The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Young Readers Edition. New York: Dial Books, 2009. 352 pages. $17.99 ISBN 9780803734159

Plot Summary: This edition of The Omnivore's Dilemma is geared toward kids. Pollan covers the American corn industry and how it has basically taken over all the food Americans eat. He also discusses the organic food industry in America, both the good and bad. In the third part of the book Pollan discusses the smaller, usually family run farms. Finally he discusses the steps it takes to prepare a meal completely from scratch, what is involved in animal preparation, harvesting, anything that goes on in order to have a meal. He also includes tips for better, healthier, smarter eating.

Critical Evaluation: I thought this book was very interesting. I haven't read the "adult" version of The Omnivore's Dilemma, but have been meaning to. As a vegan, I suppose I don't have an omnivore dilemma. However, I thought it was curious that the book was redone to provide an edition for kids. There is a lot of information in this book, and a lot of pictures and diagrams. I'm not sure if I really need to read the "adult" version because this book was so easy to understand and I felt like I learned so much. It would be a very in tune tween that would pick up this book, but it is definitely worth it.

Reader's Annotation: Michael Pollan uncovers the truth about the American food and farming industries and what that means for people who eat.

Author Bio: Pollan has published several books on food and the environment including The Omnivore's Dilemma, and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. He is featured in the movie Food, Inc. that was recently in theaters. He has been a journalist since the 1970s, most notably as the Executive Editor of Harper's Magazine and his continuing contributions to New York Times Magazine. He is currently Knight Professor of Journalism at the University of California in Berkeley.

Genre: Non-fiction

Curriculum Ties: This would be a great tie-in to an economics class, or nutrition.

Booktalking Ideas: Discuss the monopoly that is our food. Give snippets of facts gleaned from the book.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Middle School would be best, but maybe 5th/6th grade. 11 and up.

Challenges: Some of the pictures may be disturbing to some children and adults, especially ones of the animal living conditions. He also goes into detail about the process animals go through when they are "made into food." Some parents may view this as propaganda.

Reason for including: I thought it was interesting that the book was redone for kids and thought I'd give it a try. I'm vegan, so I don't need to be told twice the bad practices and bad nutrition behind the omnivore diet. I think activist minded tweens would get a lot out of this book.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Listening Library, . 18 hours, 33 minutes. $49.95 (on iTunes) ISBN

Plot Summary: Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts proves to be an interesting year. He is not only under stress due to Voldemort's rise to power, but his classes get harder as well. He has help in the mysterious Half-Blood Prince, past owner of his Potions textbook. The Prince covered the book in notations, spells and tips which provide Harry with the means of being a star Potions pupil. Harry also has Quiddich to worry about, as he is the new Griffyndor captain. With everyone on edge due to the dark forces coming to power, it seems hard to find any joy. But love blossoms around Hogwarts, as Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly find out. Once again it is up to Harry to defeat Voldemort in any way he can.

Critical Evaluation: This is my favorite audio book of the series. Jim Dale is a superb narrator and keeps the listener engaged through the entire 18.5 hours. Jim's voice, the character voices he creates and the overall mood of the book help make this audio book one of the best. Although the subject matter gets darker in this book, it is certainly acceptable for tweens.

Reader's Annotation: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes to life thanks to Jim Dale and his award winning voice.

Author Bio: Jim Dale is an award winning narrator, who has also done much work in both American and British theater and films. He has won several awards including two Grammys for audio books, several theater awards, the Guinness World Record for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for creating the most character voices (134) for one audio book, broke his previous Guinness World Record in 2007 for 146 character voices in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and finally a Guinness World Record for holding the first six places on the "Top Ten Audio Books of America and Canada in 2005."

Genre: Fantasy

Curriculum Ties: None.

Booktalking Ideas: All that is necessary for a successful book talk for HPHBP is to simply put on the first CD and have them listen to Jim Dale read. They will become entranced by his voice and all the characters he creates.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 9 and up.

Challenges: The dark subject matter may cause issues, as well as the fact that it centers on witchcraft.

Reason for including: In all honesty, I love Jim Dale. He is by far the best audio book narrator out there. I check out any book he has narrated, and end up loving it.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1997. 309 pages. $24.99 ISBN 9780590353403

Plot Summary: Harry Potter grew up with his not so kind Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley Dursley. Orphaned as a baby when the evil wizard Lord Voldemort killed his parents and attempted to kill him too, Harry knew nothing of the world his parents lived in. On his eleventh birthday Harry is visited by Hagrid, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry game keeper. Hagrid informs Harry that he has a place at the school and is from a world he never knew existed. Much to the dismay of the Dursleys, Harry attends Hogwarts. The year is a transition for Harry as he learns about things he never knew existed, makes friends and enemies, and learns the truth about who he is.

