Category: Middle Grades

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by J. K. Rowling

Sarah

More Harry Potter? Why yes please, of course!

Synopsis

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, Newt Scamander’s classic compendium of magical creatures, has delighted generations of wizarding readers. Now, in this updated edition with a new foreword by Newt himself and unveiling of six beasts little known outside the American wizarding community, Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Thunderbird lives, what the Puffskein eats, and why shiny objects should always be kept away from the Niffler.

Proceeds from the sale of this book go to Comic Relief and Lumos, which means that the dollars you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that this is insufficient reason to part with your money, one can only hope that passing wizards for more charitable if they see you being attacked by a Manticore.

Review

Sarah’s Review

Laura is one of the few diehard Harry Potter fans who can claim yes, she has had this book since it’s original publication in the early ‘aughts. And so, for the last 17 years, she’s been telling me to read it. Enter the movies with Eddie Redmayne playing Newt Scamander, and a new version of the audiobook from Pottermore with him reading it and I was sold!

Think of Fantastic Beasts as a fantastical encyclopedia more than a textbook. It reminds me a great deal of Cressida Cowell’s Book of Dragons from the How to Train Your Dragons series. The illustrated edition is beautiful, the downside, there’s not a whole lot of information included, the focus is on identifying the creatures. There’s more information in the individual books about creatures like unicorns, basilisks, and dragons.

Laura’s Review

That is true, I am very proud of the fact that I have had the original Fantastic Beasts textbook since it first came out. I love that J.K Rowling published this book, along with Quidditch through the Ages, as it expanded the world of Harry Potter for me as a ten year old kid. My favorite part of the original version was not the information about the animals, but the annotations that Harry and Ron had added for some of the creatures including basilisks and acromantulas.

Due to my love of this book I was thrilled when a movie series was announced starring Eddie Redmayne, even if I had no idea how a textbook would be turned into a 5 part movie series. And with the creation of an illustrated version, I just now want some of these creatures as pets, especially a phoenix and maybe a niffler, as long as I hid my valuables…

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Edition: Hardcover • $12.99 • 9781338132311 • 128 pages • originally published 2001, this edition published March 2017 by Arthur A. Levine Books • average Goodreads rating 3.97 out of 5 stars • read in April 2018

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Fantastic Beasts

Memoir/Autobiography, Middle Grades, Non-Fiction

Four Perfect Pebbles by Lila Perl & Marion Blumenthal Lazan

Sarah

One of my grandmothers grew up in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, specifically in Nürnberg and the surrounding countryside. She doesn’t talk about it. As such, I have spent my entire life fascinated by the stories of German children between 1933 and 1945. I don’t remember the first book I read that fit the bill for learning more about that time and people’s experiences, but Four Perfect Pebbles was a book that quickly caught my attention. And when I found out that Marion would be coming to the bookstore I work at, I knew it was going to be a moving moment.

Marion Blumenthal Lazan (r) & I (l)

Marion Lazan

Synopsis

Marion Blumenthal Lazan’s unforgettable and acclaimed memoir recalls the devastating years that shaped her childhood. Following Hitler’s rise to power, the Blumenthal family – father, mother, Marion, and her brother, Albert – were trapped in Nazi Germany. They managed eventually to get to Holland, but soon thereafter it was occupied by the Nazis. For the next six and a half years the Blumenthals were forced to live in refugee, transit, and prison camps, including Westerbork in Holland and Bergen-Belsen in Germany, before finally making it to the United States. Their story is one of horror and hardship, but it is also a story of courage, hope, and the will to survive.

Review

Marion describes her story as the one that Anne Frank might have told had she survived past March 1945. Both Anne and Marion spent time in Westerbork and later Bergen-Belsen. Of the 120,000 Jews detained in Westerbork, 102,000 perished before the end of World War II, 18,000 survived. Anne fell into the former group, Marion, the latter. While Anne’s story is typically read by pre-teens and early teenagers in the world today, Marion’s serves as an introduction for those who are just starting to ask their parents and teachers how people can be so mean and intolerant of one another.

In a society that is quickly becoming more divided and more intolerant, Marion’s message of hope, faith, and family strength, is even more important than it was when she first started discussing her experiences a couple decades ago. While most may brush off the striking similarities to the current president’s rise to power and the Nazis, it is hard for those who truly know their history to ignore. It is even harder for those who know that atrocities of WWII still ring loud in their older generation’s ears, and yet their younger generations engage in racist and destructive behavior.

