Airman, by Eoin Colfer – Conor Broekhart was born in a hot
air balloon and feels he was always meant to fly. After witnessing the murder
of his tutor and the king, Conor is sent to prison. Can all the he learned
about flying help him escape prison, save his parents and find the princess? A
fun adventure from the author of the Artemis Fowl series.
Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos – In the first of the
Norvelt series of semi-autobiographical novels, young Jack is grounded at the
beginning of summer vacation. Even so, Jack manages to have adventures and get
himself into a lot of trouble when his mom loans him out to an elderly neighbor
to type obituaries that she writes as the original residents of this community,
founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, begin to die out. Or are they murdered? This book
was quite funny and a lot of fun. It won the 2012 Newbery Medal.
How to Be a Pirate, by Cressida Cowell – In this second book
in the How to Train Your Dragon series, Hiccup, and the other boys in the Hairy
Hooligan tribe have begun their pirate training course. After nearly dying
during their first lesson, Hiccup and Fishlegs are saved by the floating coffin
of Grimbeard the Ghastly. When the tribe opens the coffin, they find Alvin the
Poor-But-Honest-Farmer inside. He sets the tribe off on a quest to find
Grimbeard’s lost treasure. Can Hiccup and Toothless find the treasure and
ensure Hiccup’s place as heir? Or will they end up in a watery grave or as
lunch for dragons and Outcasts? I listened to the fabulous audio version read
by David Tenant. Children and adults will enjoy this fun series.
Fortunately, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman – I listened to the
audio version of this book, read by Neil Gaiman, but I think I’d like to get
the hard copy and look at the illustrations, especially if they are as much fun
as the text. The narrator and his sister are ready to eat their breakfast
cereal, but there is no milk, so their father goes to the corner store to buy
some. He is gone for a long time, and when he returns he tells a tale of
planet-redecorating aliens, time-travel, pirates, a stegosaurus professor, and
how the milk saved the world.
Grasshopper Jungle, by Andrew Smith – I decided this book
might be interesting when I read that it was in the new genre of cli fi, that
is, climate fiction. It also was a 2015 Michael L. Printz honor book. This is
the story of how the end of the world began in Ealing, Iowa when Austin, the
narrator, and his friend Robby accidently facilitate the release of a plague of
giant praying mantis-like insects. I haven’t finished reading this book. I hate
giving up on books, but I think this one isn’t for me. I do not want to be in
the head of a 16-year-old boy. I do not want to listen to him talk about, in
minute detail, things I don’t care about or find extremely distasteful. We
don’t even get any giant insects until halfway through the book! Maybe I should
just skip to the end and see if they defeat the giant bugs or if it really is
the end of the world.
