We asked young readers earlier this year to describe a favorite book by writing a review or drawing a picture about why the book is a must-read. As we looked over the hundreds of submissions, we noticed a lot of interest in stories about growing up in other, usually darker, worlds and times. Please come to the Books section again next week for more reviews. The reviews and illustrations from previous weeks, as well as a list compiled by local librarians of 100 great summer reads, are at chicagotribune.com/books.
Sixth Grade Secrets
By Louis Sachar
Review by Marykate McPhilliamy, 10
Glenview
Glen Grove School
Want a good book to read this summer? Well, then read this book–it’s my personal favorite! “Sixth Grade Secrets” is about a 6th-grade girl named Laura and her two friends, Allison and Tiffany. The whole book starts when they go to a garage sale and Laura buys a hat with the letters “Pig City” on it! So they decide to make a club called Pig City, and every day Laura writes something to do with pigs on her homeroom blackboard! But when they won’t let a guy from school named Gabriel join, things get bad! He gets mad and makes a new club called Monkey Town, with him and all the other people who hate Laura! So they go to war and it gets really nasty.
The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls
By Valorie Schaefer
Review by Savannah Taylor, 9
Hazel Crest
Flossmoor Hills School
(Grande Prairie Public Library)
This book is also a guide. It tells you not to do drugs; it tells you about your feelings, nutrients and a balanced meal. It tells you if anybody threatens you or your body, go tell an adult you trust immediately. It tells you not to compare yourself to other girls just because they develop faster. If you think this book is no good, please think again. Trust me, if you buy this book you won’t be confused about your body when you get older. There are many other things in this book that I did not mention but they are good things.
A Little Princess
By Frances Hodgson Burnett
Review by Natalka Fydyshyn, 10
Glenview
Glen Grove School
Sara Crewe was sent to Miss Minchin’s boarding school in London because her father went to war and her mother had passed away. Everything was fine until Sara’s father dies and she becomes an orphan. Cruel Miss Minchin forced Sara to become a maid to earn her living at the boarding school. Sara has to endure running errands in the cold and wet weather. Life would be unbearable if she didn’t have her friend Becky, a maid. Even though Sara has a hard life, she still remained nice and eventually found happiness in a surprise twist at the end. I love this book because it’s an exciting and emotional story about an inspiring girl who never gives up in difficult circumstances.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
By Roald Dahl
Review by Tina Brkovic, 10
Glenview
Glen Grove School
This exciting, thrilling story is about a boy named Charlie Bucket, who lives in a small house with his parents and grandparents. One day Charlie’s father brings home a newspaper with breaking news. It said Mr. Willy Wonka, who hasn’t opened his factory in 10 years, was going to allow five people to go inside for a tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate. The only way to go on the tour was to find a golden ticket found in the wrapper of a chocolate bar. Charlie found the fifth and last golden ticket. Inside, Charlie saw things he had never seen before, like candy you could suck on but would not lose flavor or get any smaller. At the end, because the other four winners get in trouble, it proved Charlie was the really good kid and Willy Wonka gave him the factory!
Angela and Diabola
By Lynne Reid Banks
Review by Meagan Froehlich, 12
Elk Grove Village
Mead Junior High
This was an amazing book. Since Angela and Diabola were born, everyone could tell that Angela would never cry while Diabola would destroy things and scream. Angela loved to make people happy while Diabola enjoyed making people miserable. Even though Diabola was awful, her sister loved her and that made Diabola sick. Angela insisted she and her twin sister should share a room, so their parents built a cage around half the room to prevent Diabola from doing horrible things to her sister. One day the girls find out they have powers to make the world better and worse. I encourage you to pick up this book and see how the twins use their powers to make life joyful and miserable for the people around them.
