The Greatest Skating Race by Louise Borden

In January 1942, Piet Janssen leads two friends to safety in Brugge, Belgium from his town of Sluice in The Netherlands by ice skating the 16 km along the frozen canals. The story, written in verse, is quite gripping and the reader truly senses the danger the children face at the prospect of being detained by the German soldiers stationed along the canals, especially at the border crossing. The illustrations by Niki Daly, in browns and greys, are reminiscent of an earlier era and are quite fitting for the subject matter.

Texas Bluebonnet Award and Name that Book

As a means of keeping up with current children's books, I've tried over the past couple of years to read the books nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award. Last year was easy, since my daughter was participating in a Name that Book competition in her school district and the list was largely composed of Bluebonnet nominees. I read along with her last year; this year, however, Laura isn't sure she's going to participate in the competition, so I have to make a concerted effort to read the books on my own.

The list of books can be found here:
http://www.txla.org/groups/tba/nominees.html

So far I've read two of the books (Ballet for Elephants and The Misadventures of Maude March). Today I stopped by the library and picked up a few more: Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix, The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 by Lawrence Yep, and The Greatest Skating Race by Louise Borden.

Along the same lines, I'm reading off the high school list of books for the Houston Independent School District Name that Book competition to keep up with young adult literature. The list has a mix of true YA books and adult books (both fiction and non-fiction). That list can be found here:
http://www.hisdlibraryservices.org/Name_that_bookHS.html

So far I've read a few off this list, too: American Born Chinese, Freedom Riders, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Nineteen Minutes, Road of the Dead, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party.

Several of the books on the list were ones I read before the list was published:
Catcher in the Rye, Devil in the White City, Like Water for Chocolate, Neverwhere, and The Book Thief.

Good reading all around.

The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis

My reading of children's/young adult books has been slow-going this summer. It took me way too long to read this book! And as a result, I don't think I enjoyed it nearly as much as I could have. The premise is cute; Maude and her sister Sallie are orphans who lose their guardian aunt in an unfortunate accident. A string of "misadventures" ensue in which Maude becomes a wanted woman. Sallie, the narrator, is spunky, while Maude is a bit sour (who wouldn't be angry in her position?!?). The book didn't really hook me until maybe the last quarter, at which point I read until I was finished. I think this book will appeal to readers who are interested in reading about strong female characters, as well as those who like books about the Wild West.