The Quiet Book

By Deborah Underwood
Illustrated by Renata Liwska

Summary: A collection of different kinds of quiet, some of which are random. Others tell a story if you pay attention to the pictures.

Review: The Quiet Book is possibly the sweetest, definitely the quietest, book of 2010. Cuddly animals demonstrate the many different kinds of quiet of a child's life, such as "Making a wish quiet," and "Thinking of a good reason you were writing on the wall quiet." The text is simple, using only a few words per page. Some say The Quiet Book is Caldecott (an award given for excellent artwork in a children's book) worthy, and I agree. The pictures create their own sense of quiet with the use of Earth tones and soft texture. The animal characters are perfectly depicted with expressive faces and childlike qualities. The Quiet Book is different in the very best way.

Interest Level: PreK-2

Profanity:
None

Potentially Offensive References:
None

Potentially Offensive Behavior:
None

Parental Concern Rating:
0 out of 5

Swindle

By Gordon Korman

Summary: When Griffin finds an old baseball card in an abandoned house, he knows it's worth a lot of money. A lot of money is just what his family needs right now. His father is out of work and spending his time working a revolutionary invention, that hasn't exactly swept the nation's interest. Griffin takes his card to sell it to a memorabilia collector, but is told the card is not worth nearly what Griffin thinks it is. Griffin takes a deal of $100 for the card, only to find out later it's going to be auctioned off for somewhere around two million dollars! Griffin has been swindled by the king of swindles, S. Wendell Palomino, but Griffin isn't going to take his loss and go away. Griffin, with the help of his friends, plans and carries out a heist to get the card back. Things, of course, do not go as planned, but in the end Griffin and his friends get the card back from Palomino, but they don't get to keep it.

Review: Swindle incorporates humor, mystery, adventure, and drama in a story that will have readers rooting for revenge. Korman's knack for creating characters readers can relate to, or to someone they know, makes his stories all the more believable. Descriptive scenes allow readers to feel the action as if they were right there. Although the end seemed rushed and tied up in too neat a bow, the overall story is captivating and actually makes you want the little thieves to succeed, even though you know what they are doing is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Interest Level: 3rd-6th
AR Level: 4.9
Lexile Level: 710

Profanity:
None

Potentially Inappropriate References:
None

Potentially Inappropriate Behavior:
Kids make and implement a detailed plan to commit two robberies
Lying to adults (parents, teacher, stranger)
Torch a safe open, disable alarm systems
Talk about how to handle a police interrogation (what to say)
Lie to police

Parental Concern Rating:
4 of out 5

Speak (Banned Book)

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Summary: High School freshman Melinda Sardino had a traumatic summer. She was raped at a party by an older kid from her new school. She instinctively called the police, but said nothing when they answered. She ran when she saw the flashing lights, but not before people noticed she'd been on the phone. Now it seems the whole high school is talking about how Melinda ruined the party. Some torment her. Other's just whisper behind her back. All her friends dump her. She is an outcast. Melinda tries to bury that night and ignore her feelings. She stops speaking. It's not so much a conscious decision to stop, it's just that she doesn't know what to say and even if she did, she doesn't think anyone will listen. So, she says nothing at all. As the school year progresses, Melinda slowly begins to find her voice again. She starts to face what happened to her and comes to terms with what it really was, a crime. Eventually, she is forced to face her attacker, but this time she fights back and as a result exposes him and gains the respect of her classmates.

Review: Speak is maybe one of the best written books I've ever read. It is a fast-paced, pager turner. It is not the type of book I would pick to read for fun. I do not like dark subject matters. But Anderson takes a very sad story and infuses it with realism and sarcasm and, yes, even humor. The character, Melinda, is authentic and even if you can't relate to her situation (and I sincerely hope you can't), you will empathize with it. Readers get the payoff they are waiting for when Melinda takes back control of her life and comes out a winner.

My Two Cents: Speak is more than a decade old, but still gets a lot of attention. It is #60 on the American Library Association's Banned Book List for 2000-2009. Just this past week a Dr.Wesley Scoggins blogged that Speak and a couple other books should not be allowed in Missouri schools. He argued Speak is essentially "soft pornography," because it depicts two scenes of rape (There was technically only one and it was tame, believe me), and because the character comments that the cheerleaders score more than the basketball team. He goes on to write: "As the main character in the book is alone with a boy who is touching her female parts, she makes the statement that this is what high school is supposed to feel like." This is actually false. The boy is touching her butt (definitely not strictly a female part), which Melinda thinks is rude. Comparing the moment to high school, I believe, has more to do with how fast things are moving at that point. Scoggins references Christian beliefs in his blog and asks, "How can Christian men and women expose children to such immorality?" Rape is immoral, I'll give him that. Using a condom is not. Having sex is not. Maybe what he really objects to is that the character admits, "My parents didn't raise me to be religious."

If you look at this book by the few bad words it says, the rape, and a few shocking comments made by a character who is depressed and angry, Speak looks bad. But Speak is 198 pages and these words and scenes put together would take up two pages at most. All I'm saying is Speak is a story that deserves to be told and you should not let Scoggins or me, or anyone else decide for you if this book is suitable or not suitable for your kids. All I ask is that you read it before you deny the chance to read Speak to your teen.

Interest Level:

8th-12th grade

AR Level:

4.5

Lexile Level:

680

Profanity:

Pissed

Asshole

Whore

Potentially Inappropriate References:

Trojans - reference to condoms

Abortion - referenced when the character talks about cheerleaders getting abortions in mass after prom

Slit my throat - not a literal reference

Get it up -

Potentially Inappropriate Behavior:

Rape

Bullying

Knee to the back

Pulled hair

Violent fight involving choking and a shard of glass held to a person's throat

Parental Concern Rating:

5 out of 5  

New Rating Terminology

I've been uncomfortable from the start with writing "Inappropriate references," and "Inappropriate behaviors." Who am I to say what is inappropriate? It's very subjective and, really, what is inappropriate about peeing in a pool (Diary of  Wimpy Kid) when you are writing for 9-13 year old boys? But some parents may be offended by such "talk." So, I want to make sure you know what's in the books your kids are wanting to read, but I recommend, no matter what I write, you not judge too harshly.

Our kids are curious. The more we try to keep them from seeing or reading about things that we think are inappropriate, the more they are going to want to know. Remember "Forever," by Judy Blume? Or "Are you there God, It's Me, Margaret?" Parents did everything they could do to keep their girls (many of US) from reading these books. It only made their daughters want to read it more. Did you read them anyway?  

Anyway, from here out, "inappropriate" categories will be labeled Potentially Inappropriate... You will decide if it's inappropriate for your child(ren).