Critical Evaluation: The Harry Potter series is my absolute favorite series of books. I didn't start reading them until 2004, so I was a little behind. I started by listening to this book, narrated by Jim Dale, and was hooked. Since then I've read each book and listened to each book at least twice, and gone to each midnight premiere since the Prisoner of Azkaban. These books certainly have a way of sucking the reader in. Rowling does a magnificent job of describing Harry's world without making it monotonous. And the world itself has so much detail involved, no wonder there are wiki sites devoted to every aspect of the world.

Reader's Annotation: Harry, an orphan living with his unloving aunt and uncle, learns the truth about his past and his parents and sets out on a quest to become a wizard.

Author Bio: Born Joanne Kathleen Rowling in 1965, she grew up in Chepstow, England. She studied French and Classics at Exeter University and moved to London to work at Amnesty International after she graduated. During a delayed train trip from Manchester to King's Cross Station in London she started writing Harry Potter. It took five years to plan out the series before she started writing. Later she moved to Portugal to teach English as a foreign language. She married in 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. After her divorce she and her daughter moved to Edinburgh. In 2001 Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray, had son David in 2003 and daughter Mackenzie in 2005.

Genre: Fantasy

Curriculum Ties: A good way to discuss how to write and create elaborate works of fiction. Have students try to create their own alternate world.

Booktalking Ideas: Talk about how it would feel if they were orphans thinking one thing happened to their parents when really they led a secret life.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 9 and up

Challenges: The witchcraft focus of the books will definitely cause issues.

Reason for including: The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites and definitely a hit among tweens.

Made by Me by Jane Bull

Bull, Jane. Made by Me. New York: DK Children, 2009. 64 pages $14.99 ISBN 9780756651633

Plot Summary: Made by Me is a book of crafts for girls. It includes projects that involve embroidery, knitting and sewing. The book starts out giving ideas for setting up a craft space and recycling things to use as storage for supplies. There are really cute ideas for making storage. There are lots of pictures and diagrams on how to embroider, the different types of stitches, how to knit, and instructions for projects. Some of the projects include a doll and doll clothes, a knitted hat, both sewn and knitted bags.

Critical Evaluation: DK books are known for their books full of pictures, and in this instance the more the better. There are a ton of great pictures on technique and pattern instructions. The projects are definitely very girly, so it may not appeal to all girls. The level of the projects is for the beginner and aimed at younger girls, but would definitely suit tweens with minimal craft skills.

Reader's Annotation: Cute projects are easier to create than you think!

Author Bio: Jane has been writing books on art and creating things for children and adults for thirty years. She lives in London with three children and spends a lot of her time testing her crafts on her children.

Genre: Non-Fiction, Craft

Curriculum Ties: Good for an art class or home ec.

Booktalking Ideas: I think just showing the book would be a good way to talk about it. Show them what crafts they can learn to make.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 7 to 14

Challenges: None

Reason for including: I think kids should be given every opportunity to be creative, and sewing is an excellent way to be creative. Although it is aimed at younger girls, I think the projects would appeal to tweenage girls.

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Colfer, Eoin. Airman. New York: Puffin, 2008. 416 pages. $17.99 ISBN 9781423107507

Plot Summary: At the end of the 19th century, it was pure science fiction to thing of humans in flight. For Conor Broekhart, it will be a reality. Conor lives on the Saltee Islands off the coast of Ireland with his parents. He is best friends with the king's daughter, and he has the greatest Frenchman and scientist as his tutor. When the evil Hugo Bonvilain assassinates King Nicholas and Conor's tutor Victor Vigny, and catches Conor as the sole witness, Hugo fakes Conor's death and sends him to Little Saltee. Little Saltee is the prison island, and Conor spends his days there with a new name and a new life. Conor is set on escaping the island, not to go back home to his family, but to build his flying machine and start a new life. However an interesting, and unforeseen, turn of events sends Conor in a different direction.

Critical Evaluation: This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down. I was so fascinated with the history of the Saltee Islands, the strange government, the customs. I was convinced the small republic was real, and was duped out of learning about it in school. However, I looked up the Saltee Islands and they are real, albeit privately owned. No Great Saltee Republic. Eion created a very convincing world, that could have fit in perfectly with British and Irish history. Queen Victoria herself attends Princess Isabella's coronation. Apart from the interesting world and government Eoin created, the science of the flying machines was fascinating.

Reader's Annotation: In the late 1800s, humans figured they're leave flying to the birds. Conor Broekhart is determined to get into the sky.

Author Bio: Eoin (pronounced Owen) Colfer is the Irish author of the Artemis Fowl series as well as several other tween and teen novels. He grew up in Wexford, attended Dublin University, then returned to Wexford after graduation to work as a primary school teacher. He married his wife in 1991 and worked in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy until 1996. He wrote a few novels before the Artemis Fowl series, but with the publication of the first book in 2001 he was able to leave teaching and become a full time writer. Eoin and his wife live with their two children in Ireland.

