Book Review: Villain School: Good Curses Evil, by Stephanie Sanders (Bloomsbury, 2011)

Recommended for ages 9-12

What do you do when your parents are some of the baddest bad guys in history, and you just don't match up? You get sent to Master Dreadthorn's School for Wayward Villains. Dracula's daughter, Jezebel, is there - she prefers hot chocolate to blood. The Big Bad Wolf's son, Wolf, is in there, too - he saved a human child from drowning. The Green Giant's son was expelled when they realized that his dad was just some green guy trying to get kids to eat their vegetables.

Rune Drexler, Master Dreadthorn's son, is at villain school, too, but he's not getting any preferred treatment - quite the opposite; he can't seem to do anything right in his father's eyes. When his father calls him to his office and gives him a Plot - a dangerous and evil test to achieve his next EVil (Educational Villain Levels) level, Rune sees his chance to be the villain his father wants him to be. But can he and his two friends carry out the Plot without ending up being heroes?

The story takes a little bit of time to get started; Sanders concentrates on exposition early on in the story. Once the Plot is under way, though, the story becomes a fun read with just enough of a twist to take the reader by surprise. I did not feel cheated by the book's end - I wanted to know what Rune was going to do next. Middle grade readers will enjoy the good-natured jabs that the characters throw at one another, and the idea of being good while you're trying to be evil will show younger readers that there is something good in even the baddest of villains.

There is a Villain School website where readers can read the first two chapters of Villain School and play a trivia game; there are author events and information available, along with a link to Sanders' home page and Villain School's Facebook page.

Book Review: Ellie McDoodle: New Kid in School by Ruth McNally Barshaw (Bloomsbury, 2008)

Recommended for ages 8-12

Ellie McDoodle is the nickname for Eleanor McDougal, a sixth grader who doodles in her sketch journals. She draws the people around her, her family, and journals her own daily happenings.

When Ellie's parents announce that they're moving, Ellie is crushed. She will be leaving her friends, her school, and her home. She creates a journal to document the move, insisting that "there won't be much to keep track of... because this is the END of everything good."

Or is it? Despite some rough patches, like discovering the "New Kid Bingo" card some of her classmates are circulating at school, and the teachers not remembering her name, Ellie learns that being the new kid may not be so bad after all. She makes friends, manages to get her own room in the attic, and organizes a protest against long lunch lines in the cafeteria. Being the new kid may end up being sort of fun after all.

Ruth McNally Barshaw's Ellie McDoodle has been described by Student Library Journal as "reminiscent of Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid", and it is, in that both stories have a vibrant narrator who tells his and her tale in the first person, accompanied by line drawings. To think of the Ellie McDoodle books only in terms of a feminine Wimpy Kid is selling the book short, however. Ellie McDoodle is not a Wimpy Kid clone; it is a smart, sensitive book with a character that both boys and girls can relate to: she has a crabby older sister, a clown for an older brother, and a toddler brother that gets into everything.

Ellie's family is as realistic and provides a role model for families: they eat their meals together at the same table; her older brother Josh makes punny jokes; and they play pranks on one another, like hiding a spooky-looking Mrs. Santa Claus figure all around the house to take family members off guard.

Readers will enjoy the first-person narrative and line drawings and see Ellie as a positive role model. Rather than succumb to her sadness, Ellie seeks ways to make the best of her situation. She heads to the local library and befriends a librarian. She meets neighborhood children and goes out to play with them, and makes friends; this helps her cope with the insensitive schoolmates who find "New Kid Bingo" more fun than reaching out to make a new friend. She uses her talent in art to help make a difference in her school, and organizes a peaceful protest that gets the principal's notice, and the notice of a local television station.

Ruth McNally Barshaw's website offers information on all of the Ellie McDoodle books and links to more of McNally Barshaw's art. Readers can find out where she'll be appearing and read her blog, and create Ellie mini-books and stationery. She offers teens advice on writing their own graphic novels, and has teaching guides available for educators.

The Ilsley Public Library in Vermont created a book trailer for New Kid in School, viewable below.

Book Review: Cal and the Amazing Anti-Gravity Machine, by Richard Hamilton (illustrated by Sam Hearn) (Bloomsbury, 2006)

Recommended for ages 9-12

Cal lives with his family, including Frankie, a talking dog that only he can understand, next door to a very loud neighbor. Mr. Frout regularly wakes the neighborhood with clanging and banging in the early hours of the morning. He's not a very friendly neighbor, so curious Cal decides to spy on him to see what all the commotion is about and discovers Mr. Frout, in a suit of armor, hovering in the air. His experiment goes awry and Cal rescues him, which makes Mr. Frout a little more friendly and Cal learns that Mr. Frout is making an anti-gravity machine. Inevitably, things get out of hand and it's left to Cal to save the day.

The book skews toward the younger end of the reading range, as it is a chapter book with lots of black and white line drawings that will keep younger readers interested. The characters are well-described, and have just enough reality to them that kids can identify with them, while being fantastic enough to make the story fun. I appreciated that the parents weren't drawn as hopeless dimbulbs, as often happens in children's books - I particularly liked a section of the book where Cal's mother gets angry at him for befriending a stranger (Mr. Frout), despite Cal's assertions that he is friendly. It was a smart way to take advantage of a teachable moment on stranger danger.

Richard Hamilton and Sam Hearn are an British writer-illustrator team who have worked on four books together. Their website offers information on these books, biographies on the author and illustrator, and coloring sheets and printable posters on their books.