Friday, October 30, 2009
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies
Cochrane, Mick. 2009. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies. Random House. 177 pages.
On Monday, after band rehearsal and intramurals, when Molly got home from school, her mother was sitting at the kitchen table going through the day's mail.
Another book about baseball. And grief. Not that I have anything against grief. It's a trend that really never goes away. Perhaps because that's how life is. It's realistic for books to be sad. Molly, our narrator, is grieving for her father. So is Molly's mother, in her own little way. She's checked out--emotionally at least--from her life. Molly becomes almost invisible, a complete afterthought. I think Molly's mother just doesn't want to feel anything, and that means she's missing out on Molly...on what she wants, on what she needs. Molly is clinging to memories of her father, and that means she's clinging to baseball. A shared hobby for the two of them. They loved to play catch together. They loved to watch it together. Her father thought she was special. Thought her pitch was special. Her knuckleball that floated like a butterfly.
In The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, Molly tries out (and makes) the boy's baseball team. Can playing baseball heal her broken heart? Can it mend the pieces of her broken family? What can she learn from the game that will help her in life?
As I said, I have nothing against grief. I just don't care for baseball all that much. So I didn't really enjoy this one all that much.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Middle Grade Nominees for Cybils
Al Capone Shines My Shoes
by Gennifer Choldenko
Dial
Nominated by: Mary Ann Scheuer
Alibi Junior High
by Greg Logsted
Aladdin
Nominated by: Stephanie Elliot
All The Broken Pieces
by Ann Burg
Scholastic
Nominated by: Laurie Schneider
Also Known As Harper
by Ann Haywood Leal
Henry Holt
Nominated by: Jeni Bell
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters
by Lenore Look
Schwartz and Wade Books
Nominated by: Natasha Maw
Angel Cake
by cathy cassidy
Puffin UK
Nominated by: Anna
Anna's World
by Wim Coleman
Chiron
Nominated by: Bethany Brown
Anything But Typical
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: Pam W Coughlan
Beast of Blackslope (The Sherlock Files), The
by Tracy Barrett
Henry Holt
Nominated by: Shellie Braeuner
Beef Princess of Practical County, The
by Michelle Houts
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Pat Zietlow Miller
Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, The
by Kristin Levine
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Amanda Snow
Beyond the Station Lies the Sea
by Jutta Richter
Milkweed Editions
Nominated by: Librarian Pirate
Black Angels
by Linda Beatrice Brown
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Susan
Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally)
by Lisa Yee
Arthur A Levine
Nominated by: Jennifer Roy
Born to Fly
by Michael Ferrari
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Alyson
Boy Trouble (Claudia Cristina Cortez)
by Diana G. Gallagher
Stone Arch Books
Nominated by: Jennifer Glidden
Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., The
by Kate Messner
Walker Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Jennifer Laughran
Brooklyn Nine, The
by Alan M. Gratz
Dial
Nominated by: Sarah
Brushing Mom's Hair
by Andrea Cheng
Wordsong
Nominated by: Linda Sanders-Wells
Bull Rider
by Suzanne Morgan Williams
Margaret K. McElderry
Nominated by: Greg Leitich Smith
Bystander
by James Preller
Feiwel & Friends
Nominated by: Nan Hoekstra
Callie's Rules
by Naomi Zucker
Egmont USA
Nominated by: Torey Yates
Captain Nobody
by Dean Pitchford
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Dawn Mooney
Carolina Harmony
by Marilyn Taylor McDowell
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Becky
Castle of Bran, The
by Stephen S. Keeney
Zumaya Thresholds
Nominated by: Elizabeth Burton
Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: melissa
Confetti Girl
by Diana Lopez
Little, Brown
Nominated by: Laurie Amster-Burton
Dani Noir
by Nova Ren Suma
Aladdin
Nominated by: Chelsea Campbell
Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club)
by Heather Vogel Frederick
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: Jennifer Donovan
Dessert First
by Hallie Durand
Atheneum
Nominated by: Beth Kizer
Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better
by Lauren Barnholdt
Aladdin
Nominated by: Mandy Hubbard
Dog Whisperer: The Rescue
by Nicholas Edwards
Square Fish
Nominated by: Doret
Dragon Wishes
by Stacy Nyikos
Blooming Tree Press
Nominated by: Tricia Hoover
Dunderheads, The
by
Candlewick Press
Nominated by: Paula Willey
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell in Love
by Lauren Tarshis
Dial
Nominated by: EM
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The
by Jacqueline Kelly
Henry Holt
Nominated by: Scope Notes
Extra Credit (Junior Library Guild Selection)
by Andrew Clements
Atheneum
Nominated by: Abby Johnson
Faith, Hope, and Ivy June
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Katie
Fiona Finkelstein, Big-Time Ballerina!!
