Edison's Gold

Title: Edison's Gold
Author: Geoff Watson
Publication Date: October 2010
ISBN 13: 978-1606840948

Thomas Edison was a great inventor and his work helped to shape the United States as we know it.  He had many influential friends including Henry Ford, Teddy Roosevelt, and his estranged colleague, Nikola Tesla.  In this book, we meet his great-great grandson Tom.  Tom's family is hit with hard times.  Bills are piling up and they can't afford to stay in New York any longer.  Desperate to support his family, Tom's dad takes a job in Wichita, Kansas.  Nothing could be worse according to Tom.  Tom and his two best friends are the perfect trio.  He's the daredevil, his friend Colby is the brains, and Noodle, his other best-friend, is the smooth talker.  Together they are unstoppable. 

When Tom discovers an old piece of film jammed inside his double-great-grandpa's old camera, he and his friends uncover a century's old mystery.  A secret society called the Sub Rosa was created by Thomas Edison and his friends to conceal a powerful discovery and it seems like some people will stop at nothing to keep Tom and his friends from learning the secrets.  A very exciting, fast-paced work, readers are left wanting another volume, but are also left with some questions.  Was there really a secret formula?  Did the Sub Rosa ever truly exist?  Perfect choice for fans of Brown's DaVinci Code or the movie that was based on that book.

Skulduggery Pleasant

Title: Skulduggery Pleasant

Author: Derek Landy

Publication Date: April 2007

ISBN 13: 978-8467519846

Stephanie is just 12 years old when her favorite uncle, a rich and famous novelist of horror books, dies unexpectedly and she is surprised to learn that he has bequethed her his entire estate.  Compelled to visit her new home, she is attacked by the most forceful being she's ever encountered and is rescued by a skeleton who uses balls of fire and blasts of air to scare off her attacker.  He is Skulduggery Pleasant, a great dectective who uses elemental magic.  Hesitant to drag young Stephanie into the dangerous, magical life, she convinces him to mentor her in the field of elemental magic and the fun begins!  Now she and he have to save the world from the evil magician who longs to cause the return of the Faceless Ones.  With characters you will never forget, this is a must-read book!

DC Superpets

Title: Royal Rodent Rescue
Series Title: DC Super-Pets
Author: John Sazaklis and Art Baltazar
Publication Date: January 2011
ISBN 13: 978-1404866225

Supergirl's super-pet, Streaky the Super-Cat, must rescue the royal hamster from Cat-Woman in this very clever, brightly illustrated volume in the new series based on the DC comics.  With lots of puns and jokes, graphic textual elements, and lots of color pictures, this series is a perfect choice for young tweens.

Olivia Kidney

Title: Olivia Kidney
Author: Ellen Potter
Publication Date: May 2003
ISBN 13: 978-0142402344

Olivia Kidney and her dad have just moved to yet another high-rise apartment in New York.  She is well-loved and cared for, but has trouble making friends since they move so much.  When she accidentally gets locked out of their new apartment, she expects a boring, lonely wait for her dad.  What she gets instead is magic and adventure.  With giant man eating plants, seances, old ladies rocking in chairs on glass floors in apartments with glass ceilings, and a mysterious boy who doesn't seem to have a name, Olivia meets her neighbors.   Finding that her new home is very unusual, she learns a lot about herself, too.  Fantastic, and occult, but not at all scary, it is a perfect example of magical realism!

Under Whose Influence

Title: Under Whose Influence?

Series Title: The Decision in Yours

Author: Judy Laik

Publication Date: November 1993

ISBN 13: 978-0943990972

The format of this book makes it especially accessible to tweens and reluctant readers.  Modeled in the style of the popular "choose your own adventure" books, this short novel introduces us to Tina, a young girl who faces peer pressure to drink after being assigned to a group project in school.  By selecting different options from a number of scenario choices, readers get to experience peer pressure from the safety of a book and are provided with many potential options for resisting it.  The situations enumerated in the story could facilitate important discussions with parents and/or teachers.

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret UFOs

Title: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret UFOs
Author: Donald J. Sobol
Publication Date: October 2010
ISBN 13: 978-0525422105

In 10 new cases featuring Leroy (Encyclopedia) Brown and his neighbors, readers can try to solve ten short mystery puzzlers.  Encyclopedia Brown can always spot the one detail that proves a lie or swindle.  Given the same clues as him, readers might find it a bit more difficult.  A good general knowledge bank will be tested and increased by reading this book.  

Lunch with Lenin

Title: Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories

Author: Deborah Ellis
Publication Date: October 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1554551057

From the beauty pageant queen who finally feels some compassion for her drug addicted sister, to the Pakistani farmers growing opium in order to buy food to eat, the tweens in this book have all been affected by drugs in one form or another.  Imagine surviving an orphanage only to lose your only friend to heroin, or having to buy marijuana because it's the only thing that can alleviate your elderly grandmother's pain.  In this collection of short stories, we see the full extent of the influences of drugs.  Without casting blame or exaggerating the picture, Ellis' work is bittersweet: morose in tone, and hopeful in lesson.

