43. The School for Whatnots

The School for Whatnots. Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2022. 304 pages. [Source: Library]

 First sentence: When Maximilian J. Sterling was born, his family celebrated by throwing a party for the whole city, complete with the biggest fireworks display anyone had ever seen.

Premise/plot: I do not want to give too much away. Yet, I want to give enough of a tease that YOU want to read this book. What to do???? Max, our hero, is best, best, best, best friends with a girl in his class, Josie. But on their last day of fifth grade, she leaves him a cryptic note: no matter what anyone tells you, I am real. He's puzzled. Of course, she's real. Why wouldn't she be real? What else could she possibly be? So begins his journey to find his best friend despite all odds. For his parents, sure enough, do come in with the, well, we've been keeping something BIG from you your whole life... and Max, well, Max doesn't handle it well. (Which is good for us! Plenty of tension, conflict, rising action!)

My thoughts: I loved this one. I loved, loved, loved it. I always talk big about how I go into "every" book with super low expectations. Nope, not Margaret Peterson Haddix. I always go in with HIGH expectations each and every time. I am rarely--if ever--disappointed. She's just that good.

I loved meeting Max and Josie. The unnamed (for most of the novel) narrator is interesting as well. I could see myself rereading this one at some point. I'd probably appreciate the narrator even more upon a second read. Perhaps be faster at picking up all the clues. This one was just a FUN puzzle to piece together. Great premise. Great carry through. (This isn't always the case with books. Sometimes there's an awesome premise but it just doesn't work all that great in execution.) I do think it's one that I will remember and want to come back to.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

42. The Sheep, the Rooster, and the Duck

The Sheep, the Rooster, and The Duck. Matt Phelan. 2022. 240 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: A carriage drawn by a single horse sped down a forest road. 

Premise/plot: The Sheep, the Rooster, and the Duck is historical fantasy set in nineteenth century France. (The prologue is set in 1783, the main action occurs two years later.) In some ways, it can best be described as animal fantasy. It does star a talking sheep, rooster, and duck after all. But it is so much more than that. The animals enlist two young children--a boy and a girl--to help them battle evil, if you will. The plot centers around protecting Benjamin Franklin (who is still in France) and to some extent saving the world. So it's animal fantasy, but it's more than animal fantasy if that makes any kind of sense.

My thoughts: I wanted to love this one. I did. I thought it sounded outlandish yet perfectly delightful. Yet it remains an almost for me. I almost fell head over heels in love with the characters. I almost fell in with the logic of this one. But for whatever reason it left me puzzled and confused here and there. Not a lot. Just a tad bit here, a tiny bit there. Enough that it started to add up slowly but surely. Perhaps a second reading would help. OR perhaps if the book included a list of characters and the tiniest clues to help me keep every person well placed in my mind. I understand the book is supposed to be about possible spies and definite deceptions and possible betrayals and such. So perhaps readers are supposed to be left guessing???

I still enjoyed this one more than not. Just not wholeheartedly.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

41. Once Upon a Tim

Once Upon a Tim. Stuart Gibbs. 2022. 160 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: There was a prince who was revered throughout the land for being exceptionally brave who was known far and wide for his cool and calm presence in the face of grave danger...and who was beloved and adored by all the people of his kingdom. This is not his story. It's mine. I'm Tim.

Premise/plot: Once Upon a Tim is set in the distant past. So distant that calendars and dates--not even days of the week--have been invented yet. Tim, our hero, is sharing directly with readers (breaking the fourth wall) his adventures and misadventures. 

My thoughts: This one was not my favorite or best. I do enjoy fairy-tale-esque stories. I can appreciate humor. But don't intermingle the real world with this "historical" long, long, long, long ago past. Don't talk about the internet, for example. The narration just bothered me. I never got past it.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

40. Cornbread and Poppy

Cornbread and Poppy. Matthew Cordell. 2022. 80 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It was winter.

Premise/plot: Cornbread and Poppy is the first in a new early reader series by Matthew Cordell. This first book introduces the characters Cornbread and Poppy--two mice who are as different as different can be. The three stories are all set in the winter season. The three stories are "The First Snow," "Holler Mountain," and "The Food Problem." The stories are linked together--build upon one another. 

Essentially, long story short, Cornbread is WELL prepared for winter; Poppy is ill-prepared for winter. The three stories are about these two working together to help Poppy out of a situation.

My thoughts: The moment I saw the cover, I knew I needed to read this one! The cover just says READ ME, READ ME! Mice in fiction are always a thousand times cuter (and more appealing) than mice in real life. So reading about these mice friends sounded like a treat.

I wasn't disappointed. I'm not sure that I loved, loved, loved it so completely that I push it (literally) into the hands of every single person I know. But I did push it into my mom's hands. (And I'll recommend it to my sister as well.) I definitely liked it well enough that I want MORE in the series.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

39. The Story of a Story

The Story of a Story. Deborah Hopkinson. 2021. [November] 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: This is the story of a story. You arrive with a pencil or two, a big eraser, your favorite pencil sharpener, and a snack (a healthy one).

Premise/plot: This picture book celebrates WRITING STORIES. It is written in the second person. The protagonist 'you' is a young child who experiences a bit of writer's block... but inspiration comes at the end of the picture book.

My thoughts: Lovely illustrations, interesting premise. I can't say that I love, love, love the second person narration. I think it probably works better here than in most other cases. I can see this one being used as a read aloud in an elementary classroom. I think the text lends itself well to a read aloud. The book concludes with writing prompts for the beginning, middle, and end of "your" stories about bird "you" spot outside the window.

My favorite quote is "But other people's stories aren't exactly yours."

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers