We recently invited schoolkids to share their thoughts on favorite books by taking part in our annual Read & Write series. Readers as young as 5 and as old as 15 responded with drawings and reviews reflecting on the books’ lessons, storylines and characters. We received enough wonderful submissions to fill an entire newspaper, and continue to highlight many of them here and online, each Saturday this month.
Visit chicagotribune.com/read&write to see the reviews and our librarians’ list of 100 fun summertime books for kids.
Haunting at Home Plate
By David Patneaude
Review by Erik Moreno, 11, Chicago
Monroe School
I like this book because it is about a ghost that gives clues to baseball players. I also like the book because I like baseball. It is a very exciting book to read. It is a spellbinding and extraordinary book. In the beginning, the characters go to a field and they start seeing messages. The clues start helping them. But they start getting the creeps about who is writing the messages. In the middle, the strange messages are helping them win games. The only clue they have are the initials A.K. It is kind of cool because this is like a mystery book. It is cool at the end, but I am not going to give it away.
The Battle of the Labyrinth: Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Book 4
By Rick Riordan
Review by Kelli Marcin, 10, Woodridge
Willow Creek School
You’re in a dark place underground, lost in a maze of monsters and traps, you feel as if you’ve been driven insane as if you’d never get out . . . That is probably what Percy Jackson felt in “The Battle of the Labyrinth.” Percy is a half-blood — half Greek god and half mortal. He had many adventures before with his friends Annabeth, Grover and Tyson, but this may be the most daring yet. He decides to attempt to save Camp Half-Blood by going into the Labyrinth, a mysterious maze built by the only person who can navigate through it, Daedalus. Percy and his friends must get to him before the evil Luke does, which would give Camp Half-Blood NO chance. Kronos, the evil titan lord, would kill the gods and take back everything the gods took from the titans. Will Percy succeed without going crazy? Read the book to find out!
That Summer
By Sarah Dessen
Review by Shendy Cacho, 14, Chicago
St. Mary of the Lake School
This is a great book to read, especially if you hate being tall because there is one girl who is taller than her sister. She doesn’t like it at all. She is 5 foot 11 and she thinks being tall is a curse. I think being tall is not a curse because everyone is unique in their own way and that is what makes us special. I believe this book will help you like your height because it lists all of the good qualities of being tall.
Frindle
By Andrew Clements
Review by Jay Dhanoa, 11, Naperville
Beebe School, Naperville Public Library
This is an absolute must-read that you can’t bear to leave on the shelf and let collect dust. Once you’re done, there is no way that you can resist reading it again. No question about it. After all, there is a good amount of humor, mischief, a war of words and you get to see how some words are made. It all starts when a boy by the name of Nick begins to use the word “frindle” in place of “pen.” Less than a year later, kids in China, Italy, France, and even more countries, are using the word as it spreads like a virus — the good kind.
Code Talker
By Joseph Bruchac
Review by Alexander Pieprzycki, 10, Long Grove
Kildeer Countryside School
Do you like books about World War II? Well, if you do, then this is the book to read. “Code Talker” is a tale about a Navajo Indian who joins the army and becomes a code talker. A code talker is a Navajo person who translates American messages into a rare and unstudied language of Navajo so the Japanese couldn’t interpret their messages. He has also joined the army in order to show America that Navajo are not stupid or worthless. In fact, they might be even better than other Americans.
Airy Fairy Magic Mischief!
By Margaret Ryan
Review by Julia Lambert, 10, Downers Grove
Belle Aire School
Poof! Zoom! Crash! Bang! In this great fantasy book, Scary Fairy is up to her no-good tricks — again! Ms. Stickler’s niece has Airy Fairy in big trouble! The little fairy has gotten a zero for spelling, a zero for her magic and a zero for flying! Now she has to spend Christmas as a tree fairy! She only has six spells to make the Grimm family nicer. Will she do it in time for the party? Or will Scary Fairy ruin the fun for everyone?
The Pinballs
By Betsy Byars
Review by Tasha Newell, 11, Harvey
McKinley School
The story has three main characters named Harvey, Thomas and Carlie. All of them had problems in their own houses and they are sent to a foster home. In the foster home, many things changed. If you’re looking for a book filled with emotions, sadness and adventure, you should read “The Pinballs” because it will keep you laughing or make you cry. It is a very entertaining book.
Bike Tour Mystery: Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Book 168
By Carolyn Keene
Review by Caylin Lewis, 10, Chicago
St. Angela School
Here goes a detective with a lot of brains. Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solved a mystery about two Australian girl twins. Rhonda pretends things are happening so her sister Rachel will hire a bodyguard. Then Rachel hires Nancy as a bodyguard.
This book was full of interesting and sneaky events at every turn of the page. It kept me guessing who was behind the whole plot. Just like a good writer, finding out who did it was an unexpected surprise.
Runemarks
By Joanne Harris
Review by Wilson Ngai, 13, Niles
Emerson Middle School
This is a WOW-this-book-is-so-amazing-that-if-they -made-it-into-a-movie-it-would-win-an-Oscar-for-sure book. “Runemarks” has so many twists and turns it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Maddy Smith, a dreamer with a mystifying ruin mark on her hand, discovers her magic powers. Maddy wishes she can discover her purpose and also causes mischief. With the help of One-Eye, a mysterious traveler with a dark past, the powers of the Elder Script and a couple of spells here and there, Maddy will learn who she really is and discover her fate and the fate of the Nine Worlds.
Hatchet
By Gary Paulsen
Review by Jack Morgan, 9, Chicago
Cook School
I like how the author teaches you a lesson — to never give up, even if you are in a very tight spot. In the book, Brian Robeson is stranded in the wilderness after the pilot of his small bush-plane has a deadly heart attack. Brian has to survive in the wilderness with only his wits, his brain and a hatchet. The book is very descriptive — it makes you think that Brian is going to give up when he doesn’t. I think the book is pretty intense at some points.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
By Mildred D. Taylor
Review by John Peltz, 13, Wheaton
Franklin Middle School
This book inspired me by the way the African-American families acted and put up with the white people. The Logan family — Cassie, Stacy, Christopher John, Little Man, Mama, Papa and Big Ma — are the main characters. They all have different personalities, and they change throughout the story. You meet other fascinating characters, too. There is action, fights and adventure. This is a serious novel about how these families deal with mistreatment and injustice but remain faithful to each other. In this book, there is a white family, the Simmes, who shot Papa and did many bad things to the Logan family. The Logan family is desperate now and is having trouble holding their land and are in serious trouble.
Big Fat Manifesto
By Susan Vaught
Review by Paulina Trejo, 13, Palatine
Winston Campus Junior High
It is 308 pages filled with things that make me ponder about my life, and others’. Surprisingly, Jamie, a sophomore in high school, is one of the most caring, yet beautiful people. Even though she is “big,” she believes that she has the heart to win the journalism scholarship. Strong and tall, she stands throughout the whole school year. So many things upset Jamie that year, like her boyfriend getting surgery and then dumping her.
I give this book five stars because it helps those people who feel different than others connect to the world with everyone else. Being obese shouldn’t be a reason why you are considered an outsider. Your identity is important and it revolves around so many things.
Now You See Them, Now You Don’t: On the Run, Book 3
By Gordon Korman
Review by Victor De la Cruz, 12, Rolling Meadows
Sandburg Junior High
You will think this book is enchanted or cursed. Aiden and Meg are running away from the police. The book is action-packed and enthralling because Aiden and Meg are always running and disguised as police or something else. There is a guy who is trying to kill them, but the kids outsmart him.
A Taste of Blackberries
By Doris Buchanan Smith
Review by Adrianna Ryba, 12, Chicago
Monroe School
This is a fantastic book because it has a splendid moral that both adults and children can follow. This book is about a friendship between the narrator and Jamie, who is special, full of surprises and unpredictable. But when something terrible happens to Jamie, his best friend will have to face the tragedy alone. As the narrator has to go through the tragedy, these questions keep racing through his head: “How could Jamie be alive one minute and the next, gone forever?” “Where did he go?” “Why did he have to leave me?” As the tragedy keeps on going the narrator finds some answers to his questions. The narrator finally learns to move on without his best friend in this moving book.
The Giving Tree
By Shel Silverstein
Review by Deja Armani, 11, Chicago
St. Angela School
I liked the tree in the story because she was generous. She gave the boy everything she had. She liked to be happy and not sad. I like the fact that she loved to give a lot. I liked all the pretty pictures. They are unique and creative. I think I’m like the tree. I like to give and be kind. I like how the tree and boy played together. They were close buddies. When he came around she was jolly. Even though the boy got old, they were still together. I liked that the story was fictional. It was fictional, but serious.
Because of Anya
By Margaret Peterson Haddix
Review by Mackenzie Flaws, 12, Burr Ridge
Pleasantdale Middle School
This book is awesome! I could not put it down! I finished it in two and a half days! When my dad came to pick me up from cheerleading, I sat in the car reading. When I got home, I ran inside and sat down in the nearest spot and read. It was that good. This book is about a girl who randomly loses her hair. First, she parts her hair weirdly, but then it gets worse. She goes to the doctor and finds out she doesn’t have cancer! She was so happy! She also wondered what she had. So did her mom. Her mom starts to cry. She has …
Wait Till Helen Comes
By Mary Downing Hahn
Review by Sirin Abusamen, 12, Chicago
Pleasantdale Middle School
This is a great book with great detail. Not only that, but it went really smooth. It really frightened me. I felt like it was a movie. It really got me thinking. I asked myself a lot of questions while reading. I kept asking myself if there really are such things as ghosts. I also kept asking how I would feel if I were in the same position. I also tried to imagine how worried the characters were in this situation.
