Next year's Maud Hart Lovelace Nominees

For all you over-achievers out there, here are next year's MHL nominees. (This info is online at http://www.maudhartlovelace.org/) The OMS media center already owns at least one of all of them except Buddha Boy, which we now have as an audiobook. The books have been ordered and 20 copies of each will be here any day.

Division II: (grades 6 - 8)

Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
* Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja
Blizzard's Wake by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Rising Water by P. J. Petersen
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
* Soldier X by Don Wulffson

* Titles for mature readers.

Statewide Maud Hart Lovelace Winners

The results are in, and among 5,270 Division II voters across the state, the winning book this year was Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. The movie of this book is coming out soon, so it will only get more popular. Pageturners Book Club members were disappointed—it wasn't their favorite. They liked House of the Scorpion, but that was probably too advanced for many readers.

Here are the numbers of votes for the top 6 books. Interestingly, Hoot only had 13.8% of the vote, and City of Ember had 13.6% of the vote.

Hoot 728
City of Ember 719
Full Tilt 643
House of the Scorpion 632
Once Upon a Marigold 476
Skeleton Man 464

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

This book is already popular at OMS, maybe due to its very cool cover (which violates the school dress code, by the way). Ginny, a 17-year-old girl learns about herself while on a sort of scavenger hunt across Europe. Her beloved aunt has died and left her 13 envelopes in various places in Europe. She travels around alone with almost no money and no advance plans–maybe a little bit unrealistic for a girl so young, but it's fun to imagine. This book contains a nice combination of adventure, romance, growing up, and also coming to terms with disappointment and sadness.

I love to travel and my travel bug began at a young age when I read Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace. 13 Little Blue Envelopes might have the same effect on kids today when they read about Ginny's adventures in England, Paris, Italy, and Greece.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

I was so surprised by how much I loved this book. It's about two Irish brothers who fight in World War I. On one dramatic night one of the brothers, in an attempt to stay awake all night, relives his childhood. You are immersed in the world of a poor Irish family, and an incredible relationship between the brothers and the girl they both love. In the end, the events of the war cause a heartbreaking choice with no good ending. I was shocked to find out that this story is based on a shameful piece of history. As one 8th grader said to me when she returned this book, "I didn't know this was going to make me cry!" Highly recommended for 7th and 8th grade readers and for adults, too.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I kept hearing about this book from good readers and I decided I had better get it for our library and that I had better read it myself. Actually, I listened to it on CD in my car. I would say it's all about romance, but it's the vampire fans who have been reading it. At the risk of telling too much, I will just say that Bella falls in love with Edward, so much so that she is willing to live with the fact that Edward can hardly keep from killing her. As is always the case, love that is up against impossible obstacles is the strongest. If you can hold out through many chapters of longing and love, you will get to some good action in the end. Some reviews said this was for high school readers, but in my opinion there was nothing inappropriate for younger teens. Highly recommended for fans of romance and/or vampires.

Maud Hart Lovelace Winners

The OMS results are in for the Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Contest.

Out of 169 votes, Full Tilt was the school-wide winner with 39 votes. Second place went to House of the Scorpion and 3rd place went to The City of Ember. Speak came in 4th overall, but if we subtracted all the 6th grade votes, Speak would have been the overall winner, so it was popular with the older crowd.

Now we are waiting to hear the state-wide winner, which will be announced on April 25.

All 12 books got at least one vote here at OMS, which shows that it was a pretty good list of books. Thanks everyone who read them and voted!

Totally Joe by James Howe

This book is funny and fresh, and a great example of first-person writing from the point of view of a 7th grade guy. His teacher assigned a big writing assignment--an alphabiography--in which Joe has to write his own autobiography by going through all the letters of the alphabet. Joe writes about his family, his current crush, his supportive group of friends, and about being harassed at school. Joe is dealing with normal 7th grade issues, but many of them are magnified by the fact that Joe is gay. Lucky for him he has a teacher he can confide in, and aunt who supports him unconditionally, a good group of friends, and a family that accepts him for who he is. If this book were about a straight middle school student everyone would love it. As it is, I know some people will not care for it. If you are ready for this kind of book, read it and enjoy. If you are not up for it now, read something else now and maybe try this one later. If you are able to get into the mind and heart of Joe, you will find a good hearted, smart, funny kid with a great story to tell.