Maniac Magee book trailer

Stikz Movie
by: searsheatherp

Movies: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Title: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Director: Chris Columbus
Based on the book by Rick Riordan
Released: Feb. 2010
Rated: PG
Awards: the movie was nominated for MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards
Interest Level: 6th-12th grade
Plot Summary: The story is about Percy Jackson who is the son of the god Poseidon. But Percy has been accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Perzy doesn't know about his godly father and is on a school field trip when he is attacked by a Fury who is after the lightning bolt. Percy's best friend Grover and his Latin teacher fight off the Fury who then then sends Percy and his mom and grover to camp half blood. It is on the way that Percy is attacked by a minataur. It seems that Percy's mom is killed in the attack but him and Grover make it to safety at Camp Half-Blood. It is here the Percy learns of his father's origin. Percy must convince Zeus of his innocence to prevent a war among the gods.
Review: Having read the book I was not overly impressed with the movie. The movie does have some great action scenes and special effects but overall it's not that great of a movie. It did pretty well at the box office though and the sequel is coming out this summer. I think the book did bring a lot of reluctant readers to the series which is nice to see.
Annotation: Percy didn't know much about his absent father what he didn't expect was for him to be a Greek god who is about to go to war over him.
Why for tweens? The book series has a huge appeal with tweens and the movie has also been very popular with them. There is action and adventure, greek god and a bit of romance. It's PG rating makes it so it's not too mature for the tween audience.

Movies: Coraline

Title: Coraline
Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Henry Selick, based on the book by Neil Gaiman
Released: Feb., 2009
Rated: PG
Awards: Nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for best animated film, won a San Francisco Film Critics Circle award for best animated film.
Interest Level: 8 and up
Plot Summary: Coraline is a young girl who recently moved to Oregon with her parents and finds herself living in an old apartment building with not much to keep herself entertained. The Pink Palace apartments includes a house full of strange neighbors but the only other child is the grandson of the landlord, a young boy Wybie. Coraline's parents are both very busy working on a new catalog for work and Coraline is annoyed that they aren't able to spend more time with her. In an attempt to get Coraline to leave them alone, Coraline's parents encourage her to explore the house. While exploring the house Coraline finds a small door that has been covered over and locked. Coraline finds the the key but when she opens the door she discovers that the entry way has been bricked up. At night Coraline is drawn to the door again and when she opens the door it is no longer bricked up and instead leads to a secret passage way to another world. This world is very much like Coraline's world but everything is colorful and fun and Coraline's parents, or her "other parents' as they call themselves are attentive and fun but they have buttons for eyes. While this other world is what Coraline has been wishing for there is something wrong and she can't place what it is. For one thing, the cat from her world can talk in the other world and Coraline's other mother seems to be hiding a secret, but what could it be?
Review: The movie adaptation of Coraline is done in stunning claymation. The movie, like the original story has a dark undertone that is just scary enough for a tween but not too frightening. The director also directed the Nightmare Before Christmas which has a very similar dark feel. Coraline is a strong lead who has to fight against evil in order to save her family from the evil "other mother'. The story builds to a climatic conclusion that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. I enjoy the movies dark fantasy feel that is present in Neil Gaiman's book. The quirky neighbors are both hilarious and odd, I especially enjoy the circus performing rats.
Annotation: Coraline moves to a new home and soon discovers a door to another world. But things are not as good as they seem and soon Coraline will learn there is no place like home.
Why for tweens? The movie is based of the very popular book by Neil Gaiman. Tweens will enjoy the animation as well that the scary storyline. The movie is also humorous with and element of fantasy and mystery. The tweens will also be drawn to Coraline as a heroine. She is stubborn and full of attitude but when her parents are kidnapped Coraline shows great bravery and strength to save her parents.

TV Shows: Adventure Time

Title: Adventure Time
Show Creator: Pendleton Ward
TV Show Information: created in 2010, airs on the Cartoon Network
Rated: TV PG
Awards: the show was nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys, 3 Annie Awards and won a Golden Reel Award
Interest Level: The show is very popular with tweens, teens and adults.
Plot Summary: The show features 12 year old human Finn and his adoptive brother Jake, who is a size changing magical dog. The pair is in the crazy Land of Ooo where they engage in adventures. The show has off the wall characters that they interact with throughout the show.
Show Review: Adventure Time is a unique cartoon. It's episodes are short and feature Finn and Jake and a new adventure in the Land of Ooo. The show has it's own quirky characters and even language. Finn often uses the word "lump" in the place of actually swearing. I have to admit that I really didn't get the show at first. It just seemed odd and I didn't really understand the humor. But after a few episodes it started to grow on me. Yes, I will admit that most the time the show doesn't make sense and the show is completely off the wall but I think it's strange humor is what makes it appealing.
Annotation: Finn and his magical dog is off adventuring in the crazy Land of Ooo.
Why for tweens? The show is short 11 minute episodes with quirky and often crude humor. There is plenty of action and adventuring as Finn and Jake travel around Ooo engaging in hilarious adventures.

