Lone Star Annotations 2005-06

Brian and Gregory are invited to visit Greg’s Uncle Max. From the moment they arrive strange things happen: they are picked up in a horse-drawn carriage and their luggage disappears. Even stranger, the boys begin playing a board game that is an exact replica of the estate on which they are staying. They must finish the game to survive – but who are they playing against, and what are the stakes?

The war between the avian and serpiente races has existed for generations and claimed countless lives. Danica, a shape-shifting hawk and Zane, a shape-shifting cobra, are both heirs to their thrones. They vow to end the war by marrying. But for peace to succeed, they must overcome fear and distrust between themselves and their differing cultures.

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004.

In 1935, Moose’s father gets a job as an electrician at Alcatraz and the family moves to the infamous island prison. As if leaving his friends, quitting his baseball team and starting a new school was not bad enough, Moose must babysit his sixteen-year-old, autistic sister. His parents are desperate to get her in a much sought after program and help comes from an unlikely source – a prisoner.

Fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes the abuse of an orphanage only to be thrown into the dangerous world of the Supernaturalists, a motley group of kids who have the ability to see Parasites – creatures who swarm over Satellite City and feed off the energy of the dying. In this harsh future world, Cosmo discovers his ability to see what others do not may cost him his life.

Meg joins her friend Belch in burglarizing the home of a bitter old man, Lowrie McCall. While trying to escape the bungled attempt, both are killed when a nearby gas tank explodes. Meg finds herself in the hereafter, where St. Peter and Beelzebub argue over her soul. To determine whether she goes to Heaven or . . . not, Meg must return to earth and help McCall complete his “wish list” of things he wanted to accomplish in life.

Try these as well:
Shearer, Alex. The Great Blue Yonder.
Sleator, William. Rewind.
Soto, Gary. Afterlife.Choldenko, Gennifer.

Corder, Zizou. Lion Boy. Dial, 2004.

Charlie Ashanti comes home from school to discover his parents have been kidnapped. As a kid with a special gift – he can speak Cat – he finds his talent invaluable in tracking down the kidnappers. In a chase that takes him across several continents he finds himself enlisting the aid of a pack of lions imprisoned in a traveling, floating circus as it travels to Paris and then across Europe.

Try these as well:
Corder, Zizou. Lionboy: the Chase. (2nd in the series)
Funke, Cornelia. Inkheart.
Said, S.F. Varjak Paw.

D’Adamo, Francisco. Iqbal: a Novel. Atheneum, 2003.

Iqbal and Fatimah are forced to work for a cruel man in a Pakistani sweatshop. They are not paid and it does not look like they, nor any of their friends, will ever be released. Thus, Iqbal takes things into his own hands and escapes so that he can show the world what is going on. Based on a true story, this shows what can happen when one person makes a stand.

Try these as well:
Ellis, Deborah. The Breadwinner.
Kuklin, Susan. Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders Against Child Slavery.
Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie.

Farmer, Nancy. The Sea of Trolls. Atheneum, 2004.

Vikings, trolls, dragons, and giant boars (well, just one) are some challenges that face one brave bard-in-training. Jack is kidnapped by the Northmen, insults a half-troll queen (by making her hair fall out), and must travel to the land of the trolls in order to save his little sister from being sacrificed. Along the way, he is helped by a crow, a girl who wants to die in battle, and another bard who has lost his voice.

Try these as well:

Ferris, Jean. Once Upon a Marigold.
Langrish, Katherine. Troll Fell.
Pratchett, Terry. Wee Free Men.
Tingle, Rebecca. Edge on the Sword.

Fox, Helen. Eager. Wendy Lamb Books, 2004.

Gavin and Fleur are disappointed and embarrassed about their new robot because Eager doesn’t look like the streamlined robots others have. Little do they know how smart he is until he has to use his artificial intelligence to save their lives.

Try these as well:
Dodd, Quentin. Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars.
Lowry, Lois. Messenger.
Mahy, Margaret. Raging Robots & Unruly Uncles.

Konigsburg, E.L. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place. Atheneum, 2004.

Rescued by her doting uncles from a humiliating summer camp experience, Margaret Rose Kane finds herself fighting to preserve the unique, decorated steel towers her uncles have been creating for forty-five years when a group of neighbors try to have them torn down because they don’t conform to the “historical integrity” of the area.

Try these as well:

DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn Dixie.
Hiassen, Carl. Hoot.
Konigsburg, E.L. Silent to the Bone.

Lupica, Mike. Travel Team. Philomel Books, 2004.

Devastated to be cut from his seventh grade basketball team, Danny is sure it was because he was too short or because his coach was angry at his Dad. Determined to play and certain of his talent, Danny forms his own team, made up of other kids who got cut – but who all have heart. Will that be enough to get to nationals?

