Recently in mmmMonday Books Category

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (aimed at grades 6 - 8).

Wow! If you like mystery, puzzles and art, this is definitely the one for you. The codes are challenging, but the characters anchor you in a great page-turner of a story. I loved the illustrations by Brett Helquist.

Here's a blurb about the book from the Scholastic website:

When a book of unexplainable occurrences brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one -- neighbors, parents, teachers -- is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem-solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?

Let's kick off Read In Week in Edmonton with a banging book!

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups by David Wisniewski (aimed at grades 2 to 5).

I always laugh when I read this smart and funny twist on how kids might see the adult world. We all know we have to eat our vegetables, but David Wisniewski gives us the real reason to eat our greens, and it has nothing to do with being good for us. It has to do with our very survival against man-eating veggies.

Here's a blurb from Amazon.ca.

Parents are always spouting these rules. Do they really care about nutrients and mattresses, or are they hiding something? Luckily, one fearless grown-up will risk his neck and his dignity to find out. Disguised as everything from a chocolate milk scuba diver to a giant nose, this counterspy uncovers the disturbing truth. And what he learns will shock you like nothing before. Startling suckface emergencies! Dangerous digit gangs! Powerful sumo cells! Those are just some of the secrets revealed in this book by Caldecott medalist David Wisniewski. But don′t let anyone catch you reading it-especially grown-ups. Who knows what could happen if they knew that you knew?

Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories by Paul Yee (aimed at grades 6 and up).

This collection of short stories draws inspiration from ghost stories told by Chinese immigrants to Canada and the U.S. The mix of supernatural and multicultural themes is a great way to bring historical events to life for young readers. I'm a fan of scary stories and a fan of this title.

Here's a blurb from Amazon.ca.

In this spine-tingling companion volume to his earlier collection, Tales from Gold Mountain, Paul Yee movingly explores 140 years of the history of Chinese immigrants to Canada through the kinds of stories he imagines were told in bachelor halls or shared with children and grandchildren at family banquets. Yee infuses these tales with a subtle sense of the supernatural that's sure to intrigue young readers, while creating a moving snapshot of the lives and times of these early immigrants--men who left their families in China hoping to bring them to the sweeter life of Gold Mountain, only to come up against racism, discrimination, and unfair immigration laws. In the face of such disappointments, these men built Canada's railways and worked grueling hours in fish plants, laundries, and coal mines. Yee tells stories about the curse of a friend, a brother betrayed by greed, the revenge exacted by a heartbroken woman betrayed by her callous fiancé, and the ghost of a dead father who realizes that there's more to life than hard work. He neatly uses the frame of traditional storytelling to create original tales that evoke both the historical and cultural moment and keep readers on the edge of their seats. Harvey Chan's woodcuts add a wonderfully spooky touch to this fascinating collection by a master storyteller.

I'm recommending Christopher Paul Curtis' The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. This book is funny and touching. Great peek at an earlier period through the eyes of a kid. I loved this book. I wish I could write half as well as Christopher Paul Curtis.