Genre: Historical Fiction (I'm not sure whether to classify this as Science Fiction, since there is a great deal of science involved, but is not the typical science fiction work.)

Curriculum Ties: This would be an interesting read while learning about flying machines and airplanes, to get an understanding of the early view of human flight.

Booktalking Ideas: Show pictures of early planes and flying machines. Then ask them to imagine building something in a place little bigger than an average sized bathroom with only candlelight.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 9 to 17, grades 4 and up.

Challenges: None

Reason for including: The idea of creating an apparatus to enable humans to fly in the late Victorian era is mind boggling to me, which is partially why I wanted to read this book. I also just love that time period. I think this book would appeal to both boys and girls with its mixture of action, adventure and heartache.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. New York: Yearling, 2005. 262 pages. $6.99 ISBN 9780440420477

Plot Summary: The Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty spend their summer vacation with their father at Arundel Cottage. The cottage is a small guest house on the grounds of the grand Tifton estate. The girls manage to get into all sorts of trouble, and get Mrs. Tifton's son Jeffrey into trouble as well. The girls and Jeffrey learn the meaning of friendship and the value of a good relationship with parents.

Critical Evaluation: I thought this was a really cute book. Very simple and yet teaches the reader so much about the value of family and friendship. Each of the sisters are given distinct personalities, and each adds a special lively element to the story. It almost makes the reader want to be a part of the family, as chaotic as it was. Although it may not appeal to most boys, with most of the characters being girls, there is definitely a sense of adventure throughout as the sisters get Jeffrey into all sorts of trouble.

Reader's Annotation: The Penderwicks don't mean to wreak havoc on the Tipton Estate, but in the end it is inevitable.

Author Bio: Jeanne Birdsall grew up in a Philadelphia suburb and knew she wanted to write since she was ten years old. Over her academic career she admired many of her teachers, including her Latin teacher. Jeanne didn't write her first book until age 41, and held many random jobs up until then. She is also a photographer, and many of her pieces can be seen in art museums and galleries like the Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Art Museum. Currently she lives with her husband in Northampton, Massachusetts, full of animals and surrounded by gardens.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Not sure what curriculum ties there could be except for assigning the book for a summer read or for language arts.

Booktalking Ideas: Talk about summer vacations, where the kids like to go, and adventures they may have. Then talk about how the Penderwick girls go somewhere new for summer break and it changes their lives forever.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 9 and up, Grades 3-7

Challenges: None

Reason for including: The cover caught my eye in the library one day and it sounded interesting, since I'm an only child and never went anywhere for the summers. I think tween girls would definitely enjoy the book.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007. 288 pages. $8.99 ISBN 9780316013697

Plot Summary: Junior loves to draw, in fact cartooning is his way of coping with life. He lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington and is the son of alcoholic parents. One day Junior gets so fed up with the poor education at their reservation school that he talks back to one of his teachers. However, it isn't Junior that comes apologizing, it's the teacher who encourages him to seek out better education. Junior decides it is time for a change and has his parents enroll him in the nearest non-reservation high school, which happens to be all white students. Although Junior knew it would be hard, he is faced with taunts, crushes, difficult friendships for the chance to learn. When he thought high school was as hard as it could get, he is faced with real tragedy and if forced to cope with comedy.

Critical Evaluation: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of the best books I've read this year. Alexie is so honest about the trials he went through, and other kids have gone through. I admit that some of the things he talked about were a bit shocking, but overall it is a book tweens need to read.

Reader's Annotation: High school is hard. Try being the only Spokane Indian in an all-white high school. That's harder. Junior may look like a weakling on the outside, but in actuality he is strong of heart and so funny he'll make you laugh your socks off.

Author Bio: Sherman J. Alexie, Jr. grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. Like his character Junior, he was born hydrocephalic, with water on the brain. After several operations he was thought not to live, and after he outlived their predictions he was thought to live with severe mental retardation. Despite his seizures, Alexie learned to read at a very early age. He also went to Reardan High school, an all white high school. In college he wanted to be a doctor, but after trying to take human anatomy and not getting through it he changed his course. He graduated from WSU with a BA in American Studies, received the Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship in 1991 and the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship in 1992. He has published several books including poetry and fiction, and wrote a few screenplays.

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Humor, Drama

Curriculum Ties: This should be assigned to every middle school student, whether in social studies, language arts/English or for a summer reading list.

Booktalking Ideas: Reading the first chapter to the class, making sure to show any illustrations, would be a good way to get kids interested in the book.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 11 and up

Challenges: The language use and alcohol references may cause some concern especially with fifth and six graders (and parents).

Reason for including: Well, this book was assigned for the class. However, I wanted to read the book and was excited to be able to read it.