When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Worse...

Surviving seventh grade with your dignity and inconspicuousness intact is no easy feat.  Sometimes you get to keep one but not the other.  If you have new friendships in place, it's all for the good.  With the months of June, July and August acting as a buffer to the upcoming final year of middle school, you should be able replenish your mindset ready to tackle all the new firsts which come your way.

When the anticipated sequel to a well-received middle grade novel is released you know you're in for a treat when the dedication reads:

To the brave kids, the weird kids, and the cool kids.

Especially the ones who don't yet realize they can be

all three.

Jess Keating's debut novel, How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied, presented to readers twelve-year-old Ana, short for Anaconda, whose life is like the place where she lives, a zoo.  In the sequel, How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, January 6, 2015) her high-profile grandfather, Shep Foster, springs a surprise on the entire family focusing on Ana's newly acquired bravery at speaking in front of others.  Swimming with sharks is going to be the least of Ana's worries.



I love the smell of the universe in 
the morning.
                -----Neil deGrasse Tyson

Really, Mr. Tyson?  Really?  What about the smell
of hippo poop wafting into your bedroom
window in the morning?  Or the wet-dog stink
of a flock of pelicans who strut around like
they own the place, and no matter how often
you try to shoo them out of the way, they
get even more puffed up and snooty at you? ...

Chapter 1

Some sharks can never stop moving, or else
they will suffocate and die.
                  -----Animal Wisdom

Whoa, sucks to be them! Can you imagine
never getting to sleep in?  Or laze around on 
a Saturday morning in your jammies watching
cartoons? ...

Ana, her twin brother Daz, her mom and dad, Sugar, her grandfather's girlfriend, and her grandfather have all gathered outside near the polar bear exhibit.  Moving toward some constructions signs, her grandfather raises a tarp leading them inside to view the secret project. With available resources and renovations The Marine Adventure Zoo has been built.  He, of course, wants Ana to give presentations here like she did with the reptiles.  To make matters even more uncomfortable, she is to interact with the sharks.  Yikes!  Not wanting to be the weak link in this new chain of events, she agrees.

Barely accustomed to this switch in her summer plans, while video chatting with Liv, her best friend who moved to New Zealand from Denver, another bit of stressful news is revealed.  Liv is skipping a grade and moving to ninth grade next year.  This means their pact to kiss a boy before high school is on fast forward.  Double yikes!  Kevin, her brother's best friend, is clearly a candidate but he and Ana are just getting to know one another better.

The final blow comes about a week after Grandpa's big reveal.  Apparently the zoo has been getting calls for volunteers after Ana's fabulous presentation.  A student from Ana's class has been chosen to work with her at the new marine facility.  Imagine Ana's shock when in walks Ashley, the leader of the pack of bully's, a Sneerer.  Triple yikes!  (cue Twilight Zone music)

Each experience, each interaction, with her parents, Grandpa and Sugar, Daz, Kevin, Bella, a new friend, Ashley, Patricia, the keeper, Logan, an older student intern and his girlfriend Danielle, at times clarifies and other times muddies Ana's thoughts and opinions.  One decision after another is shaping her summer and the person she can be.  Two mysterious incidents at The Marine Adventure Zoo nearly derail every step forward she has made.  Being brave is not always easy, but it produces the best kind of things.


The voice of Ana is one of the most genuine personalities in middle grade literature.  Jess Keating has demonstrated her true wizardry with words in shaping this girl's world, the people in it and every single moment during the summer weeks. We are brought into this story through realistic conversations between the characters and Ana's thought processes.  As in the first book, humor is liberally used.  Readers will find themselves laughing out loud repeatedly because the truth can be hilarious.  Keating uses our collective memories of being twelve beautifully.

Each chapter begins with a bit of Animal Wisdom about marine life followed by Ana's comments.  These are placed on a piece of paper taped to the page full of her special brand of teenage wit and wisdom.  Woven into the chapters is a Creature File about important people.  Opposite Species Name, Kingdom, Phylum, Weight, Natural Habitat, Feed On and Life Span are her candid remarks.  As a writer of lists to help make proper choices, several chapters contain Ana's numbered possibilities.  Here are some passages from this book.

Please.  Reptiles can't fool me.
The babies had hatched only minutes ago, just in time for Grandpa to call us at home in a frenzy, giddier than a dog in a Milk-Bone factory, yammering on about "the miracle of life' and all that.  From what I could tell, the miracle of life came with a lot of ...goo.  The hatchlings were already chirping up a storm and nipping at fingers when Daz and I got there.  That's the thing about living in a zoo.  You've got to be ready for everything. 

