Tag Archives: readers advisory

Authors We Love: Tom Angleberger

Authors We Love is a new series of blog posts that features not just one book but authors we recommend because we love all of their books. This week we picked Tom Angleberger, who absolutely rocks. Christie once met him at a library conference and reports that he was super nice and gave her a Darth Paper.

More importantly his books are awesome. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back both fly off the shelves. This series is great for Star Wars fans and is on our list of books to read if you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. We recommend these funny books for ages 9 and up. Look for more books by Mr. Angleberger later this summer including The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee!

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, he assembles the case file that forms this novel. (from Abrams Books)

Darth Paper Strikes Back

It is a dark time at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School. After suffering several Origami Yoda–related humiliations, Harvey manages to get Dwight suspended from school for being a “troublemaker.” Origami Yoda pleads with Tommy and Kellen to save Dwight by making a new case file—one that will show how Dwight’s presence benefits McQuarrie. With the help of their friends, Tommy and Kellen record cases such as “Origami Yoda and the Pre-eaten Wiener,” “Origami Yoda and the Exploding Pizza Bagels,” and “Origami Yoda and Wonderland: The Musical.” But Harvey and his Darth Paper puppet have a secret plan that could make Dwight’s suspension permanent . (from Abrams Books)

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee

With Dwight attending Tippett Academy this semester, the kids of McQuarrie Middle School are on their own—no Origami Yoda to give advice and help them navigate the treacherous waters of middle school. Then Sara gets a gift she says is from Dwight—a paper fortune-teller in the form of Chewbacca. It’s a Fortune Wookiee, and it seems to give advice that’s just as good as Yoda’s—even if, in the hands of the girls, it seems too preoccupied with romance. In the meantime, Dwight is fitting in a little too well at Tippett. Has the unimaginable happened? Has Dwight become normal? It’s up to his old friends at McQuarrie to remind their kooky friend that it’s in his weirdness that his greatness lies. (from Abrams Books)

Horton Halfpot: Or, the Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; Or, the Loosening of M’lady’ Luggertuck’s Corset

Tom Angleberger’s latest, loopiest middle-grade novel begins when M’Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it’s never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. When, as a result of “the Loosening,” the precious family heirloom, the Luggertuck Lump (quite literally a lump), goes missing, the Luggertucks look for someone to blame. Is it Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can’t tell a lie? Or one of the many colorful cast members in this silly romp of a mystery. (from Abrams Books)

Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie O’Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind

Regular kid Lenny Flem Jr. is the only one standing between his evil-genius best friend—Casper, a master of disguise and hypnosis—and world domination. It all begins when Casper spends money from his granny on a spectacularly convincing fake mustache, the Heidelberg Handlebar #7. With it he’s able rob banks, amass a vast fortune, and run for president. Is Lenny the only one who can see through his disguise? And will he be able to stop Casper from taking over the world? (from Abrams Books)

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Great Summer Reads: Bink and Gollie

Summer Reading Starts today! You can come by and sign up for summer reading. Every thirty minutes you read this summer equals a chance to win great prizes. Here is our jar that will be filled with glow in the dark stars (one for every thirty minutes read this summer). Hopefully by August 11th we will have filled it to the top!

We are also starting a new series of blog posts to recommend books we think will make awesome summer reads. Please come by or email us with books you think are perfect for reading in the summer.

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrations by Tony Fucile

Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls — one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. No matter where their roller skates take them, at the end of the day they will always be the very best of friends. (from Random House)

We love Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn Dixie, Tale of Despereaux, and many other great books) and Alison McGhee, so it is no surprise that we also love this collaboration with bonus illustrations by Tony Fucile! This book is the first in a series that is a great beginning chapter book for ages 6 and up.

If You Like Percy Jackson

Have you finished all the Percy Jackson Books? Don’t know what to read next?

Try some of these suggestions if you liked Percy Jackson.

Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix (J FIC NIX)

Clockwork Dark Trilogy by John Claude Bemis (J FIC BEM)

Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus (J FIC MEB)

Children of the Lamp (J FIC KER)

The Pandora Series by Carolyn Hennesy (J FIC HEN)

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh (J FIC MAR)

The Oracles of Delphi Keep by Victoria Laurie (J FIC LAU)

The Jaguar Stones by J&P Voelkel (J FIC VOE)

If You Like Dragonbreath

We’ve been working on some reader’s advisory lists to help you figure out what to read next. Have you read Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon?

If you liked that series try some of these books too.

Zombiekins by Kevin Bolger (J FIC ANG)
Lunch Lady by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (J GRN KRO)
Stink! series by Megan McDonald ( J FIC McD)
School! Adventures at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School by Kate McMullan (J FIC McM)
SPHDZ by Jon Scieszka (J FIC SCI)
Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka by Jon Scieszka (J FIC SCI)
Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton (J FIC STI)
Frankie Pickle by Eric Wright (J FIC WIG)