The Dark Hills Divide
By Patrick Carman
Review by Stephanie Stiglmeier, 11
Glenview
Glen Grove School
This book is about a magical adventure of a 10-year-old girl named Alexa, who lives in a small city surrounded by walls. Every year Alexa’s dad travels to the city in the middle of all the four cities (which are also surrounded by walls) on business. Every year Alexa tries to find a way out of the walls. Then one year Alexa finds clues that lead to a magical secret, and the exit to the walled cities. I think this is a great book for people that like mystical-type books. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
Ginger Jumps
By Lisa Campbell Ernst
Review by Cameron Tokowitz, 8
Northbrook
Winkelman District 31
(Northbrook Public Library)
Ginger is a circus dog. When she was very little, she would watch the older dogs practice and perform all of their amazing tricks. As she got older, she learned simple tricks. Ginger had always hoped to be part of a real family, with children. There was one dog in particular that did not get along with the others. Her name was Prunella. She was the star of the show and wanted to keep it that way. One day when Ginger had gotten older, the trainer selected her to perform a dangerous trick. Ginger would have to jump off a board after climbing stairs 20 feet high. But she was too scared to jump. So Prunella took over. When the night of the show arrived, something amazing happened. Ginger decided to take matters into her own paws, and was rewarded for overcoming her fear.
The President’s Daughter
By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Review by Calin Cave, 10
Clarendon Hills
Walker School
I recommend this book to any girl who thinks her life is too tough to handle, because this book shows that there is always something to make it better. At the age of 10, Ethel moved to Washington, D.C., because her father, Theodore Roosevelt, became president of the U.S.A! Suddenly, her life took a turn for the worse. Everything the Roosevelt family did, the newspaper got away with dishonestly exaggerating, so people didn’t like Theodore. When Ethel was sent to boarding school for the first time, she came home for the weekend believing she could not survive another week there. Everyone hated her. That’s when a girl named Emily and Ethel’s sister stepped up and encouraged Ethel. With this encouragement, Ethel settled into her new home, and lived happily with the good side of her life.
Septimus Heap, Book 1: Magyk
By Angie Sage
Review by Zack Urbanski, 11
Downers Grove
Belle Aire School
(Downers Grove Public Library)
“Magyk” was a good book about a wizard family named Heap, one extraordinary wizard and one young army solider. The book starts out with two babies being kidnapped–the queenling, Jenna, and the wizard, Septimus. There were bad guys, such as the evil wizard DomDaniel, the Hunter and the hunter’s apprentice. Three members of the Heap family, the extraordinary wizard and a young army solider escape to the island where the Heaps’ aunt lives, where they hide from the Hunter and his apprentice. It was exciting when the Hunter was chasing the characters and finds them, only to lose them in the fog. Two months later, he finds them again, only to lose them before he is tricked by the Heaps’ aunt into giving up his search once and for all. The book was suspenseful when the Heap family was trying to find out who and where Septimus was.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
By J.K Rowling
Review by Albin Mutholam, 9
Orland Park
Bernardin School
I really liked this book. Even though it’s the longest Harry Potter book, I read this book twice, that’s how good it is! There are many fantastic, mean, smart characters. Some are Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, Hermione Granger and many others. In the book, there are many magical creatures. They sometimes are greedy, mean, evil, beautiful, mystical, mysterious and even ugly. Some creatures are owls, house elves, centaurs, snakes, trolls, dementors and brains. When I first got the book I couldn’t stop reading it! I begged my mom to let me stay up to read the book on weekends. The first time I read this book I kept on reading it ’till I finished it in two weeks. Don’t forget to read this book. Then you’ll know what’s going on in the sixth book!
On the Other Side of the Hill
By Roger Lea MacBride
Review by Lena Gilliam, 12
Chicago
St. Robert Bellamine School
This story tells the tale of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose. In the story, Rose realizes that she is growing up: She goes to a shivaree (an after-party from a wedding), helps cook at butchering time, and takes care of the farm when Laura is helping deliver a baby. Rose also deals with many dangers, such as a cyclone, a drought and an awful fire. But Rose is a brave girl and never gives up, even when things are looking poorly. This book is a must-read if you like a story of adventure, friends and family.
The House of the Scorpion
By Nancy Farmer
Review by Amber Smith, 13
Orland Park
Orland Junior High
Matteo Alacran is a clone who grows up in Opium, located between Mexico and the U.S. This piece of land is owned by the drug lord known to the people as El Patron. He acts as a father to Matteo. Then the terrible truth unfolds. As Matt runs for his life he meets some friends in an unexpected place. His new friends lead Matt to his long-lost friend Maria. Together they try to take over Opium.
Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle
By David Elliott
Review by Kelsey Riesterer, 13
LaGrange Park
Park Junior High
Evangeline Mudd is a determined and adventurous girl, and very lucky. She can swing from the lights in her bungalow in New England. Her parents, Magdalena and Merriweather, even do it with her. They wanted to do everything like a monkey, so they raised Evangeline like how monkeys would raise their baby. They chose to do this after being primatologists for many years. Primatologists study monkeys. Then one day, Evangeline’s parents were sent to the Ikkinasti Jungle because a family of Golden- Haired Apes had been spotted. So Evangeline was sent to her father’s second-cousin-twice-removed, Melvin. When it is time for Evangeline’s parents to return, something bad happens. The book teaches you that family ties are stronger than a chain of steel. David Elliott does such a great job writing this book. He keeps you reading until the end.
The School Story
By Andrew Clements.
Review by Shannon Myers, 8
Grayslake
Meadowview Elementary
This wonderful story is about a girl named Natalie and her best friend, Zoe, who try to get Natalie’s book published, which is called “The Cheater.” In this story, some grownups help her. Who are they? They are Zoe’s dad, who is a lawyer, and Mrs. Clayton, their English teacher. In this story, Natalie’s mom is a publisher for children’s books. Something exciting that happened in this book was that Natalie sent her book to her mom and when she read it she loved it so much she couldn’t stop talking about it!! At the end of “The School Story,” she tells her mom that she wrote the book!
Instead of Three Wishes: Magical Short Stories
By Megan Whalen Turner
Review by Austin Walsh, 9
St. Charles
Lily Lake School
(Town & Country Library)
“Instead of Three Wishes” is a fiction book by Megan Whalen Turner. There are 132 pages in this book and there are seven different stories. My favorite story in the book was “Leroy Roachbane” because he was a lot like me. My favorite part was when Leroy exterminated a whole cabinful of roaches. I also liked the part when he got boric acid and got roach motels free! Nice sale.
Silent Storm
By Sherry Garland
Review by Gabrielle Hill, 10
Glenview
Glen Grove School
This book is about a girl who lives in Florida and can’t speak. Doctors say there is nothing wrong with her voice, but all she tries to speak, she can’t. Her parents both died in a hurricane three years ago. She feels as though there is a memory monster in her brain trying to bust out of its cage. Will her memories help her find her voice, or scare away any chances of finding it?
Fever 1793
By Laurie Halse Anderson
Review by Meredith Morrow, 12
Western Springs
McClure Junior High
(Thomas Ford Memorial Library)
What if your greatest fears became reality? What if you were living in a nightmare? In the book “Fever 1793,” a young girl has to overcome these things. Mattie lives with her mother and grandfather, and together they own a coffee-house. When their town is struck by yellow fever, everything goes wrong. As the disease begins to spread, many people flee to the countryside. Mattie’s mother refuses to let her family leave home until she, too, is taken ill by yellow fever. Mattie and her grandpa are sent to the country, but they are stopped by doctors patrolling the border. Mattie’s grandfather had caught a cold, and they are thrown out of the wagon and left to fend for themselves. They try to make their way, but Mattie catches the fever. Will she survive the fever, or will she join the thousands already dead?
Halfway to the Sky
By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Review by Stephanie Bloom, 12
Naperville
Scullen Middle School
If you are looking for an adventure, try this book. It is the story of a girl named Katahdin (Dani, for short). After her brother dies of muscular dystrophy and her parents divorce, Dani runs away to the Appalachian Trail and decides to hike the whole trail, from Georgia to Mt. Katahdin (what she was named after) in Maine, 2,167 miles total. Her mom finds out and gets angry, but they hike the trail together and along the way meet a woman named Vivi, who joins them for their hike. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good fiction book for summer reading. The story is realistic, and the plot is terrific.
Girls Hold Up the World
By Jada Pinkett Smith
Review by Achanti Brooks, 5
Hazel Crest
Flossmoor Hills School
(Grande Prairie Public Library)
I liked this book very, very much. I liked all of the pretty pictures. The pictures reminded me of things that I like to do. And one day will be able to do. I know I can do anything.