Marion’s story is one of compassion and hope during one of the world’s worst times. My only reason for giving a less than superb rating is that brevity of the book. While written with young children (9-11 years old) in mind, there is only so much that one can remember about those years themselves, particularly 50 years later, as was the case when Marion & Lila wrote Four Perfect Pebbles and Marion recounted her childhood to Lila. Everyone always wants more from a good book, but at 160 pages, Four Perfect Pebbles is incredible concise.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $6.99 • 9780062489968 • 160 pages • originally published March 1996, this edition published October 2016 by Greenwillow Books • average Goodreads rating 3.92 out of 5 • re-read March 2018

Four Perfect Pebbles Website

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133-Four Perfect Pebbles

Memoir/Autobiography, Middle Grades, Non-Fiction, Sociology

Marley Dias Gets It Done by Marley Dias

Sarah

For once, I can say that I knew about something from the get go! As a former and hopefully soon-to-be-again middle school teacher, I like to keep up to date on what’s going on with middle schoolers’ reading habits. So when Marley Dias burst onto the scene as a 6th grader with her #1000BlackGirlBooks Campaign, I actually followed quite closely!

Synopsis

Marley Dias, the powerhouse girl-wonder who started the #1000blackgirlbooks campaign, speaks to kids about her passion for making our world a better place, and how to make their dreams come true.

In this accessible guide with an introduction by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Marley Dias explores activism, social justice, volunteerism, equity and inclusion, and using social media for good. Drawing from her experience, Marley shows kids how they can galvanize their strengths to make positive changes in their communities, while getting support from parents, teachers, and friends to turn dreams into reality. Focusing on the importance of literacy and diversity, Marley offers suggestions on book selection, and delivers hands-on strategies for becoming a lifelong reader.

Review

Why am I reviewing Marley’s book now? Well, she came to the bookstore that I manage a few weeks ago and I figured her book would be a good one to have in a future classroom. As a teacher, I was thrilled with her presentation and the fact that I got to interview her. As a bookstore manager, well, it wasn’t the easiest thing to coordinate and when the teenage wunderkind that you’re interviewing has already been on the talk show circuit, coming up with creative questions posed a bit of a challenge!

The book itself is quite spectacular and, as I’m sure you might wonder about a 13 year old author, I can say it’s pretty apparent she wrote it herself. Marley has the presence of someone beyond her years and she is very eloquent. Marley Dias Gets It Done includes a great deal of practical advice for being both a teen activist, but also about surviving those years and keeping yourself on track. It is a wonderful book to have on your shelf as a parent, teacher, or even just an adult who is looking for some helpful and practical advice.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $14.99 • 9781338136890 • 208 pages • published January 2018 by Scholastic Press • average Goodreads rating 4.31 out of 5 stars • read in February 2018

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picmonkey_image

 

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades, Retelling

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Sarah

I’ll readily admit that Ella’s dark green dress on the front cover of the first paperback edition was what first caught my attention. But given my established record as a lover of fairy tale adaptations, it should come as no surprise that this is the book that started my obsession!

Synopsis

How can a fairy’s blessing be such a curse? — At her birth, Ella of Frell was given a foolish fairy’s gift—the “gift” of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it’s hopping on one foot for a day or chopping off her own head! — But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. She goes on a quest, encountering ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, fairy godmothers, and handsome princes, determined to break the curse—and live happily ever after.

Review

I LOVE Ella Enchanted. Other than the American Girl books, it was the favorite book of my childhood. When I was home sick in elementary school, this is the book I made mom and dad read to me. When I wanted to find a costume for Halloween, I wanted to be Ella. When I grew up and got married, I wanted it to be to Prince Char. When Laura was making me crazy, I called her Hattie. When I wanted a book to make me happy and cheer me up, I reread Ella Enchanted.

​I had the same copy of Ella Enchanted since it was first published in paperback for the school market in 1998 when I was 8 and in 3rd grade and it finally suffered its last spine crease this summer and I was forced to buy a new copy. So, I bought two! One for me and one to read to Ben’s little sister because I’ll be darned if she misses Gail Carson Levine’s literary greatness! If you are looking for an excellent book for the upper elementary school age girl in your life, look no further than Ella! And please, if you haven’t already, don’t watch the movie.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $7.99 • 9780064407052 • 250 pages • first published 1997, this edition published May 2017 by Harper Trophy • average Goodreads rating 3.97 out of 5 stars • read in 1998

Gail Carson Levine’s Website

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118-Ella Enchanted

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades, Retelling

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

Sarah

I am a sucker for Peter Pan stories, especially ones that provide a more interesting and compelling female character than Wendy!

