The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Morrigan is a cursed child, so everything bad that happens is blamed on her. That doesn't matter, though, because she will die on her twelfth birthday and everyone will be rid of her, including the family that only grudgingly acknowledges her existence. However, on Morrigan's 11th birthday, two unexpected things happen: death comes for her and she is rescued by a strange man from Nevermoor and invited to join the trials for entrance to the Wundrous Society. Morrigan revels in this new world where she isn't thought of as cursed and where strange, magical things occur every day, but what will happen if she doesn't pass the trials?

This is an excellent fantasy story a la Harry Potter, and one that I will easily and readily recommend to the middle grade readers in my library. My only quibble is that it is just the first book in the series and the rest haven't been written yet, so I can't read the second one at the moment.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: mild fantasy violence
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Iron Trial

Last Day on Mars

Liam and Phoebe are Martian children; that is, they are humans who have been raised in the Mars colony. Earth is no more, and the sun will soon go supernova, so the Martian colony is being emptied of its inhabitants as they head for a distant star and the hopes of another planet. The children of scientists, Liam and Phoebe are among the last to leave the planet. But then they discover a deeper plot behind the destruction of their home world.

I enjoyed the idea of a Martian colony, of the kids sneaking around and getting in trouble like kids do, and of the various catastrophes that befell the duo as they attempted to save their parents and get to the colony ship before it left orbit. The big, hidden, twist in the plot that made things complicated at the end, however, seemed a bit much for a kids' book. In an adult novel, there would have been more room to address this twist; in this kids' book, it seemed like a bit of a stretch.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: "fantasy violence" - people nearly dying, etc.
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Silver Six

Storytime: Worms

My science storytimes have been much more successful than the separate science club program I attempted to do. Here's what we did for worm storytime.

Opening Rhyme: Open them, shut them

Rhyme: Two Little Blackbirds

Book: Worm Weather by Jean Taft

Song: "If You're Happy and You Know It"

Book: Bob and Otto by Robert Bruel

Felt Board: Dinosaur, Dinosaur

Song: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

Book: Ned's New Home by Kevin Tseng

Closing Rhyme

Activity
Instead of a craft, we made worm habitats. Googling "DIY worm habitat" will yield plenty of ideas, but I gave each family an empty 2-liter bottle which had had its top cut off, a 20 oz water bottle to sit in its center, and a bunch of sand and soil to spread in layers in their bottles. Once the sand and soil are in the layers, the kids were able to choose their worms.

Next, while the worms were settling in, we made "curtains" for the outside of the habitat. Worms don't like sunlight, so they need a barrier around the bottle. I cut black construction paper so it would fit around the bottle and let the kids decorate it with chalk, then we taped it into a "sleeve" that would slide on and off the bottle with ease.

I sent home directions for caring for the worms along with suggestions for ways to "free" the worms when the families were done with them. This program was a huge mess and took much longer to clean up than a standard storytime, but it was definitely worth it. I do science-related storytimes once a quarter, and this one definitely got the best response so far. I have had parents and kids coming up to me and giving me updates on their worms throughout the week.

Artemis

Jazz lives in Artemis, the only city on the moon. She's a courier and a smuggler, and ends up involved in a complicated plot to take over the city's oxygen business.

If you are looking for another Martian story, this isn't it. If you're looking for a story similar to The Martian, this isn't it. What this is is a mystery-thriller type story that happens to take place on the moon, so there are complications one wouldn't expect on Earth. Weir's "voice" is very clear in this book and I enjoyed it, but it is not, I repeat, another Martian story.

Recommended for: adults, teens
Red Flags: language, violence
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

Storytime: Crayons

I did a storytime about crayons for my "back to school" storytime this year. Our craft involved making "crayons" out of colored craft sticks and pipe cleaners, so these crayons could be used by the children to reenact the stories about anthropomorphic crayons that we read.

Opening Rhyme: Open Them, Shut Them

Rhyme: Two Little Blackbirds

Book: Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin

Song: "If You're Happy and You Know It"

Book: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Felt Board: Dinosaur, Dinosaur

Song: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

Book: Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

Closing Rhyme