Esperanza Rising

Title: Esperanza Rising
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
ISBN: 9780439120425
Characters: Esperanza
Published: Oct., 2000
Genre: historical fiction
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 5th-8th grade
Plot Summary: Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy rose plantation owner in Mexico. It's not long after the Mexican revolution and tensions between wealthy land owners and poor workers is high.  Esperanza lives a pampered life until one day her father is killed by Mexican rebels. Her corrupt uncles soon take over the plantation and Esperanza and her mother must flee to the US. Esperanza and her mother have left their life of wealth for a life of poverty, working as migrant workers in California. Life isn't easy in California and Esperanza finds herself out of place and struggling to adapt to her new life.
Review: Esperanza's story is uplifting. Esperanza is a girl who lives in luxury and is forced to start over in another country. Esperanza struggles with things such as how to sweep, which seem silly but it's from Esperanza's viewpoint the reader can see that this new lifestyle is a tough transition. Ryan weaves a touching story of loss and starting over. It also shows how family can get you through tough times. Esperanza's love for her grandmother is touching. The story also shows the difficulty that migrant farm workers went through in California. While soem of the historical information may not be known to younger readers it's a great introduction to this part of American history.
Reader's Annotation: Esperanza lived a beautiful life of family, love and roses. Then her whole world shatters. Can Esperanza rise again?
Main Themes: poverty, diversity, loss, immigrants, migrant farm workers, California
Read alikes: Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Why for Tweens? Tweens will connect with Esperanza as she struggles to find herself in a new country. Esperanza's love for her family is relatable to tweens. They will also enjoy the historical aspect of this story and may want to learn more about migrant workers.

Games: Just Dance 4

Title: Just Dance 4
By:Ubisoft
Available for: Wii, Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Description: Ubisoft is on it's 4th installment of the popular dancing game, Just Dance. The game features popular musical hits and choreographed dancing. The player gets to try out their dancing skills and gains points for accuracy. The dancer can pick their difficulty and compete against friends.
Review: The game is fun and energetic. The Wii and Playstation versions require the use of a remote but it's still very easy to learn. The advantage to the Xbox version is that it can be used with the remote free Kinect which is ideal for dancing. Tweens will love playing the game with friends and dancing to their favorite songs. Though it doesn't take long to go through all the songs but users can purchase more. Another great feature available in the Xbox version is that it takes pictures while the players dance which can be shared with friends.
Why for tweens: The game is very physical and is great for energetic tweens. The games also allows for lots of socializing and fun with friends which tweens love. The game is rate E, and contains clean versions of popular songs that tweens will love to dance to.

Mockingbird

Title: Mockingbird
Author: Kathyrn Erskine
ISBN: 9780399252648
Genre: realistic fiction
Awards: National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2010), YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011)
Reading Level: 3rd grade
Interest Level: 4th-7th grade
Plot Summary: Caitlin is a 5th grader with Asperger's Syndrome and struggles to understand emotion and make friends. Her struggle becomes more difficult when her older brother and mentor is killed in a school shooting. Caitlin's mother is also gone, having died of cancer when Caitlin was very young. Now, Caitlin and her father must learn to move on but Caitlin finds her self lost when it comes to closure and empathy. Told from Caitlin's often humorous and always honest viewpoint the story shows how she struggles to understand the changes in the world around her. With the help of her counselor, Caitlin is taking steps to understand and befriend those around her while also learning how to gain closure.
Review: This book is not what I expected. A book that features a child with Asperger's Syndrome whose brother was killed in a school shooting and mother died of cancer does not seem like it would be humorous but rather very depressing. The book while sad and very emotional is far more uplifting and funny than I expected. The story is told from Caitlyn's point of view and her narration brings the reader into Caitlin's world and face to face with her daily struggles. The story focuses on how Caitlyn deals with life after her brother is gone. Devon, her brother, was someone that Caitlin could rely on for help and guidance but with him gone she is lost. Her school counselor provides Caitlin with the guidance that she needs and the push to understand empathy and reach out to her classmates. Her struggles are sometimes humorous but they are honest. Many of her actions that would be considered "strange" behaviors seem to make sense from her eyes. It's a great story about closure, empathy and personal growth that is very touching.
Reader's Annotation: Emotions and friendships are things that Caitlin struggles with but that's why her brother Devon was so helpful. But now Devon is gone and Caitlin isn's sure how she can move forward without his guidance. If Caitlin can't understand emotions how can she learn empathy?
Themes: loss, school shootings. empathy, closure, Asperger's Syndrome
Read alikes: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, Countdown by Deborah Wiles
Why for Tweens? Sadly this topic of school shootings is not something that tweens will be unfamiliar with. Nor is the topic of Asperger's syndrom. This book not only deals with death and loss, something that many tweens will be exposed to as they grow up but also the difficulties that those with Asperger's Syndrome face. A tween probably knows someone with Asperger's and this story might help them understand the challenges that they face and help them understand how they see things.