Synopsis

Peter was the leader of the orphan boys because he was the oldest – or so he claimed. And because he could spit the farthest. Not that it did him much good, shipped off aboard a leaky old bilge bucket to be the servant of a tyrant king. But Peter and his mates aren’t the only ones on the Never Land…

Why is a trunk holding “the greatest treasure on earth” aboard the stinking, worm-ridden ship? Does it contain gold, jewels – or something far more mysterious and dangerous? And what is Molly, the beautiful daughter of a rich diplomat, hiding from Peter?

Turn back the clock on J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan in this impossible-to-put-down tale of skullduggery and treachery, raging storms and bone-crushing battles, mermaids and talking porpoises.

Review

Peter and the Starcatchers is another book that I listened to after looking at it sitting on my shelf for 6 years, since I brought it home from Ireland back in 2009. Why? I have no idea – I love Peter Pan stories. So, in looking for books that would be decent to listen to while driving for work, I figured this would probably be a good bet.

Read by Jim Dale (whose voice I fell asleep to for years as he also read all 7 Harry Potter books), Peter and the Starcatchers is a prequel to the classic, Peter Pan. It tells the story of Peter, an orphan, who is shipwrecked on an island and in search of a box of “starstuff.” But before the ship he was on, the Never Land, splintered on the reef surrounding the island, Peter befriended the mysterious and alluring Molly, protector of the magical starstuff, who tells him of the great power the material wields – it can change animals into otherworldly creatures and give humans special abilities, most notably that of flight.

But Peter and Molly and Peter’s orphan mates are not the only ones shipwrecked on the island. The miserable first mate and his brute of a lackey are after the starstuff as well, but their intentions are more sinister. A pirate ship, captained by the terrible Black Stache, follows the Never Land to the island and are in search of the treasure as well.

Peter and the Starcatchers is a fast paced, highly enjoyable, and entertaining tale of mischief and mayhem on the island that those familiar with the original story will quickly pick out as the wonderful Neverland. It is a story about children, but much like J.M. Barrie’s fantastical tale, it is not necessarily a book for children and highly enjoyable by readers (and listeners) of all ages.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $9.99 • 9780786849079 • 451 pages • published May 2006 by Disney Hyperion • average Goodreads rating 4.02 out of 5 • read in April 2015

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Peter and the Starcatchers

 

 

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Sarah

I picked this book up upon the recommendation of a fellow educator at the school book fair last spring and I read it while on vacation last summer. While I’m trying to review only books that I’ve read most recently now, I figured it best to throw this one in as well.

Synopsis

The signpost before her now was made of pale wind-bleached wood and towered above her. On the easterly arm, someone had carved in deep elegant letters: TO LOSE YOUR WAY. On the northerly arm, pointing up to the tops of the cliffs, it said: TO LOSE YOUR LIFE. On the southerly arm, pointing out to sea, it said: TO LOSE YOUR MIND. And on the easterly arm, pointing up to a little headland and a dwindling of the gold beach, it said: TO LOSE YOUR HEART.

September is a girl who longs for adventure. When she is invited to Fairyland by a Green Wind and a Leopard, well, of course she accepts. (Mightn’t you?) But Fairyland is in turmoil, and it will take one twelve-year-old girl, a book-loving dragon, and a strange and almost human boy named Saturday to vanquish an evil Marquess and restore order.

Review

September is an interesting little girl. It’s difficult to get a read on her personality but I believe, as the writing would suggest, that this is intentional. While it is not overtly stated that her father went off to fight in World War II, it is noted that her mother works in a factory a la Rosie the Riveter and September seems to have adapted a cold resilience that one may find necessary while growing up during the unpredictable 1940s.

Her adventure to Fairyland does not come across as an escape route. She goes because she is asked, not because she’s dying for someone to save her, rescue her or offer some alternative to her current circumstances. In this sense, the plot mildly resembles the Chronicles of Narnia in the sense that the children were not looking for a way out, but rather stumbled upon an opportunity they felt was worth taking. The same can be said of September’s motives for heading out the window with the Green Wind.

