We’ve come to the end of another summer of terrific reviews and drawings done by kids. Thanks to the several hundred young readers who took the time to tell us why they enjoyed a particular book — we wish we could have published all the great work we received. Thanks, too, to all the teachers and librarians who encouraged kids to take part in Read & Write. We hope you’ll all discover many more great books this school year and beyond.
Look for an additional 50 book reviews by kids, plus all the previous weeks’ reviews and our librarians’ list of recommended books, at chicagotribune.com/read&write.
Maniac Magee
By Jerry Spinelli
Review by Mark Canham, 11, Chicago
Falconer School
Do you like to read? I suggest you read “Maniac Magee.” It’s a fun story filled with danger, excitement and an all-out cool adventure. It’s also filled with pizza. It starts out with a terrible accident that causes Magee to run away. He runs to a town with two sides, one for the blacks and one for the whites. Only he doesn’t know that. He makes lots of enemies. But he makes friends with a black family. If you’ve never read this book before, you should read it. If you’re not much of a reader, like me, you should read it anyway. This book caused me to read more often.
Poison Ivy
By Amy Goldman Koss
Review by Brianna Conway, 10, Park Ridge
Emerson Middle School
The three meanest and most popular girls in the school are put on a mock trial in American Government class for their harshness toward a classmate named Ivy. They have done everything to break this girl down and now they have to pay for it. Even though everyone has seen the three girls bullying Ivy, no one will come forth to [admit] it. They want to win the three girls over in hopes of becoming popular. Ivy gets a lawyer who can’t get any evidence of the girls being mean to her. The jury, which is supposed to be impartial, is completely biased. All odds are against Ivy. Will she be able to sway the jury, or will the three girls win because of their popularity? The bigger question — can justice be served?
Stormbreaker
By Anthony Horowitz
Cristian Migliarese, 12, Hawthorn Woods
St. Francis de Sales School
“Stormbreaker” is about a boy, Alex Rider, age 14, whose uncle and guardian, Ian, is mysteriously killed. Alex is asked to assume his uncle’s mission as a spy for British Intelligence. His current mission is to investigate Sayle Enterprises. They are the makers of a revolutionary computer called Stormbreaker. Why is the Sayle Corporation sending out one of their computers to every school in the country? Alex needs to find out what’s behind Herod Sayle’s generosity. This adventure book is action-packed and very suspenseful.
Freak the Mighty
By Rodman Philbrick
Review by Noelle Klyce, 11, Chicago
Morgan Park High School
“Freak the Mighty” is an amazing story about a boy named Maxwell (Max for short) Kane. He finds out that a boy named Kevin moves into the neighborhood. Kevin (or as he was called, “Freak”) was his old friend from a day-care center. Freak had brains, Max had height, and together they formed FREAK THE MIGHTY!!! No one could stop them. They were high walkers around the world. They slayed dragons and pure fools and sometimes they were 9 feet tall!!! Together they faced many challenges, like when they had to fight against their arch nemesis, Tony D, and his gang. I believe that people will have a great time reading through Freak the Mighty’s outrageous adventures.
The Teacher From the Black Lagoon
By Mike Thaler
Review by Andrea Martinez, 10, Hodgkins
Hodgkins School
I really like the book because it reminds me of my school and teachers. It’s scary, funny and interesting. My favorite part is when the teacher demonstrates how to do fractions and she decides to use one of her students to show how to change a whole student into a half of a student.
Stranded
By Ben Mikaelsen
Review by Rebecca Woit, 12, Grayslake
Fremont Middle School
I liked the book because it had many messages in it. I thought it was neat how even though Koby’s parents had a hard time living together, they still managed to work it out. I also liked how when Koby didn’t have any friends, the whales helped her realize she can do whatever she wants if she puts her mind to it. I think you should read this book because there is a lesson for everyone in it. Also read this even if you don’t like to read because reading is not my favorite thing to do and I still loved this book!
Artemis Fowl, Book No. 1
By Eoin Colfer
Review by John Vixaychack, 12, Elgin
Timber Trails School, Gail Borden Library
Tired of benevolent main characters? In this book, Artemis Fowl isn’t the hero. He is an evil mastermind that is only 12 years old. The Fowl family is going broke. . . . Artemis is spending much of the Fowl fortune to fund a search for his father. He learns about the “People,” an underground assortment of races including fairies, dwarves, sprites, goblins, trolls, etc. They are decades beyond human intelligence. Artemis catches a fairy for a “get-rich-quick” scheme. Artemis plans to hold her hostage until a metric ton of 24-karat gold is delivered to his doorstep. Will he succeed?
Sounder
By William H. Armstrong
Review by Kyle Smith, 13, Chicago
St. Angela School
As soon as I started reading “Sounder,” I loved it, especially because it had a lot to do with African-American history. This book was even better because it showed a strong relationship between a father and son, so it was quite touching to me. The author gave me a stronger respect for my heritage through this book. It showed me the harsh times that an African-American family had to go through, so I could only imagine what every African-American family went through. This book [also] gives real meaning about how a dog is man’s true and loyal best friend.
