currently the topics covered in the magazine can be found online at girlslife.com.  The website offers a penpal program, games, and discussion boards.   Girls’ Life is the recipient of multiple Parents’ Choice Gold Awards and multiple The Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Awards.  It is also the choice magazine of Girl Scouts of America and the official book for Take Our Daughters to Work Day. 

Review:  When I first logged onto girlslife.com, I was bombarded by zooming advertisements and requests to subscribe to the magazine.  Changing pages also allowed the advertisements to zoom onto the page.  It wasn’t until I registered with the website that I was able to get rid of the advertisements.  The pages are very busy with a three column setup.  The left column advertised books published by Girls’ Life, Twitter and Facebook updates, and selected beauty product links.  The main column provides links to the day’s top articles.  The right column features polls, beauty videos, and featured giveaways.  The top of the webpage offers links to the different topics that Girls’ Life focuses on, including, guys, advice, entertainment, style and health & fitness.  Each top link sends the viewer to articles on each topic.  The website is very busy but I think it is good for tweens since they need things to catch their attention.  Navigating the website is very easy and finding an article on what you are looking for is quite simple.  The website says that it is appropriate for girls ten and up, but I feel that some of the topics are a little old for younger tweens.  I would suggest that parents wait until their tweens have hit junior high before introducing them to this website.

Genre:  Website

Interest Level:  ages 10 to 15

48) Grzimek's Animal Life

Grzimek’s Animal Life provided by Gale Cengage

Summary:  Grzimek’s Animal Life is a large encyclopedia of animal life provided to libraries as a subscription database.  Grzimek’s was originally published as a thirteen volume set in German.  It was translated to English in 1975.  As of 2009, the encyclopedia has been available online offered by Gale Cengage.  The encyclopedia covers over 4,000 species with information on evolution, habitat, behavior, and range.  The database is updated regularly by worldwide experts.  Users are able to view photos and videos.  The database provides audio tracks to help users learn pronunciations.  The database can be translated into eleven languages and has the ability to read the articles to users.   This is a great database to learn more about the animals in our world.

Review:  This is a great research database.  The encyclopedia provides tons of information on different animal species.  Students assigned research projects or just wanting to learn more about the animal world will love this database.  The homepage contains a large search box that is easy to find.  Users will also find the top articles featured on the homepage.  There are boxes on the left hand side that will lead users to different animal species, such as mammals, reptiles, fish, ect.  If the user is merely browsing, these boxes will be helpful in learning more about each animal species. 

Once a user types in an animal in the search box, they are directed to a list of articles associated with that animal.  The first item listed is usually the encyclopedia entry.  The entry describes the animal and provides information about the animal’s behavior, diet, and conservation status.  There is also a globe that shows users where the animal lives.  The page also provides photos, illustration, and videos on the animal.  This is a great resource for teachers and students. 

Genre:  Subscription Database

Interest Level:  ages 9 and up

47) Culturegrams Countries

Culturegrams provided by ProQuest

Summary:  Culturegrams is an online database aimed at children looking to learn more about the world around them.  Culturegrams offers information on countries and states.  Users are able to gain a true understanding of different cultures.  The database goes into details of everyday life, holidays, and demographics.  The country version covers over 200 countries with focus on language, personal appearance, greetings, family, and life cycle.  The states version covers the US and 13 Canadian provinces with focus on history, diversity, economy, and recipes. The database is user friendly and a great resource for students looking to find out more about the states and many countries.

Review:  This database is a great resource for any student assigned a research project on a country.  The database is very user friendly and gives great information about each country.  From the homepage, users are able to select a country from the dropdown box or chose a continent on the map.  There is also a search box, however, the box is very small and hard to find.  Once you are taken to the countries page, the page lists a few facts and then provides links to all of the additional information.  The main country page offers a picture of the country and the country flag.  A user is able to select to view these items in different formats such as outline or physical.  The countries page offers definitions, interviews from citizens, and a photo gallery.  Users will appreciate the amount of information that they receive  on each country in this database.

Genre:  Subscription Database

Interest Level:  ages 9 and up

46) Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought)

Bibliography: Krull, Kathleen (Ill by Hewitt, Kathryn); Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought); Harcourt Brace & Company; San Diego, CA; 1994; 95 pages; ISBN 978-0-15-248009-9.