While traipsing around Fairyland, September encounters all sorts of fascinating creatures, any of whom could be (and I think should be) given more plot time. While the title makes it clear September will be traveling all around Fairyland, it would have been neat to see some of the creatures fleshed out a bit more. Maybe that happens in the later books…

GWCFSHOM, my abbreviation for the very long title, is written in short little chapters that break September’s adventures in Fairyland up into short vignettes. And this irked me. It felt more like a collection of little disjointed stories instead of a cohesive story book. I don’t know if that was Ms. Valente’s intention, but it made the book incredibly easy to put down without really caring what happened next. Eventually I finished it on the beach, mostly because it was the only book I had left and had finished the others I’d brought along with me.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $7.99 • 9781250010193 • 247 pages • first published May 2011, this edition published May 2012 by Square Fish • average Goodreads rating 3.97 out of 5 • read in August 2013

Catheryne M. Valente’s Website

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Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades

Upside-Down Magic by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle & Emily Jenkins

Sarah

One of my coworkers really enjoyed the Upside-Down Magic series and recommended, as a former teacher who worked with students with unique learning needs, I would appreciate it as well, and she was right!

Synopsis

It’s never easy when your magic goes wonky. For Nory, this means that instead of being able to turn into a dragon or a kitten, she turns into both of them at the same time — a dritten. For Elliott, the simple act of conjuring fire from his fingertips turns into a fully frozen failure. For Andres, wonky magic means he’s always floating in the air, bouncing off the walls, or sitting on the ceiling. For Bax, a bad moment of magic will turn him into a… actually, he’d rather not talk about that.

Nory, Elliott, Andres, and Bax are just four of the students in Dunwiddle Magic School’s Upside-Down Magic class. In their classroom, lessons are unconventional, students are unpredictable, and magic has a tendency to turn wonky at the worst possible moments. Because it’s always amazing, the trouble a little wonky magic can cause…

A brief social commentary before my review

When looking at the kid’s literature available to me as a child, it is safe to say that the characters were not diverse, not in their skin color, gender identity, or abilities. They were pretty much all white, slightly above average, blond, white girls. And when I was a kid, I didn’t take any notice because, as my German grandmother put it, had I been alive in 1939 like her, I would have been the poster child for the Aryan race. Blond hair, blue grey eyes, ethnically German, slightly above average height and intelligence. It is something that I find I now hate about myself, especially ass I find myself listening to speeches from of the members of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, I constantly want to apologize for continuing to fuel the problem, I write characters like me, the characters that they have been rally against, because they’re just like me.

I never realized the lack of diverse books because I could relate to pretty much every main character I came across. Shortly after returning home after BookCon last year, I asked my fiance, who’s heritage is primarily Chinese and English, if he ever came across human characters he identified with as a child. His answer? His favorite books were Redwall and Watership Down. The only characters he identified with were animals, because they only had emotional descriptions and those he could relate to. He understood their feelings and with race out of the picture, he felt like he could understand their motivations because they were all inherently different than the mainstream characters, simply by being animals.

And it is because of these reasons and so many others, the Upside-Down Magic should be required reading for all elementary school students.

Review

As someone who has worked in special education and with children of multiple ethnicities, I immediately read deeper into Upside-Down Magic than most people. Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins are mad brilliant. They took a girl’s worries about being different and forced her to accept them instead of following the typical narrative of self-discovery and being mainstreamed and everyone liking her, they were much more realistic with how they handled the politics of education and the fact that all students’ needs are different, whether it be in learning math or magic. They also incorporated the fact that most minority and special needs student are often taught by a white, female teacher that the students have difficulty relating to. And while the teacher may have people in her life that have unique needs, rarely did/does the teacher.

​I recommend Upside-Down Magic to children at the store that feel like they don’t really fit in or who really like magic stories, but I also recommend it to each and every teacher that walks through the bookstore doors because, whether the authors intended or not, they have written a brilliant piece of social commentary on our education system in the United States and how imperative it is to teach every child in a manner that best fits their unique needs and style.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $5.99 • 9780545800464 • 208 pages • originally published September 2015, this edition published August 2016 by Scholastic Inc. • average Goodreads rating 4.1 out of 5 • read in October 2016

Sarah Mlynowski’s Website

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Upside-Down Magic

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Laura

Because Harry Potter is such a generation-defining series, we’ve decided to each write our own blog post about it. See Sarah’s review by clicking here.