The Face on the Milk Carton
By Caroline Cooney
Review by Samantha Jackson, 13, Frankfort
Summit Hill Junior High
“The Face on the Milk Carton” is one of those books you can’t put down. It’s about a girl who finds her picture as a 3-year-old on a “Missing” milk carton at school. She doesn’t know if her parents are really her parents or if she has been kidnapped! She wants to know the truth, but who is there to trust?
Guys Write for Guys Read
Edited by Jon Scieszka
Review by Mike Solberg, 11, Park Ridge
Emerson Middle School
Wow — that’s all that you can say when you are reading one of the articles in “Guys Write for Guys Read.” I mean, when the article is supposed to be funny it is laugh-out-loud funny, and when it’s sad it’s bring-tears-to-your-eyes sad. Also, if you start reading it’s like your hands are glued to the book! One of my friends was staying for the weekend and picked up the book at 2 in the morning. So I went on my computer and he is reading the book for three hours and he won’t stop so I turn off the lights. So if you are looking for a bunch of real-life stories from boys like you, “Guys Write for Guys Read” is the book you are looking for.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians series
By Rick Riordan
Review by Thomas Furie, 10, Downers Grove,
Avery Coonley School
I think the “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” series should be read by everyone. They’re the type of books where a kid’s born and everyone thinks he’s a threat and he has to risk his life to prove them wrong. In the second book, “The Sea of Monsters,” you start to notice how Percy evolves from a kid to a teenager. The books are full of funny and ironic parts. I actually stayed up until about 3 in the morning laughing out loud at the last book, “The Titan’s Curse.”
Milkweed
By Jerry Spinelli
Review by Stephanie Wolff, 11, Riverside
Central School, Riverside Library
A boy. Who’s called Runt. Jew. Gypsy. Filthy son of Abraham. Who wants to be a Jackboot, a Nazi. But when the Germans invade Warsaw, he realizes that it is best to be who he already is. No one.
The Great Mom Swap
By Betsy Haynes
Review by Jessica Douglas, 13, Chicago
St. Angela School
Are you looking for a non-put-down book to read? I have a suggestion: “The Great Mom Swap.” Just to tell you how great this was, I will tell you a little bit about the story. It was about two girls named Lorna and Scotti. They really didn’t like their own lives so they decided to swap homes for three weeks. They did this switch because their mothers drove them CRAZY. Their mothers told them to be a tall Texan and be perfect. When they switched for those three weeks, they got more than what they bargained for.
Mallory vs. Max
By Laurie Friedman
Review by Aarin Ahart, 10, Steger
Parkview Elementary, Grande Prairie Library
“Mallory vs. Max” is a friendly story about Mallory and her brother, who is getting a dog. Mallory really doesn’t want Max to get a dog for 10 reasons: Dogs chew on your shoes, they drink from the toilet, dig in the neighbor’s yard, can’t sleep, use the bathroom everywhere, chase people away, need attention every second, Max won’t do his homework, Max won’t take care of him, and their cat (Cheeseburger) will be very upset. Before they get the dog Mallory thinks that’s all they care about and she’s a little jealous, and she thinks it’s even worse when they get the dog. I think people who like friendly books about small arguments and family fun should read this book.
Aschenputtel
By the Brothers Grimm
Review by Nana Owareasamoah, 13, Chicago
St. Mary of the Lake School
“Aschenputtel,” the German version of “Cinderella,” is about a girl called Aschenputtel who has to survive living with her father, two stepsisters and a stepmother. She decided to grow a tree by her mother’s grave. With this tree, two magical turtledoves came and helped her with all her troubles. As usual, a prince comes to town in search of a wife. She remembered what her mother told her — to always be pious and good. This story teaches you a lesson, that if you stay good through your whole entire life you get rewarded in the end. It also teaches you that you can’t judge a person by their appearance. If you read this book you’re in for a surprise! It is not like the usual Cinderella story.
Sahara Special
By Esme Raji Codell
Review by Missy Simon, 11, Niles
Field School
This wrenching life story and amazing adventure takes place in a 5th-grade classroom in Chicago. The main characters are Sahara Jones, Darrel Sikes, Mrs. Jones and Miss Pointy. My favorite character is Miss Pointy. She sounds very nice. I like Miss Pointy because she always tries to encourage her students to keep on trying and never give up. The problem is that Sahara needs special help in school. Sahara wants to be held back. Her mother does not agree and she is kind of mad. My favorite part of the story is when Miss Pointy is telling a story about why teachers get apples. I liked that part because it used very many interesting words I never even knew before. I surely know that if you ever tried reading this book that you would love it. So just try it.