Plot:  Shakespeare wrote with a feather quill and ink; Emily Dickinson wrote with a fountain pen; Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote on a Yiddish typewriter. But what did such writers do when they weren't writing? What did Jane Austen eat for breakfast? What could make Mark Twain throw his shirts out the window? Why would Zora Neale Hurston punch a fellow elevator passenger? Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought) tells all that and more, including plenty about writing, how these writers viewed the world of literature—and how their neighbors viewed them.

In this companion to the highly praised Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought), Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt offer the inside scoop on twenty literary luminaries. Even famous writers are real people with odd habits, secret hopes, dismal failure, and wild successes; Lives of the Writers reveals it all with wit and style. (http://www.kathleenkrull.com/books.html)

Review:  This book is so interesting.  It contains information about some of the greatest authors in an easy to understand format.  It provides information that will help students working on school reports, or who are just interested in biography.  The facts will keep readers interested in each writer.  The drawings of each author are very detailed and visually pleasing.  Hewitt includes little pieces in each drawing that are discussed in the biography of each author.  The text covers authors that many students will be introduced to in junior high and high school.  The authors include Murasaki Shikibu, Miguel de Cervantes, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Hans Christian Anderson, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Carl Sandburg, E.B. White, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Isaac Bashevis Singer.  I absolutely loved reading the life stories of these writers and can’t wait to share this book with students in the future.

Genre: Nonfiction; Biography

Interest Level: age 9-12

Related Books:  Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull; Who Was Jackie Robinson? by Gail Herman; Who Was Pablo Picasso? by True Kelley.

Awards:

The 2011 Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC – Nonfiction Award Winner for Body of Work

Author Information: http://www.kathleenkrull.com/author.html

45) Mercy Lily

Bibliography: Albert, Lisa; Mercy Lily; Flux; Woodbury, MN; 2011; 232 pages; ISBN 978-0-7387-2699-1.

Plot: Sixteen year old, Lily has been taking care of her mother for the last four years.  Her father passed away when she was 12 and Lily, has been helping her mother deal with multiple sclerosis ever since.  Lily’s mother was not responsive to normal MS treatment, so Lily has been giving her bee venom therapy.  Her mother is currently up to twelve stings and it seems to not be helping at all.  On a beautiful spring morning, Lily’s mother asks her to sting her sixteen times and if she has a reaction to not resuscitate her.  Lily is scared, but knows that her mother is suffering.  Mercy Lily is the story of Lily’s quest to help her mother get through the horrible disease of multiple sclerosis.

Review:   I picked up this book to focus on older readers and readers that like to read about issues that could happen in their own life.  I was floored by the story line.  Lily is only sixteen and she is giving her mother bee sting therapy!  Then to make matters worse, her mother is giving up on life and asks Lily to help her!  This book handles a very heavy topic and should be read by older readers. 

When the story opens, the reader learns of Lily’s mothers request to end her life.  Immediately, Albert takes the reader deep into Lily’s world.  We also learn that Lily has no friends.  Ever since her father passed away, Lily has been the sole caregiver to her mother, which has made it hard for Lily to connect with teens her own age.  Lily is dealing with this huge request on her own.  Slowly, Lily starts to reconnect with her past friends and develops great friendships in Trent and Shauna.  Both of them are there for Lily and help her with the pressure she is feeling taking care of her mother and their farm. 

Even though I loved this book, I had an issue with the number of editing errors in the book.  At one point they were so often that I found myself focusing on the errors rather than the storyline.  This book would benefit from a good editor.  Otherwise, teens will fall in love with Lily and feel her pain as she goes through this difficult time.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction; Coming of Age; Problem Novel

Interest Level: age 12 and up

Related Books:  Bluefish by Pat Schmatz; The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth.

Characters: 

Lily – the protagonist, narrator

Sylvia – Lily’s mother

Jed – the bus driver and only adult that Lily trusts

Shauna – Lily’s old best friend that comes back around in the novel

Trent – Lily’s known him since they were 5 and he becomes a great support for Lily

Author Information: http://www.lisaalbert.com/