Posts Tagged Kat Yeh

Summer Reads = Summer Fun!

By on July 21, 2017   /   Fiction, For Kids, For Parents, MUF Contributor Books, Nonfiction  

Summer is a time when I feel energized and creative, basking in the longer daylight hours and a different kind of vibe, even though I work at home and the actual calendar doesn’t change that much around here.

If your kid is the kind who likes to make and do in summer, as mine was (she’s grown now, but this is how I remember her middle grade summers, and my own), here is a post to scratch your kiddos’ summer activity itch. Of course, you might like to join in the fun, too.

I have to say right up front that this was not my (fantastic!) idea – here’s a big shout out to our own Annabelle Fisher for the inspiration, and to many of our members for chiming in with great ideas to share with you.

Like to cook? These reads might also make you hungry to make food.

Lisa Schroeder’s cupcake books, including It’s Raining Cupcakes, might inspire you to make some…

The Truth About Twinkie Pie, by Kat Yeh, is full of recipes.

A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff, is also filled with things I want to cook. 

Pixie Piper and the Matter of the Batter, by our own Annabelle Fisher (including a recipe for magical “reversing cake” and other fun things!).

How about writing to authors?

Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary gave adult me the push to write a favorite author, actually.

Love that Dog, by Sharon Creech is another that inspires action in the form of writing.

Want to play with paper engineering?

Origami Yoda and Tom Angleberger’s other Origami books result in lots of paper play.

Richard Merrill’s Fantastic Press-Out Flying Birds  is a blast (I’m giving this one an extra shout-out – this fellow SCBWI member and Dover Publications author is also my big brother!).

Books about science and nature and those that get us out of doors can also spark inspiration for projects and action.

Mixed Up Files member Jacqueline Houtman pointed me to Elaine Vickers’ blog, which features a ton of great activities for middle graders. Jacqueline’s own book, The Reinvention of Edison Thomas was featured there, and reading this book about a science geek might prompt a visit to find something to do, too.

Nature sketching and birdwatching are featured in The Someday Birds, by Sally Pia.

One Mixed Up Files member described Laurel Snyder’s Orphan Island as being ”sort of about a group of kids camping on their very own island.”

The Phineas MacGuire books by Francis O’Roark Dowell feature science activities in the back matter, and a website to visit for more at: http://gophineas.com/. My students loved our read aloud of Phineas in the library.

Roseanne Parry, still another Mixed Up Files member, wrote Turn of the Tide, which features geocaching.

And Explore Forces and Motion, by Jen Swanson (still another Mixed Up Filer), includes 25 fun activities for kids to do with science.

Community service as summertime action?

Our own Michele Weber Hurwitz says, “My book, The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days, doesn’t exactly feature a craft project, but the main character, Nina, does a project involving 65 good things she does for her neighbors and family, one for each day of her summer vacation. It’s been a popular summer read for students who then do a community service project when they return to school.

Lisa Graff’s The Great Treehouse War Is about a bunch of kids who stage a sit-in, and then some…

Plus, there are always mysteries to solve and other fun things to do!

I’m intrigued by Annabelle Fisher’s recommendation of The Puzzler’s Mansion, by Eric Berlin, which she describes as having brainteasers and interactive puzzles in it.

Chasing Vermeer and the others in Blue Balliet’s architectural mystery series feature tangrams and puzzles to solve. I had several students who made their own tangrams after reading these books.

Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics, by Chris Grabenstein, is another that is jam-packed with stuff to do and try.

A Snicker of Magic, by Natalie Lloyd is filled with oodles of stuff to do, too…

What books inspire you to dive in and then get out to have some fun in summer?

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Celebrating National Pi Day with books about PIE!

By on March 13, 2017   /   Book Lists  

Unless you live on another planet, you probably know that tomorrow, March 14 — 3/14 — is National Pi Day. The Greek letter Pi is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.

Since I don’t understand that very well, I choose to celebrate National Pi Day by eating pie and reading books about pie. What a delicious way to spend the day!

The first book that comes to mind is Pie by Sarah Weeks. When Alice’s Aunt Polly passes away, she takes with her the secret to her world famous pie crust recipe. Except in her will, Polly leaves the recipe to her fat, disagreeable cat, Lardo, and then leaves Lardo in the care of Alice. It’s up to Alice and her friend Charlie to put the pieces together and discover the not-so-secret recipe for happiness — friendship, family, and doing something for the right reason. A delightfully scrumptious book!

Another yummy pie book on my list is a just-published novel by Kat Yeh, The Truth About Twinkie Pie. Two opposite sisters, a million dollars in prize money from a national cooking contest, and a move from the trailer parks of South Carolina to Long Island, NY — that’s the recipe for this novel about family and friendship. Sprinkled with recipes and down-home commentary, the characters are endearing and true to life.

Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass has to do with a boy who is bored with his job of delivering pies. The plot is a little confusing, since it takes place in The Realms, located inside dark matter. When something goes terribly wrong, main character Joss is bored no more and has the monumental task of rebuilding Earth. Lots of interesting facts about physics and the universe.

Next on my list is Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick. A favorite among teachers and young readers, this is the story of Steven, who plays drums in a band, has a huge crush on a hot girl, and is constantly annoyed by his younger brother Jeffrey. When Jeffrey gets sick, Steven’s world is turned upside down. You’ll have to read the book to find out what Dangerous Pie is!

Pies & Prejudice (how clever is that?) is part of the Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick. The club reads Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and in their continuing adventures, the girls hold a bake sale then suddenly have a thriving business to contend with.

