Summerlost by Ally Condie

 2018-2019 Maud Hart Lovelace Nomination List

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: 5^th – 8^th  

Reading Level: 4.1 (6 points) 272 pages

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (March 29, 2016)

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: I enjoyed this fun and fast read.

MHL Division:  Division 2 or Crossover

Summary: 
Following the sudden deaths of her father and autistic younger brother, Cedar Lee spends the summer working at a Shakespearean theater festival, making a new friend and coming to terms with her grief.

I really liked reading this book. It was easy and quick to read and the plot was interesting. I also connected with the main character and enjoyed tagging along with her in her summer working at a Shakespeare festival. There is a bit of a mystery in the book involving a famous actress from the town and mysterious objects and vultures.  Cedar also wrestles with mourning the death of her father and younger brother.

Cedar Lee makes a friend named Leo who rides to work at the Shakespeare festival in his costume. She is curious about him and meets him, hit it off and then Leo is able to get a job for her as well at the festival. They become great friends and Cedar helps Leo with a business scheme so he can earn money to go to England.  I loved their friendship because she just clicked with him. Later Cedar questions Leo and wonders if he considers her a “girlfriend”. He responds that she is his person. And Cedar thought that was correct…she liked him like that too.

One thing I would change in this book is the paperback cover.  It is really boring and plain and not very enticing. The hardcover with the bicycles is much better.  The paperback cover might make the book a tougher sell!

The Not So Quiet Library by Zachariah Ohora

The Not So Quiet Library Spark Video Link

I found a delightful back to school library book this year! It is so much fun and includes noisy monsters who don't like books, donuts and story time on a cozy Saturday at the local library. The librarian makes out like a hero to save the day and the books, monsters and library life continue quietly once again!

I created a narrated Spark Video of this book.  I plan on reading it first to my class and discussing it and then watching and listening on the video!  The father tying library books to the top of his car cracked me up as well as when Dad heads up to the "Nap" department at the library.  I agree, sometimes a quiet corner in the library can promote napping too!

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Milton

2018-2019 Maud Hart Lovelace Nomination List

Genre:  Free Verse/Historical Fiction

Grade Level: 4^th – 8th

Reading Level: 4.7 (5 points) 400 pages

Publisher: Dial Books (September 8, 2015)

My Rating: 3 out of 4

Readability: Lots of white space/easy to read

MHL Division: Division 2 or Crossover

Summary: 
n 1969, twelve-year-old Mimi and her family move to an all-white town in Vermont, where Mimi's mixed-race background and interest in "boyish" topics like astronomy make her feel like an outsider.

Our group really liked this book, but I got stalled or distracted and took a while to finish it. I finally flew through it when I came a plot point where Mimi tries to take shop so she can learn how to build things for science projects. She is told she must take home economics, yet she explains, she already knows how to cook and sew! What her classmates do in an example of civil disobedience is delightful! Since, I was once a home economics teacher, I felt very connected to this part of the book. I also was reading this book around the time of the eclipse of the sun on August 21^st. Mimi is very interested in the moon and this is often a subject in the poetry. She dreams of being an astronaut someday. 

This book touches on diversity, dreams, science, history and gives students another chance to read poetry that creates a story. Most of the poems carry on the story but occasionally you find a page that is just a beautiful poetry picture.  I think this is a good reading choice.  I gave it a 3 just because I found it a bit difficult to connect with it at first. 

This is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wa-Long Shang

2017 Copyright MG

Genre:  Humorous Coming of Age Story

Grade Level: 3^rd - 7th

Reading Level: 4.7 (7 points) 256 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (June 27, 2017)

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: Easy to read and funny!

MHL Division: Division 1 or Crossover

Summary: 
In 1983, seventh-grader David Da-Wei Horowitz is caught in the middle of cultures, friends, and growing up as a Chinese Jewish American.

I think this book a great contender for our Maud Hart Lovelace list. It is funny and yet touches on issues that middle grade kids face. It also includes diversity. Adults will be particularly entertained by the cultural references to the early 80’s. 

