Senor Parrot's Perch

The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, and illustrated by Carson Ellis, is a fantastic and fun read from beginning to end. Four young children, 3 orphans and a runaway, respond to an newspaper ad seeking “gifted children looking for special opportunities”. After undergoing unusual tests they find themselves challenged to join a secret organization and undertake a dangerous mission, knowing that they are risking their lives. The fate of the world depends upon them as they penetrate another secret organization bent on taking over the world.

This book will appeal to a wide range of kids, and adults, too, from about third or fourth grade and up. There are mysteries and dangers at every turn to challenge the book’s young heroes. Each must learn to depend and trust their own abilities and the abilities of the others. Along the way they learn to trust in and depend others. They learn about bravery and sacrifice, and they learn about family and love.

A number of reviews of this book point out similarities with the Series of Unfortunate Events. Superficially, there are. But the plotting and themes are very different, and unlike A Series of Unfortunate Events, the end of The Mysterious Benedict Society is a satisfying experience. Its true that Trenton Lee Stewart has a sequel underway, but his book does have an ending that affirms the beliefs and actions of the group and leaves the reader very satisfied and glad the he or she read the whole, big book. I enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events, but I’d grade this book much higher, and I’ve been recommending to everyone I’ve talked with almost since I began it.

For more information and informative reading check out the Curiousity Chronicle . You’ll find games, downloads, and interviews with the author. You could learn Morse Code!

In many schools late winter is time for Science Fair. This can be pure drudge work for lots of kids, but done right, its a fun way to spark children’s interest in science. Little experiments can trigger more questions and set life’s course.

We have a book called My Big Science Book by Simon Mugford and published by priddy books which is full of fun experiments for kids to perform. Each asks a simple question and answers with simple explanations and a physics or chemistry experiment any kid can perform. Each experiment demonstrates a principle that every kid will already be somewhat familiar with. The equipment is so basic that you can pick up anything that you don’t already have around the house for a few dollars. The age range for this book is probably 6 or 7 to 11 or 12.

The time to get kids interested is now, before bad attitudes and the ‘science is hard and boring‘ messages sink too far in. And parents’ attitudes are especially important. If parents take the attitude that science is for nerds, you’ll turn your kids off to what may be the key to their future, both economically and occupationally. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know this stuff yourself. It’s easy at this level to start picking up concepts and learning right along with the kids. And never forget, learning is fun.

Science and discovery are so much fun to a bright and growing mind. Children need the exposure and the fun that come with it. They need the encouragement to pursue it. My own wife came home from school in the second grade and told her family that she was going to be a scientist. She had made up her mind and she was encouraged to pursue it. She never swerved from that goal, except to consider becoming a physician. Today, she’s a Ph.D. in medical microbiology and immunology with important contributions to cellular immunology. What led her to decide to be a scientist at the age of 8? No one really remembers, but it must have been something fun and it must have been something interesting to start a fire in her mind that still burns today.

If anyone has stories or other helpful books to share, that would be great.

I’ve snagged this from the ABA email I just received.

The winners are:

JOHN NEWBERY MEDAL for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)

NEWBERY HONOR BOOKS

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic/Scholastic Press)
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion)
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam/GP Putnam’s Sons)

RANDOLPH CALDECOTT MEDAL for the most distinguished American picture book for children

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

CALDECOTT HONOR BOOKS

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story From the Underground Railroad, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine (Scholastic/Scholastic Press)
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter S�s (FSG/Frances Foster)
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

I just read on ShelfAwareness that Elijah of Buxton has won the 2008 Scott O’Dell Award. Somewhere in a box of books on my reading list I’ve got an advanced reader’s copy of this and it was going to make it to my nightstand (currently occupied by several finished books and one in process) for the new year’s reading lineup. I’ll speed up the read.

I’ve read nothing but good things about this book on other blogs, so I expect it to be good.

From ShelfAwareness:

Christopher Paul Curtis has won the 2008 Scott O’Dell Award for Elijah of Buxton (Scholastic), a novel set in 1860 and narrated by an 11-year-old who is a first-generation free-born child, living in the Canadian town of Buxton, roughly 40 miles from Detroit, Mich. The award, established in 1982 by O’Dell (author of The Island of the Blue Dolphins), honors a work of historical fiction and includes a $5,000 prize for the author.