And while we’re discussing pies, we can’t forget kids’ cookbooks! Two of my favorites are Baking With Kids by Leah Brooks and American Girl Baking, published in conjunction with Williams-Sonoma. Both cookbooks have colorful photos, step-by-step easy to follow instructions, and have recipes for not only pies and pie crusts, but also cookies, cakes, muffins, scones, and other treats.

Enjoy your Pi and Pie Day!

Michele Weber Hurwitz is the author of the upcoming novel, Ethan Marcus Stands Up (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, August 2017), as well as The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days and Calli Be Gold (both Penguin Random House). Visit her at micheleweberhurwitz.com.

 

 

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Sister Act: 10 middle grade novels with sisterly bonds

By on January 27, 2016   /   Book Lists  

When I was about ten, I almost grasped an important grammar lesson from my father: If there are two siblings, one is older and the other is younger, not oldest and youngest. It was a conversation about comparatives and superlatives, but what stuck with me is that you need three to add the all-important -est to an order. This blew my mind, as I had firmly planted in my mind that I was the youngest. Turns out I was merely the younger. My dad tried to explain it to me in terms of “good, better, best …” and this is about where I stopped listening and just imagined that it meant he was giving me a secret message that I, as the younger, was the better, not thinking through that my sister, as the older, was also the better.

Here’s the truth: Older, younger, oldest, youngest, middle — all sisters are not only better, they’re the best.  Here are 10 middle-grade novels that portray that sisterly bond, even if the family relationship is not the focus of the plot. And because I’m a bit obsessed with sibling order, I’ll make sure to note whether the main character is the younger or the older ….

I Don’t Know How the Story Ends by J.B. Cheaney:
It’s 1918 and 12-year-old Isobel isn’t too excited to spend the summer at her aunt’s home in Hollywood with her mother and sister until her cousin, Ranger, involves the sisters in creating the perfect film.
     Main character:  Isobel is the older sister. 

A Nearer Moon by Melanie Crowder: Long ago the dam formed, the lively river turned into a swamp, and the wasting illness came to Luna’s village, and now that her little sister is sick Luna will do anything to save her, even offer herself to the creature that lives in the swamp on the day of the nearer moon. Booklist said “Crowder has crafted a book about the deep ties of sisterhood that will entrance readers with a love of magic.”
     Main character:  Luna is the older sister.

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne: Hamlet, whose parents are Shakespeare scholars, longs to be normal, but that’s hard when her younger sister is a genius. A review in Booklist said: Some sisterly bonding, the sweet flutterings of a  first romance, and a  creatively contrived comeuppance for the mean girls  make this a cheerful read.
     Main character: Hamlet is the older sister.

The Perfect Place by Teresa E. Harris: Twelve-year-old Treasure Daniels and her younger sister must move in with Great-aunt Grace until their mother sorts herself out, but life in Black Lake, Virginia, where segregation lingers, is hard and Grace is a nightmare–at least on the surface.
     Main character:  Treasure is the older sister.

Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Hadyu: Four sisters (four!) rely on each other–and a bit of mysterious magic–to cope with their mother’s illness. A Booklist starred review said ” … The way the sisters fight and love in equal measure, as well as their basic need for one another, rings poignantly true in this touching and heartwarming story.”
     Main character: Younger (and youngest!) sister.

Flutter: The Story of Four Sisters and an Incredible Journey by Erin Moulten: Nine-and-a-half-year-old Maple and her older sister, Dawn, must work together to face treacherous terrain, wild animals, and poachers as they trek through Vermont’s Green Mountains seeking a miracle for their prematurely-born sister. From Publishers Weekly: “Moulton’s charming debut explores the challenges and rewards of sisterhood.”
     Main character: Middle sister.

Finding Ruby Starling by Karen Rivers: Through e-mails, letters, blog entries, and movie scripts, twelve-year-old Ruth, an American girl, and Ruby, an English one, discover that they are long-lost twins. Publishers Weekly said: “Rivers’s (The Encyclopedia of Me) epistolary novel conveys both the unique intimacy created by writing letters (or, in this case, emails) and the thrill of discovering an unknown family member.”
     Main character: Twins!

Sealed with a Secret by Lisa Schroeder (coming this spring): When Phoebe finds a beautiful antique at a flea market, she’s not sure whether it’s as valuable as it looks. But inside she discovers a letter written during World War II, from a young girl to her sister who’s been evacuated from London. The letter includes a “spell” for bringing people closer together; perhaps Phoebe can close the gap with her own sister.
     Main character: Phoebe is the younger sister.

Dream On, Amber by Emma Shevah: Abandoned by her father at a young age, half-Japanese, half-Italian middle schooler Amber Miyamoto must dream up a way for her and her sister to make it on their own while making friends at her new school. Amber tries to protect her younger sister from emotional trauma by forging letters from their father to Bella. Four starred reviews for this one.
     Main character:  Amber is the older sister.

The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh: Twelve-year-old GiGi and her big sister DiDi move to Long Island, New York, so that GiGi can attend a fancy new private school. DiDi is doing double-duty as big sister and surrogate.
     Main character:  GiGi is the younger sister.

More older than younger sisters in this round-up, but 100 percent of the sisters are the best.

Linda Johns is the author of the Hannah West mystery series Hannah West: Sleuth in Training and Hannah West: Sleuth on the Trail (Two Lions/Nancy Pearl Book Crush Rediscoveries, 2016). She is a librarian in Seattle.

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