by Shawn K. Stout
Aladdin
Nominated by: Jessica Burkhart
Girl Who Threw Butterflies, The
by Mick Cochrane
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Shannon Bosley
Gone from These Woods
by Donny Bailey Seagraves
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Hester Bass
Heart of a Shepherd
by Rosanne Parry
Random House Children's Books
Nominated by: jone
I Am Jack
by Susanne Gervay
Tricycle Press
Nominated by: Hayley Gonnason
Ice Shock (Joshua Files)
by M. G. Harris
Scholastic
Nominated by: Anna
Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire
by Brenda A. Ferber
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Nominated by: Megan Germano
Journey of Dreams
by Marge Pellegrino
Frances Lincoln Childrens Books
Nominated by: Janni
Kind of Friends We Used to Be, The
by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Atheneum
Nominated by: Sheryl
Kip Campbell's Gift (Funeral Director's Son)
by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: elaina
Last Invisible Boy, The
by Evan Kuhlman
Ginee Seo Books
Nominated by: sharon H
Last Newspaper Boy in America, The
by Sue Corbett
Dutton Juvenile
Nominated by: Mark Di Vincenzo
Leaving the Bellweathers
by Kristin Clark Venuti
Egmont USA
Nominated by: Kathy Temean
Liberty Porter First Daughter
by Julia DeVillers
Aladdin
Nominated by: Melissa Wiechmann
Lincoln and His Boys
by Rosemary Wells
Candlewick Press
Nominated by: Jenny Choy
Living It Up to Live It Down
by Ronica Stromberg
Royal Fireworks Publishing Company
Nominated by: Lee Allen
Love, Aubrey
by Suzanne LaFleur
Wendy Lamb Books
Nominated by: Jen Barnes
Lucky Breaks
by Susan Patron
Ginee Seo Books
Nominated by:
Melonhead
by Katy Kelly
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Jennifer Wharton
Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies
by Erin Dionne
Dial
Nominated by: Megan Crewe
Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
by Rodman Philbrick
Blue Sky Press
Nominated by: Kara Dean
Mudville
by Kurtis Scaletta
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Deva Fagan
My Life in Pink & Green
by Lisa Greenwald
Amulet
Nominated by: Sarah Rettger
Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma, The
by Trenton Lee Stewart
Little, Brown
Nominated by: Sherry Early
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society (Book One)
by Michael Buckley
Amulet
Nominated by: Alison Fargis
Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
by Nan Marino
Roaring Brook
Nominated by: Kristine Michael
Newsgirl
by Liza Ketchum
Viking
Nominated by: Vicki Palmquist
No Girls Allowed (Dogs Okay) (Secrets of a Lab Rat)
by Trudi Trueit
Aladdin
Nominated by: Trina L.