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
By Judy Blume
Review by Allie Indovina, 11
New Lenox
Oster-Oakview School
My book review is about “Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great.” I read it every summer, and every time it gets better and better. This book is about Sheila Tubman, a girl whose family lives in the hectic city of New York. Her parents plan on renting a house in the country, where Sheila finds a new side to herself. She meets a new friend, Mouse Ellis, who helps her conquer her worst fears, of dogs and swimming. Libby, Sheila’s know-it-all older sister, teases Sheila when they find out a dog comes with the rented house and she has to take swimming lessons. At first this bothers Sheila, but by the end of the summer she finds that swimming is fun and dogs aren’t going to eat her up. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a humorous, fun story!
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure
By P.B. Kerr
Review by Grace Koehler, 11
South Bend, Ind.
St. Joseph School
Join the battling forces of good and evil in the suspenseful journey in search of the 70 lost djinn of Akhenaten. John and Philippa are two djinn twins who travel from London to Egypt, learning how to call upon their powerful abilities. With the twins’ newfound abilities and their Uncle Nimrod, they will fight to the finish. Can the twins successfully complete their perilous journey, and will peace in the djinn world be restored? To find out about life beyond humans, go to your local library and take this breathtaking book off the shelves. Enjoy!
Tea at the Treedome
By Terry Collins
Review by Sabrina Sawyer, 7
Chicago
Ray School
“Tea at the Treedome” is about someone having tea at someone’s house, plus it’s about meeting a new friend and how much fun they have together. Anyway, it’s about SpongeBob and Sandy. If you know the TV show “SpongeBob Squarepants,” then you will know them. This is the story of their first meeting. SpongeBob saw Sandy fighting a giant clam. She was doing karate. SpongeBob did karate but she did some moves that he’d never seen before! When Sandy thought she had killed the clam it came for her head. Bad news, people! Sandy and SpongeBob fought the giant clam together until the clam was defeated. Then Sandy invited SpongeBob over for tea at her treedome.
SpongeBob learned about differences between the way he lived and the way Sandy lived. Everyone should read this book because it has karate in it and it’s funny.
Frindle
By Andrew Clements
Review by Andrea Salazar, 12
Hodgkins
Hodgkins School
(Hodgkins Public Library)
“Frindle” is a book about a boy named Nick, who everyone thinks is a trouble-maker. Once in 3rd grade he turned the classroom into a tropical island. One day, while walking home, he found a pen and decided to call it a “frindle” instead of the same old boring word “pen.” He thought if he could get people to agree with him that a pen should be called a “frindle,” then he could get the word in the dictionary. Read the book to find out what happens to Nick and his frindle.
Circle of Gold
By Candy Dawson Boyd
Review by Nathaniel Perdue, 11
Chicago
Ariel Community Academy
(Harold Washington Library)
The main characters are Mattie, her twin brother Matt, and Mrs. Benson, their mother. This book is about Mattie and what her family is going through. The family is having a hard time. Her father died and she was accused of stealing. She thinks her mother loves Matt more than her. When things got hard, Mattie talked to an older woman named Mrs. Stamps. Her brother painted. Her mother talked to a therapist. Mattie thought things would be better if she bought her mother a gift. She wrote an essay about how much she loves her mother. I would recommend this book to anyone because I can relate to it. The book speaks about the family. Mother works to raise money. Matt and Mattie cook for the family. Everyone needs someone to talk to if they have problems.
Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday
By Judith Viorst
Review by Bridget Whitney, 8
Park Ridge
St. Paul of the Cross School
(Park Ridge Public Library)
Everyone likes to laugh. This book made me laugh a lot. Alexander is a silly 8-year-old boy. His grandparents gave him a dollar when they came to visit. He likes money and he thought he was rich. The story talks about how he spent his money. He wanted some gum, he rented his friend’s snake and he lost a few bets. Soon his money was all gone. He dreamed his coins had wings and would fly away. Now he hopes his grandparents come back soon. Will they bring $$? Enjoy this silly story!