Try these as well:
Bossley, Michele Martin. Danger Zone.
Brooks, Bruce. The Moves Make the Man.
Elish, Dan. Born Too Short: the Confessions of an Eighth-Grade Basket Case.

Pattou, Edith. East. Harcourt, 2003.

When a huge white bear offers to save her sister if Rose will come live with him in his castle, she willingly agrees. Traveling on his back to the far north, Rose soon learns to love the bear. But when the evil Troll Queen steals him away, Rose discovers that her bear is really an enchanted prince, and she determines to go to the ends of the earth to save him.

Try these as well:
Hale, Shannon. The Goose Girl.
McKinley, Robin. Beauty: a Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast.
Napoli, Donna Jo. Beast.

Philbrick, Rodman. The Young Man and the Sea. Blue Sky Press, 2004.

The death of Skiff’s beloved mother leaves his fisherman-father in a drunken stupor and too despondent to care when his boat sinks at the dock. With the help of an elderly friend, Skiff raises and repairs the boat only to find that the engine will require thousands of dollars to repair. When a rich bully thwarts his first plan to raise money, Skiff takes his small boat and a stolen harpoon out to catch a giant bluefin tuna that can be sold for a small fortune – a battle that will take all of his courage and endurance.

Try these as well:
Cummings, Priscilla. Red Kayak.
Hobbs, Will. Leaving Protection and others.
Paulsen, Gary. Voyage of the Frog.

Reeve, Philip. Mortal Engines. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2003.

After the Sixty Minute War leaves the earth in desolation, large, tiered Traction Cities now move about on caterpillar tracks as they eat up smaller towns. Tom, a 15-year-old apprentice historian on the City of London, saves the life of the head historian, Valentine. But instead of being thanked, Valentine throws Tom off the City where he must survive with the help of Hester, the disfigured girl who was actually the attempted murderer, as they face rebel fighters, Borg-like stalkers, and more.

Try these as well:
Philbrick, Rodman. The Last Book in the Universe.
Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials Trilogy.
Skurzynski, Gloria. Virtual War.

Sherlock, Patti. Letters from Wolfie. Viking, 2004.

When Mark’s brother goes to Vietnam he wants to do something to help, so he enlists his beloved dog in the army as a scout. When he finds out that he will never get his dog back, Mark begins a campaign to try and change things.

Try these as well:
Bauer, Joan. Stand Tall.
Burnam, John C. A Soldier’s Best Friend:
Scout Dogs and Their Handlers in The Vietnam War.
Ritter, John H. Over the Wall.

Shusterman, Neal. The Schwa Was Here. Dutton, 2004.

Antsy refers to “the Schwa” as “functionally invisible.” Basically, no one notices the Schwa – which makes him a perfect accomplice for pranks, until they choose the wrong victim. The curmudgeonly Crawley does not take kindly to the boys messing with his dogs and he teaches them a valuable lesson that changes them forever.

Try these as well:
Fogelin, Adrian. The Big Nothing.
Holman, Felice. Slakes’ Limbo.
Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee.

Stahler, David Jr. Truesight. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2004.

Everyone in Harmony, a colony on a distant planet, is blind. The citizens were genetically altered, believing that blindness was a virtue, and that people who could see were aberrations. What happens when thirteen-year-old Jacob begins to develop sight – will he tell, and be shunned or worse? Or keep it a secret?

Try these as well:

Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen.
Haddix, Margaret. Among the Hidden.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver.

Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand. Hyperion, 2003.

Nathaniel, a 12 year-old apprentice magician, gains control of a 5000 year-old, wisecracking dijinni, Bartimaeus. When insulted by a high ranking magician, Nathaniel tries to keep his involvement in the theft of a magical amulet secret while struggling to control Bartimaeus. Do not skip the wry and caustic footnotes included by Bartimaeus as he tells the tale of intrigue, action, and humor.

Try these as well:

Brennan, Herbie. Faerie Wars.
Morris, Gerald. The Squire’s Tale.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter series.

Westerfeld, Scott. The Secret Hour. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2004.

In the 25th hour of the day, which only those born at the stroke of midnight can experience, ancient creatures hide from mankind. Jessica Day, newly arrived in Bixby, Oklahoma, finds herself part of this group of Midnighters, all with special talents. Together they work to uncover the mysteries of the Secret Hour and fight to destroy the slithers and darklings that haunt it.

Try these as well:

Etchemendy, Nancy. The Power of Un.
Sleator, William. The Boxes.
Westerfeld, Scott. Touching Darkness. (sequel)