Operation Redwood
by S. Terrell French
Amulet
Nominated by: Ellen Jensen Abbott
Operation Yes
by Sara Lewis Holmes
Arthur A Levine
Nominated by: Laura Purdie Salas
Ottoline Goes to School
by Chris Riddell
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Elaine
Paris Pan Takes the Dare
by Cynthea Liu
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Sarah Ockler
Peace, Locomotion
by Jacqueline Woodson
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Jessica
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival
by Dene Low
Houghton Mifflin
Nominated by: Colleen Mondor
Piper Reed Gets a Job
by Kimberly Willis Holt
Henry Holt
Nominated by: Pam Calvert
Positively
by Courtney Sheinmel
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: amanda berlin
Problem with the Puddles, The
by Kate Feiffer
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: Jess
Recipe for Robbery, A
by Marybeth Kelsey
Greenwillow Books
Nominated by: Jenny Moss
Red, White & True Blue Mallory
by Laurie Friedman
Carolrhoda Books
Nominated by: Lindsay Matvick
Rescuing Seneca Crane (A Kari and Lucas Mystery)
by Susan Runholt
Viking
Nominated by: Britt Aamodt
Return to Sender
by Julia Alvarez
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: LaTonya
Road to Tater Hill
by Edith M. Hemingway
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Bonnie J. Doerr
Ruby Flips For Attention (Ruby And The Booker Boys)
by Derrick Barnes
Scholastic
Nominated by: Kelly Starling Lyons
Sahwira: An African Friendship
by Carolyn Marsden
Candlewick Press
Nominated by: Edith Hope Fine
Scat
by Carl Hiaasen
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Jenn R
Season of Gifts, A
by Richard Peck
Dial
Nominated by: Jeff Barger
Ship of Lost Souls, The
by Rachelle Delaney
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Tara MacDonald
Signal
by Cynthia DeFelice
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Nominated by: Dick Holmes
Sisters Eight Bk 1: Annie's Adventures
by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Houghton Mifflin
Nominated by: Stephanie Elliot
Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, The
by Barbara O'Connor
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Nominated by: Augusta Scattergood
Solving Zoe
by Barbara Dee
Margaret K. McElderry
Nominated by: Julie Peterson
Standing for Socks
by Elissa Brent Weissman
Atheneum
Nominated by: Little Willow
Storm Chaser
by Chris Platt
Peachtree
Nominated by: Carrie, Reading to Know
Strawberry Hill
by Mary Ann Hoberman
Little, Brown
Nominated by: Deborah Freedman
Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers Are on a Roll (The Riot Brothers Series)
by Mary Amato
Holiday House
Nominated by: kathleen morandini
Touchdown Trouble (Fred Bowen Sports Story Series)
by Fred Bowen
Peachtree
Nominated by: Lesley
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba
by Margarita Engle
Publisher not defined
Nominated by: Elizabeth Bird
Umbrella Summer
by Lisa Graff
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Franki Sibberson
Walking Backward
by Catherine Austen
Orca Books
Nominated by: Geoff Quaile
Wanting Mor
by Rukhsana Khan
Groundwood Books
Nominated by: Marjorie
When the Whistle Blows
by Fran Slayton
Philomel
Nominated by: Tarie Sabido
White Cave Escape
by Jennifer Mcgrath Kent
Nimbus
Nominated by: C Drake
Wild Things
by Clay Carmichael
Front Street
Nominated by: Joyce Moyer Hostetter
William S. and the Great Escape
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Atheneum
Nominated by: Sara Lea
Winnie's War
by Jenny Moss
Walker Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: R.J. Anderson
Year of the Bomb, The
by Ronald Kidd
Simon & Schuster
Nominated by: Della
Year the Swallows Came Early, The
by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Melissa
The following nominated books are ineligible:
Amelia's Middle School Survival Guide: Amelia's Most Unforgettable Embarrassing Moments, Amelia's Guide to Gossip
by Marissa Moss
Simon & Schuster
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: new edition of previously published texts
Nominated by: Jenisa
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls)
by Ally Carter
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Pub date 2007
Nominated by: Nadia Murti
Dog Gone
by Cynthia Chapman Willis
Square Fish
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover pub date April 2008
Nominated by: Tara Lazar
How to Steal a Dog
by Barbara O'Connor
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover 2007 pub date
Nominated by: Greta Blanchard
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period
by Gennifer Choldenko
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover published 2007
Nominated by: LaTonya M. Baldwin
Looks
by Madeleine George
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover published June 2008
Nominated by: Nora Olsen
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-garcia
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Pub date January 2010
Nominated by: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Nominated by: Beth Kizer
Peeled
by Joan Bauer
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Pub date Hardcover 2008
Nominated by: Terry Doherty
Piper Reed: The Great Gypsy
by Kimberly Willis Holt
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover August 2008
Nominated by: Cherie Saylor Garrett
The Aurora County All-Stars
by Deborah Wiles
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover 2007 (nominated that year as well)
Nominated by: Kristy Dempsey
The Chicken Dance
by Jacques Couvillon
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Hardcover April 2008 pub date
Nominated by: Holly Hensley
The Dragonfly Pool
by Eva Ibbotson
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Nominated by: Kristen Nielsen
The Second Street Snoops
by Nancy Sweetland, author/illustrator
Publisher not defined
Status: Not Eligible
Reason ineligible: Published May 2008
Nominated by: Nancy Sweetlan
© Becky Laney of Young Readers