Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings

Of the five Maud Hart Lovelace nominated books I read this week, this is definitely the best. At it's heart it's a story about a kid who must decide whether or not to tell the truth, when to do so will change the lives of his friends and family forever. Brady lives in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay and he has spent his life on boats exploring the waters of the bay. One day a kayak sinks and a four-year-old boy is killed. Brady tries to save his life, but it is no use. Later Brady finds out the disturbing truth about the kayaking "accident." If I say any more it will ruin the story. Brady is a good character—he's a believable 14-year-old making the toughest decision of his life. I appreciate that the author gives the story a full conclusion and doesn't make us wonder what happens in the end to Brady and his two best friends. I think this book will be enjoyed by lots of middle schoolers this year.

Halfway to the Sky by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Here's one more Maud Hart Lovelace nominated book that I read last week. I'm kind of mixed on this one—I don't think it's a great book, but I was personally interested in the Appalachian Trail setting. Dani is only 12 but she has big plans. She runs away from home with the intention of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. She's running away for a reason—her family has fallen apart ever since the death of her older brother, who had muscular dystrophy. She also has a reason to run to the Appalachian Trail. It's where her parents met and she has heard about it all of her life. Dani's mother finds her on the trail right away, and the two end up hiking for a couple of months together. It's a time for both of them to face the past and to get ready for the future. It is a pretty predictable story about growing up and moving on, but the author made it interesting by weaving numerous details about the trail and its traditions. I would recommend this book for sixth grade readers, especially kids with an interest in the outdoors.

Emako Blue by Brenda Woods

I have read five Maud Hart Lovelace Award nominees in the last week and so far this is the one I think my students will like the best. It's short and simple, but has an emotional impact that will resonate with middle schoolers. The setting is a Los Angeles high school where the students come from a variety of neighborhoods—some safe and some not. Emako Blue is the name of a girl--she's beautiful and talented, and everyone knows she will get out of the ghetto where she lives and make it big someday. Tragically, Emako is killed, and this book tells her story from the perspective of her best friend Monterey, a guy named Jamal who tried to be her boyfriend, a girl named Savannah who never liked her, and a guy named Eddie who was her friend. It's a sad story, but it will capture the interest of readers who might also learn what life is like for innocent teens living in South Central Los Angeles. This is a good one for reluctant readers.

The Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Unfortunately, this is another Maud Hart Lovelace nominee that I am not all that excited about. It had some good qualities, and maybe some readers will enjoy it, but with so many outstanding books written for kids I have no idea how this book was chosen. The main character, Logan Moore, is something of a screw-up. He has a rotten stepfather, but he can't blame all his problems on that. The only thing he's really good at is training his new stray dog named Jack. However, it's not a good time to love a dog because a disease epidemic is being spread by dogs in the western U.S. and people are being ordered to kill their dogs to stop the human deaths that are occurring. Anyway, Logan runs away from boot camp (his stepfather forced him to go), meets up with his dog, and tries to save her life. My main problem with this book was that I didn't particularly like Logan. He was kind of a jerk, and he seemed immature and unrealistic for a character who was supposed to be starting high school soon. I guess this book is there for the dog lovers of the world, but beware--bad things happen to dogs in this story!

Blackwater Ben by William Durbin

I will list the good qualities of this book first. It is set in Minnesota, around the year 1900, and the setting is a logging camp in the northern part of the state. Obviously the author did a lot of research on that era in history and filled the book with many details, including a lot of slang used by the loggers. I believe the descriptions of the camps and the jobs that were done are probably quite accurate. So I did learn something about that time in history. That's the good part. The bad part is that the book has no plot, and to me it seemed like an excuse to string together some charming, funny episodes in the lives of loggers. But that wasn't enough to make a good book for me. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't think it was a good enough book to make the Maud Hart Lovelace booklist, even though it was set in our state. I will be curious to see how kids respond to it this year since many of them will be reading it. Maybe they will prove me wrong.

Final Shot by John Feinstein

I am glad this is a Maud Hart Lovelace nominee for 2007-2008 because I think a lot of basketball fans will love it. It's a mystery set at the Final Four and the detectives are 8th graders Stevie and Carol Ann, who won a writing contest and are there as full-fledged journalists. Early on they overhear a star basketball player being threatened to throw the final game against Duke, but they don't know who is threatening Chip Graber and why. Carol Ann is a minister's daughter, but she can lie and be sneaky like a pro, and she and Stevie figure out how to talk to Chip Graber. When they hear his story they realize they are up against a serious blackmailing and gambling scheme. This book has lots of detective work and even more inside scoop on the personalities and quirks of NCAA basketball. For kids who follow basketball it is a dream come true. Other readers will enjoy the mystery and the action. A fun book for middle schoolers, either guys or girls.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Wow. I learned so much from this book. I knew vaguely that Navajo Indians had made codes that were used in World War II, but I didn't know any details. Joseph Bruchac, who is himself a Native American, obviously did a ton of research to write this book. The character in the book is a young Navajo who enlists in the Marines and becomes a Code Talker. I found the story to be gripping, and I knew as I was reading it that it was entirely grounded in fact. The most fascinating part to me was the descriptions of what it was like for the Marines who fought the Japanese on the islands of the Pacific. Conditions were horrible, and so much needless killing occurred. Any reader interested in war will devour this book, and will enjoy a fast-paced war story with the added advantage of the perspective of the Navajo Indians who were told their language and culture was worthless, and later told to use that language to help their country.