I stared dumbfounded.  "You're talking about a dead guy at a time like this?"  I shook my head.  My friends, the people who were supposed to care most about me, were telling me not to worry about Ashley.  Doesn't that sound wrong?  That's like saying, "Oh, that's just a river full of piranhas.  Why don't you hop in?" Or, "Hey, I've got some expired milk here.  Let's have a smoothie!"


How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel written by Jess Keating will captivate fans of the series (and generate new ones) leaving them eager for the third book, How To Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have A Clue, being released this October.  On the first page the spirit of Ana seeps out lifting you up, chapter after chapter.  There is much to love about all the characters and the way they each grow throughout the story.  If you are looking for an outstanding middle grade series, this one comes with my highest recommendation.


To discover more about Jess Keating be sure to stop by her website by following the link attached to her name.  To celebrate the release of this book Keating produced a series of videos found here.  Jess Keating was a guest at teacher librarian extraordinaire John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.  During the blog tour for the title she was a guest blogger at Watch. Connect. Read. and was interviewed by I Love Reading teacher, Colby Sharp, at sharpread. 

Oh To Be Not Seen, Never Heard

Navigating through your middle school years is a bit like motoring a boat down a stump-filled river in the dead of a moonless night.  You are never really sure whether you are going to feel a huge bump accompanied by a scraping sound.  If this should happen your heart races hoping it's only a tiny nick not a large scratch or even worse, a hole.  With a lot of luck and your learned skills you might make it all the way to your dock smoothly and safely.

It truly isn't easy being twelve years old.  If you could somehow fast forward to twenty or even ten years ahead, watching and shadowing yourself living day to day at twelve, you might be able to return viewing your considerable trials with a more open outlook.  Unfortunately this does not happen but with a gifted author, we can follow another twelve year old, laughing like a loon remembering.  How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, June 3, 2014) written by Jess Keating will have you smiling so much your face will hurt (in a good way).

Warning:
This book contains real-life situations and stuff that has actually happened to me.  I'm talking lots of awful boy behavior, wretched girls, best friends who are missing in action, and ridiculous amounts of elephant poop. ...
---Ana Wright, Anonymite Extraordinaire

These two sentences are part of an opening introduction by the main character.  Readers will immediately realize they are about to enter a life filled with hilarious situations.  This is followed by a first chapter with Ana holding the tail end of a crocodile before rushing off to video chat online with her best friend; a friend who has moved to New Zealand from Denver where Ana still lives.

By chapter two we've become acquainted with the boy-next-locker, Zack, star of the tennis courts and Ana's current crush, Ashley, leader of the pack of The Sneerers, a trio of blatant bullies, Daz, Ana's prankster twin brother and his best friend, Kevin, all-around nice guy and genius at everything.  During dinner that evening Ana's already challenging life takes another interesting turn.  The meal, with her two zoologist parents, both who work in the zoo, is interrupted with considerable fanfare as her celebrity (maternal) grandfather and his current actress girlfriend arrive.

It seems Shep Foster is making a documentary about his life which will include television appearances by his daughter, son-in-law and their children.  He is also going to fund a project of his daughter's involving large carnivores at the zoo.  As far as Ana is concerned this has disaster, in a huge way, written all over it.  She is desperate that no one at school realizes: (1) who her grandfather is or (2) her family is moving to live inside the zoo.

Life being what it is, Ana's wishes become attached to a series of incidents even she cannot have predicted.  Amid time with a nine-foot-long crocodile named Louis, posted flyers, a catastrophic lunch hour, shrieking overnight visitors at the zoo, and a reptile exhibition, Ana seeks her brave, true self.  Family, friends and a tiny seedling lend a hand.


First and foremost author Jess Keating has crafted a top-notch middle grade novel speaking directly to the hearts of her readers.  With abundant use of humor in first person voice, we actively join in sharing Ana's last few days of school before summer.  Descriptions of characters, backdrop and situations are realistic not only in Ana's world but easily identifiable as possible in any twelve-year-old's day to day existence.

What sets this book apart from others are several writing skills, working wonderfully with the overall setting.  Ana identifies people in her life by creating a Creature File card which includes species name, kingdom, phylum, weight, natural habitat, feeds on, life span, handling technique and other important notes.  Her insights will cause smiles and head-nodding.  She also ends events and chapters with lists; Growing List of Things I Will Never Understand about Boys, Things I Would Do If It Meant I Could Sleep until College or Five Places to Live, Now That My Fate Is Sealed.  Most chapters begin with an Animal Wisdom fact followed by a comment from Anna looking like a note in a scrapbook taped to the page.  Here are a few sample passages.

"All porcupines float in water."
---Animal Wisdom

How could they even find this out?  Is someone out there dunking porcupines in water?

