nonfiction

“Makers of a series of these models, whether they were
constructed as a school project or just for fun, will come away
with a heightened understanding of aerodynamic principles.”
from the flying machine book
THE CLASSROOM
The Epic Documentary
of a Not-Yet-Epic Kid
Mellom, Robin
Illus. by Gilpin, Stephen
Disney Hyperion (288 pp.)
$12.99 | Jun. 19, 2012
978-1-4231-5063-3
A documentary crew descends upon
Westside Middle School to reveal what
middle-school students’ lives are really like.
At the heart of the story is Trevor Jones, just starting middle
school. He’s a worrier and a “pre-thinker,” and, despite his claim that
he’s not worried about seventh grade, he has it all planned. He’s got
brand-new clothes, and his yogurt stick is frozen just right to be the
perfect temperature by lunchtime. Unfortunately, his best friend
forever, Libby, shakes his cool at the bus stop when she informs him
about the upcoming dance and how he must ask a girl by the end of
the day. The whole novel revolves around the dance and the attendant
social drama of middle-school life. Though readers never find
out much about the making of the documentary itself, it’s a clever
contrivance. A third-person narration alternates with interviews
with the major players. There’s Trevor, Libby, eighth-grader Corey
Long, Wilson the custodian, and seventh-grade gossip Cindy Applegate
among the several main players. Illustrations add appeal to the
story, including cartoonish drawings found in Trevor’s notebook, a
“Social Skills Training” pamphlet found in Counselor Plimp’s office
and drawings from Libby’s Hola! Kitty Cat! sketchpad.
All in all, a silly but appealing story for readers approaching
the middle-school years. (Fiction. 9-12)
THE FLYING MACHINE BOOK
Build and Launch
35 Rockets, Gliders,
Helicopters,
Boomerangs, and Moore
Mercer, Bobby
Photos by Mercer, Bobby
Chicago Review (224 pp.)
$14.95 paperback | May 1, 2012
978-1-61374-086-6
Step-by-step instructions for 35 aerodynamic projects offer hours
of fun and an increased understanding of what makes things fly.
Physics teacher Mercer, who described science principles
in sports in The Leaping, Sliding, Sprinting, Riding Science Book
(2006) here provides clear directions for building a variety of
flying machines including rockets, gliders, helicopters, boomerangs
and assorted launchers. An opening chapter called “Flight
School” introduces the Bernoulli principle and four forces: lift,
thrust, drag and weight. The author’s teaching background is
reflected in his artful use of repetition. Each subsequent chapter
begins with more flight school, repeating the relevant principles
and applying them to the different forms of flying machines
described. Many of the constructions use similar techniques and
most are not difficult. The models are made of common materials:
card stock and old folders, drinking straws, rubber bands
and duct tape. Black-and-white photographs by the author show
hand positions and paper folds, making the steps easy to follow.
He recommends customary safety precautions and periodically
reminds readers that some things may take practice. Makers of a
series of these models, whether they were constructed as a school
project or just for fun, will come away with a heightened understanding
of aerodynamic principles.
Hands-on activities that encourage imaginations to
soar. (Nonfiction. 8-14)
WICKED SWEET
Merrell, Mar’ce
Feiwel & Friends (336 pp.)
$16.99 | Jun. 5, 2012
978-0-312-60749-4
Best friends Chantal and Jillian have
always been on the same page, taking AP
classes and planning for their future as neurosurgeons,
but everything changes during
the summer before their senior year.
When popular Parker begins paying
attention to Jillian, introverted Chantal feels left out. Jillian
cannot understand why wearing a bikini or wanting to go to
parties is suddenly grounds for ending their friendship. When
Parker’s best friend, Will, who normally lives to torment Chantal,
starts trying to hang out with her, Chantal begins to suspect
that there is something bigger going on. Determined to expose
the boys’ scheme, she invents a complicated plan that combines
her newfound love of baking, her intense focus and a whole lot
of sneaking around. More than just a foodie romance, Merrell’s
debut tackles difficult issues such as parental neglect and bullying.
An overly convoluted plot that never gains momentum
overshadows the well-drawn main characters, though. Sweet
confections with clever names brighten the narrative, but they
will not be enough to keep readers’ attention. Predictable secondary
characters and wince-worthy missteps of purple prose
will make readers yearn for more hearty sustenance.
A recipe that never comes together. (Fiction. 14 & up)
ZACH APOLOGIZES
Mulcahy, William
Illus. by McKee, Darren
Free Spirit (32 pp.)
$12.99 | May 1, 2012
978-1-57542-389-0
Series: Zach Rules,
Counselor and psychotherapist Mulcahy makes his children’s-book
debut with the Zach Rules series, designed to give
kids some coping tools for working through everyday problems.