Amelia Lost!

Title: Amelia Lost--The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
Author: Candace Fleming
Publication Date: February 2011
ISBN 13: 978-0375841989

A new look at the life and disappearance of the preeminent female flier, Amelia Earhart.  With chapters that alternate between her life and childhood, and gripping chapters that tell of her loss at sea, Fleming succeeds in creating a page-turning book that is at once compelling and informational.  The multitude of photographs, original notes from journal pages, and sidebar information explaining instruments, inventions, and Amelia's relationships, makes this book even more interesting and easy to digest. 

The life of Amelia Earhart has become so shrouded in myth and legend that Fleming's realistic look at her faults and downfall really bring home the loss that was her disappearance by humanizing her in a way I've never experienced (this is admittedly the first A.E. biography I've read).  A must-read book for everyone!

Queen Sized

Title: Queen Sized
Starring: Nikki Blonsky
Production Company: Lifetime Movies
DVD Release Date: August 2008

Queen Sized is about an overweight girl named Maggie Baker who is nominated to be Homecoming Queen and goes on  to win the crown.  But this isn't your typical high school story and Maggie is far from your typical homecoming queen.  She's overweight.  In fact, she's so big that no one, not even herself, thinks she is pretty enough to be crowned.

The journey she takes to the throne is filled with strife and discordance.  She's harassed, bullies tamper with the election process, she's constantly at odds with her widowed mom, and she even manages to alienate her best friends.  In the end, however, Maggie becomes the her school's celebrated queen and learns a lot about self-acceptance.

Queen Sized features teenage characters, but deals with topics that are painfully understood by younger tweens too.  Bucking many stereotypes, Maggie's self-awareness and awareness of others, gives voice to many unspoken truths about weight and weight discrimination sending a message that beauty doesn't come in a one-size-fits-all package.  Though it shows that big girls are pretty, it isn't solely about being big and pretty.

Queen Sized also contains subtext of health and weight management.  Maggie turns to food to fix her feelings.  She eats compulsively and she chooses to eat foods that are bad for her health.  Obesity killed her father and her mother worries that she will suffer poor health as a result of her diet.   While this movie does not encourage dieting, in the end Maggie does choose to eliminate her secret stores of junk food. 

The last issue broached by this movie is bullying.  The bullies in this film are relentless and they seem determined to break Maggie's heart.  However, each step of the way, the bullies are stymied by their own hatred.  In a simplistic manner, the film shows that bullying doesn't pay off and paints the bullies in a negative light.  The example of how Maggie, and her mom stand up against bullying might help other kids, as will the inclusion of disparate teen voices throughout the film.   An entertaining film based on a true story that is sure to raise awareness to many important issues.

I Dreamed of Flying Like a Bird

Title: I Dreamed of Flying Like a Bird: My Adventures Photographing Wild Animals From a Helicopter
Author: Robert B. Haas
Publication Date: September 2010
ISBN 13: 978-1426306938

In this pictorial work, Robert Haas, provides students with some of his favorite pictures from his career as a wildlife photographer.  In addition to stunning images including overhead shots of a fight between a lion and some oxen, a baby hippo in a swamp, and a flock of pink flamingos that spontaneously congregate in a formation that resembles a flamingo from above, Haas also recounts some of the more pragmatic considerations inherent to choosing a career in wildlife photography.  With images sure to pique interest, all the proceeds of this book will be donated to the American Humane Society.

Joseph

Title: Joseph
Author: Sheila P. Moses
Publication Date: October 2008
ISBN 13: 978-1416917526

Joseph is a 14-year -old boy living with his drug addicted mom in a homeless shelter.  With his dad off fighting in Iraq, and the recent death of his grandfather, his mom's addiction is taking them to new lows.  Joseph tries to deal with his conflicting emotions.  He can't deny the effects of his mom's choices, but he can't bear to face the truth, either.  Friends, healthy activities, and his extended family all help to build his resiliency.  Still, Joseph can't choose a better life for himself.  What's a boy to do?  Survive on his own?  Or let his mom's addiction pull him down forever?  A Coretta Scott King Honor book and National Book Award Finalist.

The Pluto Files

Title: The Pluto Files
Producer: PBS NOVA
DVD Release Date: June 2010

Dr. Neal deGrasse Tyson hosts this entertaining film documenting the history of Pluto and the controversy that occurred when it was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2006.  For many years, the tiny celestial being known as Pluto was regarded as the ninth planet in the Solar System. However, when scientists found Eris, a larger body orbiting the sun from further away, scientists across the world started to question whether Pluto miniature size could really count it as a planet.  Combining science, history, popular culture, and humor, this film is informative and accessible for tweens.  An ALA Best Film, it is recommended to any library serving youth or adults.