Winterling

Title: Winterling
Author: Sarah Prineas
Published: Jan 2012
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 5th grade and up
Genre: Fantasy
Other Books in the Series: Summerkin
Characters: Fer
Plot Summary: Jennifer or Fer as she likes to be called lives with her grandmother and has trouble fitting in at school. Then one day she rescues a boy from wolves and discovers that things are not as they seem. Fer's grandmother has been hiding a secret about what really happend to her parents and why Fer doesn't seem to fit in. It turns out that Fer's mother was from another world and Fer decides to venture into the other world to find out what happend to her parents. But things in the other world aren't right and the wrongness isn't starting to effect Fer's home. Can Fer fix the wrongness and find out what happend to her parents? Or should she just listen to her grandmother and come back home and forget about the other world?
Reviews: Sarah Prineas has created an entertaining and adventurous fantasy. Fer is raised by only her grandmother with little knowledge of what happend to her parents, but when Fer discovers that her mother was from another world Fer finds that she is drawn to that world in a way that she never was to the one in which she was raised in. The mystery of what happend to Fer's parents draws the reader in and the characters and the world created by Sarah Prineas keeps the reader interested. The Lady of the Land is a great villan, with a glamour that keeps her true evil self hidden for most the story but Fer can sense the wrongness. Fer grows through the story and while she benefits from the help of her friends in the new world and her grandmother, Fer is forced to make some tough and brave choices on her own. Tweens will relate to Fer's growing independence and delight in her ultimate triumph. The book is set to be a series and will probably draw in many readers with the books to follow. 
Themes: magic, family, good vs evil, identity
Read-alikes: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
Why for Tweens? Fer is a great hero and role model for young tweens. Fer knows that she is different and it isn't until she enters into the other world that she finally sees why she doesn't fit in. But like many tweens it takes Fer a while to find her role and her identity. She develops strength and confidence as the story goes along that tweens will connect with. 

The Higher Power of Lucky

Title: The Higher Power of Lucky
Author: Susan Patron
Published: Nov., 2006
ISBN: 9781416901945
Other books in the series: Lucky Breaks, Lucky for Good
Genre: realistic fiction
Reading Level: 6th grade
Interest Level: 4th-6th grade
Awards: Newbery Award (2007)
Plot Summary: Hard Pan California is a small desert town where most of the people live in poverty, including ten year old Lucky. Lucky lost her mother a year ago when her mother was struck by lightning and her father wants no part in raising Lucky. With no other family Lucky's father asks his first wife to move from France to California to become Lucky's guardian. Lucky struggles with her mother's loss and the possibility that her guardian, Brigitte, may leave her to return home to France. Lucky is in pursuit of her higher power after overhearing stories from the townspeople at AA meetings. But where does a young girl living in poverty in the middle of no where find her higher power?
Review: Susan Patron has written a very touching story of loss, poverty and moving on. Lucky is an eccentric character who collects bugs and despite her young age is dealing with emotions and troubles beyond her years. The story shows how Lucky is always in fear of being left behind which is evident from her need to carry an emergency kit with her wherever she goes. Lucky is afraid to get too comfortable with Brigitte as her guardian because in Lucky's eyes Brigitte will leave her for France any day now and Lucky will have no one. The story is sad and honest but Lucky's determination and quirks give the story an uplifting message. The reader feels for Lucky as she struggles to grieve her mother's loss. By the end of the story Lucky is still living in relative poverty but her adoption by Brigitte and Lucky's acceptance of her mother's death allows the story to end on a happy and hopeful note.
Reader's Annotation: Lucky lives in poverty in a small desert town with her French guardian Brigitte ever since her mother died and her father isn't one for raising kids. Lucky is searching for her higher power but has no idea where to find it or how to find it.
Main themes: death, poverty, family, grief, closure
Read Alikes: Piper Reed Get a Job by Kimberly Holt
Why for tweens? This story talks an honest and heartfelt look at loss, grieving and poverty. Tweens will connect with Lucky as she struggles to deal with her mother's death and tries to grow up. Like tweens Lucky wants independence but still needs the adults in her life for support and help.

Esperanza Rising Book Promo

Esperanza Rising