The main character, David is part Chinese and part Jewish. Picture the two TV shows The Goldbergs and Fresh Off the Boat and you get an idea of how this book rolls. There is a clash between two feisty grandmothers from each culture who are also very funny. David deals with friendship, first love, and the scary situation of the Cold War with The Soviet Union and The United States and nuclear war possibilities. Take Away: Growing up in the 80’s is a lot like growing up in many other decades including this one. 

The Nordic Theory of Everything by Anu Partanen

Adult Read

Genre:  Nonfiction

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: Fascinating to read about Finland’s society. I couldn't put it down.

Anu Partanen is a Finnish Journalist who met an American, fell in love and eventually married and moved to America in 2008. She writes this book as her commentary on the contrast between life in the United States versus Finland and the other Nordic countries. However, her focus is usually Finnish.

She covers the topics of family values, education, healthcare, business, employers and employees, government, and citizens. A phrase she uses many times during this book is the phrase “the Nordic theory of love.” Many of the decisions made by society are based on this theory.

As I read this book, it made me want to visit Finland even more than I already do.  She does talk about characteristics of the Finnish people that I think may still exist in my family today. It is fun to think about anyway.  She does paint a picture of how much greater the Finnish way of life is and wonders why Americans don’t progress forward. But, she also acknowledges that the people she has met in America, despite their difficulties in life, embrace it fully and are friendly, welcoming, and positive.

This book was a fun read for me and I found a lot of connections. I especially enjoyed reading about Finnish education.  

Webster: Tale of an Outlaw by Ellen Emerson White

2018-2019 Maud Hart Lovelace Reading List

Genre:  Animal Story

Grade Level: 3^rd- 7th

Reading Level: 4.7 (7 points) 256 pages

Publisher: Aladdin (November 3, 2015)

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: Easy to read, funny, and heart warming!

MHL Division: Division 1 or Crossover

Summary:

When Webster the dog arrives at Green Meadows Farm, he has already been adopted, mistreated, and given away three times and is done with people, but the other animals at the shelter will not let him give up on the possibility of a special family. 

This is a true animal lover’s story about a black lab who has been mistreated and ends up at a very loving rescue animal farm for cats and dogs. However, Webster doesn’t think he is going to trust anyone again and tries to set off on his own as a tough dog. He even takes on the name The Bad Hat. As he escapes out of the shelter other animals come with him but always return to the farm. In fact, so does Webster where he begins to enjoy the company of his new friends and the late-night movie watching tradition. But, he always leaves again to try and make it on his own. Along the way, funny rescues happen. I begin thinking that Webster was kind of an accidental Superman in animal form. 

I recommend this book as a read aloud for teachers or a great read for any animal lover!  It is a feel good story and a great book to encourage adoption of rescue dogs. 

The Light Keeper's Legacy by Kathleen Ernst

 

Adult Read

Genre:  Mystery

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: Fun to read since I visited this lighthouse.

The setting for this book is Rock Island which is above the tip of Door County, Wisconsin.  This summer I vacationed in Door County and did a day trip to Washington Island by ferry.  From Washington Island, you can take a small boat to the Rock Island State Park which is a primitive island for camping or day trippers.  There is also a historical light house that you can tour that is led by volunteer docents.  While I was visiting, I took a tour of this lighthouse.  I am glad I did, because the book was set on this location.

The time setting is 1982 with flashbacks to the late 1900’s when the lighthouse was operational and families lived on the island.  Chloe Ellefson

is a museum curator who is consulting with the committee which is restoring the historic lighthouse. She encounters a dead body and sets out to solve the mystery. As she researches the island, she finds out about the women who lived on the island in the past. The flashbacks are the stories about these women. Chloe begins see connections between the past and the present day lighthouse and mystery.

I just loved reading this after I had visited the island. I could picture everything so clearly! It was an interesting mystery because the author also presented another historical fiction story with an interesting twist.  Great read and essential if you visit Rock Island!

This book is part of mystery series with Chloe Ellefson solving mysteries with some history and a little romance.  Not too graphic but there are a few swear words.