I cannot remember a time when I did not know anything about the world of Harry Potter. I think I was eight years old when I read the first book and it did not take me long to be completely hooked. By the time I was in third grade, I was completely obsessed; birthdays and Christmases soon included all Harry Potter themed presents. I amassed a collection of not only the books, but Legos, figurines, posters, a cloak, hand-made robes for the Yule Ball, and countless other trinkets. Summers meant midnight releases for the books and movies, waiting for a Hogwarts letter, (that never came, which still breaks my heart and I’m 24 now) and Halloween was for dressing up as my favorite characters. Recent years have meant visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, saving money for a Harry Potter themed trip to London, and meeting people who throw an epic Harry Potter Weekend Party every year. I have yet to abandon my Harry Potter obsession as car rides still always include listening to the audiobooks. Harry Potter was a magical part of my entire childhood and adolescence and I cannot imagine a world without it. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Synopsis

Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him… if Harry can survive the encounter.

Series Review

Where to start with this series that has defined my childhood? Well, my favorite of the series has always been (and always will be) the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The reason for that is easy: it’s where you first meet Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, two of my all-time favorite characters. For the first time, Harry meets his father’s best friends and we learn about the time of the Marauders. (I’m one of those people who wants a prequel series based on the lives of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs). I love all of the books though and will never be able to objectively review them because my emotional attachment is too strong. While I concede that Harry was rather angsty (especially in Order of the Phoenix) I maintain that he had every right to be – what other 15 year old has experienced everything he did? He’s allowed to be a moody teenager. I could certainly relate to his feelings of isolation and depression when I was that age as well.

I first met Harry and company shortly after my parents got divorced. It meant a huge change in my home life, but I made sure that I had at least one constant companion at both houses (besides my wonderful sister) and that was a Harry Potter book. Harry, and his super awesome best friends Ron and Hermione, kept me company for years and never made me feel like I was alone. I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up with Harry Potter, even though that meant waiting several years between releases of the last 4 books. I loved going to the midnight release parties for the last three books and spending the next few days completely absorbed in the wizarding world and spending my time at Hogwarts. I will never forget the days that I spent reading the last three Harry Potter books for the first time and facing all of the obstacles Harry, Ron, and Hermione went through with them. It takes quite a bit to make me cry over books, but J.K. Rowling certainly did that at certain points. (The next section will contain spoilers).

I very clearly remember telling my mother and sister on the way to the bookstore for the midnight release of Order of the Phoenix that if Sirius Black died I would be devastated. Cut to three days later and I’m balling my eyes out because Harry had lost yet another loved one. And I definitely did not see the deaths of Fred Weasley and Remus Lupin coming. I probably should have considering that it’s always the most beloved characters who tend to meet their maker by the end of a book series. Thank goodness Hermione survived because she was definitely the brains of the entire operation. Harry and Ron know that they never would have survived if they had not tried to save Hermione from a troll on Halloween when they were eleven years old and forged a lifelong friendship.

So, not much of a review but more of an excuse for me to expound upon the reasons I love the Harry Potter series and always will. And lastly, my definitive (and not at all scientific) ranking of most to least favorite:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (7) & Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4) – tied
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (5)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (6)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2)

And seriously, if you have never read Harry Potter, it’s time. It is so worth it. Thank you J.K. Rowling for creating this magical world where Hogwarts will always be there to welcome me.

Series Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Edition: Paperback • $10.99 • 9780590353427 • 312 pages • originally published 1997, this edition published 1999 by Arthur A. Levine Books • average Goodreads rating 4.45 out of 5 • read in Fall 2000

J. K. Rowling’s Website

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Harry Potter (3)

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Sarah

Millennials, my generation, are defined in some small part by their relationship with Harry Potter. Almost all of us have a story about when we were first introduced the the boy wizard who changed our reading lives. I was 10 years old, in 5th grade, and it was shortly before Thanksgiving when my friend Brendan brought a book and a letter into school. He had found this book and had liked it so much, he wrote a letter to the author, and SHE WROTE BACK. He shared the letter with the class, and asked if the book could be our next classroom read aloud. Needless to say, Mrs. Kluck agreed, and when we left for Thanksgiving break, I made my mom hunt down a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for me. The rest, as they say, is history.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Synopsis

Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility. All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley – a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry – and anyone who reads about him – will find unforgettable. For it’s there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him… if Harry can survive the encounter.

Series Review

This is a difficult review to write as I grew up with the Harry Potter books and characters. I was 10 years old when I was introduced to 10-year-olds Harry, Hermione, and Ron. When I was 10, my life was challenging – my parents were getting divorced and I just wanted an escape and the wizarding world presented itself to me at the perfect time. I would spend hours reading and rereading the books in my bedroom, trying not to think about the challenges of my young life. Because of this association, the tales of Harry Potter and his friends’ adventures will always hold a special place in my heart, but it was only for Harry’s friends that I finished the series.