In this series kickoff, Zach’s mother teaches him the foursquare
apology. Zach writes and draws the answers to four
questions (What did I do to hurt someone How did the person
feel What could I do next time How will I make it up to them),
then uses them to make an apology to his sibling for pushing him
down. In the simultaneously publishing Zach Gets Frustrated, a day
at the beach is not much fun for Zach because his kite won’t fly.
By teaching him the three parts of the frustration triangle, his
dad is able to get Zach to name the cause of his frustration, calm
down and reframe the situation. Extensive backmatter in each
book helps parents understand why teaching children these strategies
is so important, as well as how to teach them successfully.
As in many expressly didactic books, interactions between the
characters are stiff and stilted, although Zach’s feelings are widely
recognizable and will be familiar to readers. McKee’s brightly colored
digital illustrations have a Cartoon Network feel to them,
but they nonetheless do a good job of supporting the text and
helping to teach the material.
While not many kids are likely to ask for repeated readings,
still this new series is a useful tool for teaching valuable
skills. (Picture book. 4-8)
RUN THE GAME
Myers, Jason
Simon Pulse/Simon &
Schuster (544 pp.)
$16.99 | paper $9.99 | Jun. 12, 2012
978-1-4424-4627-4
978-1-4424-1432-7 paperback
A 19-year-old junkie with delusions
of grandeur falls for a 14-year-old prostitute
in this poor approximation of a
Chuck Palahniuk novel.
Drug addict and punk guitarist Alexander spends his days
in a depressed Midwestern town drinking enough alcohol and
smoking and shooting enough drugs to put down a bull elephant.
Still, he manages to show up to band practice on time and woo
Patti, a mullet-headed, song-writing Lolita whose motives are
suspect from page one. Alexander believes that he and Patti
will run away to New York and live druggily ever after. But after
Patti’s drug dealer/pimp threatens to chop off his limbs with
a chain saw and leave him to “these four rabid badgers that I
keep… in a shack,” he has second thoughts. It’s written like a
bad rap song; readers will have four-letter-word fatigue within
the first 20 pages—and there are still nearly 500 to go. The
characters are flat, the constant drug use gratuitous and the
graphic, occasionally violent sex scenes pornographic. By the
time the author commits the cardinal sin of plugging one of his
own previous titles within the text, readers will be too numb to
care. Teens looking for gritty content are better off checking
out the award-winning work of Adam Rapp or Ellen Hopkins.
Dreadful. (Fiction. 16 & up)
JUST WRITE
Here’s How
Myers, Walter Dean
Collins (176 pp.)
$17.99 | paper $7.99 | $6.99 e-book
Apr. 24, 2012
978-0-06-220389-2
978-0-06-220390-8 paperback
978-0-06-220391-5 e-book
The third National Ambassador for
Young People’s Literature offers a howto
guide for young writing enthusiasts.
Who’s more qualified to write about the craft of writing
than Myers, one of the biggest names in children’s literature
and author of 100 works for young readers Though this volume
is far from flashy, the straightforward, no-nonsense, you-cando-it
tone may well inspire young readers and beginning writers.
Myers tells about his own life and how he became a writer
before moving on to the craft itself, offering advice on structuring
fiction using a six-box outline and nonfiction with a four-box
outline. Excerpts from his own notebooks and commentaries
on his work with teen writer Ross Workman (Myers’ collaborator
on the soccer novel Kick, 2011; Workman contributes to the
backmatter) are enlightening, and readers will find themselves
in the presence of a friendly mentor and writing co-conspirator.
Ultimately, since writers draw on their own lives and interests,
this is a writer’s guide to life. Myers advises, “The best way to
find inspiration is just to live your life doing these things that
interest you most…. Pursuing your passions will expand your
world. This will make you a better writer.”
Good advice on the craft of writing from someone who
should know. (writing tips, further reading on writing, about
the author, a list of the author’s books) (Nonfiction. 14 & up)
ALICE ON BOARD
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
Atheneum (288 pp.)
$16.99 | May 22, 2012
978-1-4424-4588-8
Series: The Alice Books, 27
Alice and her friends take summer
jobs aboard a cruise ship on the Chesapeake
Bay following graduation.
Thrilled with the nearly two-to-one
ratio of guys to girls that makes up for
the low pay and drudgery of galley duty, Alice makes the most
of her summer before college. She’s torn between missing Patrick,
who’s in Barcelona, and enjoying flirtatious outings with
Mitch, a 20-ish crew member who’s taking the summer off from
trapping muskrats in the Maryland marshes. Dramatic episodes
large and small fill the weeks on the refurbished Seascape. A passenger
accuses Alice of stealing her watch; another gets his
kicks exposing himself when she comes to clean his room. A
bee sting lands Liz in the hospital; Gwen breaks up with Austin
864 | 15 april 2012 | children’s & teen | kirkusreviews.com |
| kirkusreviews.com | children’s & teen | 15 april 2012 | 865