As I grew up, I wanted Harry and his friends to grow up with me. I camped out at midnight for books 5 through 7, I dressed up as Hermione for more Halloweens than I care to admit, but the moment I was waiting for never really came. Harry never convincingly grew up with me. We were both supposed to be 17 when the final book was released – I had just graduated from high school and was excited to see Harry finish school and get excited for life after the final battle with Voldemort. However, while I was ecstatic for the next chapter in my life, Harry doesn’t have goals, he doesn’t have any direction in his life. Now granted, his primary focus was survival so that pushed some other dreams and ambitions out of focus, but I would have latched on to them – I would have latched on to my hopes of the future, for a world without Voldemort.

At 10, Harry and I had so much in common. At 13, this was still the case, but at some point, during the fifteenth year of my life/the fifth book, our paths completely diverged. I quickly grew to loathe Harry and his whiny, moody tendencies. While Harry “grows,” he doesn’t ever mature and that made it exceedingly difficult to remain engaged with the stories for any length of time after I finished reading them initially. By the time the seventh movie (split into two) came out, I was so disenchanted with Harry and his misanthropic tendencies that I didn’t even want to see it in theaters. I wanted to see an older Harry, a Harry that I could relate to, instead of a character that was stuck in middle school, stuck at thirteen so that he would be more accessible for later generations. In a way, this makes sense, no other generation will be waiting for years between books – years in which they grow up and expect Harry to grow up as well. Is it fair to tell my 10-year-old step-brother he must wait until he’s 17 to finish the series? No. But I feel like it pulled my fellow millennials away from Harry. It led some of us to abandon him in the dark basement of our minds because he didn’t keep up. Like Peter Pan, he didn’t grow up.

Hermione, on the other hand, was always the brains of the operation, the logically minded one keeping Harry and Ron on track and explaining the ways of the world, and girls, to them, as they remained stuck in their world of perpetual early adolescence. Hermione and her books and knowledge and love of school helped me express my own love of intelligence and learning. Hermione ensured that the stories of Harry Potter would be relatable for boys and girls. And that is, to me, the real magic of the wizarding world of Harry Potter. He brought so many kids into the magical world of reading and books and that, regardless of the quality of the books being read, is always a good thing. Reading the adventures of Harry will always be a rite of passage. If I ever have kids of my own, I will read them the stories of Harry Potter as my mother and teacher did for me. And I will be incredibly offended if they dislike them, but will be equally offended if they obsess over them blindly and refuse to read anything else as I had done.

Series Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Edition: Paperback • $10.99 • 9780590353427 • 312 pages • originally published 1997, this edition published 1999 by Arthur A. Levine Books • average Goodreads rating 4.45 out of 5 • read in January 2000

J. K. Rowling’s Website

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Goodreads

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Harry Potter (2)

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grades

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Sarah

This book was recommended to me by a customer at the bookstore – and when I realized the illustrations were done by one of my favorite graphic novel artists, Skottie Young, I was sold.

Synopsis

“I bought the milk,” said my father. “I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: thummthumm. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road.” … “Hullo,” I said to myself. “That’s not something you see every day. And then something odd happened.”

Review

The elementary school teacher in me loves this book – it would make the absolute perfect read-aloud for any class from 2nd to 4th grade. The artist in me loves this book for Skottie Young’s illustrations. The reader in me? Well, I’m getting kind of tired of Neil Gaiman. My coworker would probably faux-smack me for saying it, but alas, I think it’s true.

This book is, by all accounts, hilarious. Young children will find it absolutely hysterical. But I didn’t laugh. Not once. I’m not sure why, I felt like I was in the right mood/mindset to do so, but for some reason, I just didn’t giggle, not once. Fortunately, the Milk is the story a dad recounts for his two children as an explanation of why it took him so long to pick up milk for their breakfast cereal one morning. It’s full of adventure, time traveling dinosaurs, pirates, a talking volcano, ponies, all sorts of mischief and mayhem.

But for some reason, I didn’t enjoy the adventure. Maybe that’s a commentary on the book, maybe that’s a commentary on me, I honestly don’t know. So if you love a book that is adventurous and exciting, if you are between the ages of 8 and 12, then please, take a look at Fortunately, the Milk, I bet you’ll enjoy it more than me.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Edition: Paperback • $5.99 • 9780062224088 • 101 pages • originally published September 2013, this edition published September 2014 by Harper Collins Publishers • average Goodreads rating 4.04 out of 5 • read in September 2017

Neil Gaiman’s Website for Young Readers

Fortunately, the Milk on Goodreads

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