"I beg your pardon, young man?" Grandpa sputtered.  "You don't see me for years and now all of a sudden you're 'Hey, Grandpa-ing' me?  I don't think so!" Grandpa shoved out of his chair, and to Daz's horror, snatched him right up from his chair into a totally nonmanly hug.  He ruffled his hair under his fist and laughed.  "That's much better.  Good to see you, son." He let Daz go and chuckled at the state of his hair.  Now he looked like he'd been electrocuted.
That'll teach him.
"DAZ IS A PAIN!" Darwin nattered, shimmying on his perch as he watched us eat.  I choked on a mouthful of spaghetti, trying not to laugh.  I'd taught him that little gem in less than a week.

Sometimes, it feels like life should stop until you feel better.  You know, like when bad things happen and you have a moment of silence over the PA system at school or something.  Life should do that for you when you become camel poop girl and your best friend meets a girl named Leilani and your grandpa is parading around the news like a rockstar.  


How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied by Jess Keating is one of those lighthearted, funny books which strike serious chords in our souls.  She speaks to the twelve-year-old in all of us. (Where was this book when I was twelve?)  Every time I read this title, I place more post-it notes on pages.  Words like uplifting, hopeful, hilarious, heartwarming and truthful aptly describe Ana and her story.  This is definitely one of my favorite middle grade novels of 2014.  I consider it a must read, recommending you purchase more than one copy for your classroom or library.  The best part is yet to come.  A sequel titled How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel: Book 2 in the My Life is a Zoo series will be here in January 2015.  An excerpt is included at the back of this book. So what are you waiting for?  Grab your safari hat and get reading!

To learn more about Jess Keating visit her website by following the link embedded in her name.  Here is a link to a special A Thank You post she wrote.  Links here, here, here, and here are a few of the posts on her blog tour providing readers with more information about Jess Keating and the writing of this book.  Colby Sharp provides readers with one of his Ten Minute Review posts at sharpread along with a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Interview.  Here is a link to Jess Keating's post at the Nerdy Book Club, On Borrowed Bravery, And The Books That Change Us. Here is a link to an activity kit.

Enjoy a couple of Jess Keating's tweets below.  She is a very positive, active member of the Twitter reading and literacy community.

@missm_books @Loveofxena Little Bea! She surprised me! Bea is named after one of my idols, who painted this! ;-) pic.twitter.com/GMMT6EwF5H
— Jess Keating (@Jess_Keating) June 19, 2014

Cute comes in different sizes! These babies are in my next book! http://t.co/1767eJVcDc
— Jess Keating (@Jess_Keating) June 20, 2014

@donalynbooks That's great! I had a teacher-lib who would leave notes for me w/ her newest book recs. I named a character in CROC after her!
— Jess Keating (@Jess_Keating) June 24, 2014

Will Someone See Me...Please

Every day, every week, every month and every year I look.  As each class enters I search the children's faces, I watch their body language and I notice who is left alone.  Nothing is said but the silence is deafening.

It may happen when you enter an event for the first time or it may happen every single day.  Is it the color of your eyes, hair or skin? Are you too tall, too short, too thin, or too heavy?  Are you too young or are you too old?  Is it because you are too smart or not smart enough?  If you feel isolated even though people are all around you, you can't help but wonder why.  In October 2013 a book addressing this aloneness, The Invisible Boy (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books) was released by author Trudy Ludwig with illustrations by Patrice Barton.

Can you see Brian, the invisible boy? Even Mrs. Carlotti has trouble noticing him in her classroom.

Mrs. Carlotti's attention is focused on those making the most noise; those speaking the loudest or whining the most.  These students are in sharp contrast to Brian.  Brian is the silent type.

At recess he longs to be picked for a kickball team.  He is the last one standing.  They begin the game without him.  At lunch his classmates talk about a party they attended.  Brian was not invited to the party.

In the afternoon Brian chooses to do his most favorite thing rather than play board games or read.  Brian draws and draws.  In his pictures dragons stand on tall buildings, space aliens do battle, pirates claim treasure and heroes find friendship.

At the start of the next week, Justin is introduced to the class.  Brian welcomes Justin, a new student, with a quiet smile.  In the cafeteria the students gather around Justin making fun of his lunch and of his eating with chopsticks.  Brian does not laugh along with them.

A clever, friendly drawing is left in Justin's cubby the next morning.  On the playground another artistic picture is noticed.  In the classroom a group project expands from two members to three.  One student, one person, can truly make a difference.


Using an unseen narrator and dialogue, Trudy Ludwig gives readers a very clear idea of how Brian is treated in his classroom each and every day.  The language used by the boys and girls and the events portrayed are not unlike those happening in schools everywhere.   Specific examples are woven into the story; each one making Brian feel more and more like a ghost than a real live boy.  Here is one passage.

When the bell rings for recess, Micah and J. T.
take turns choosing kids for their kickball teams.
The best players get picked first.
Then the best friends of the best players.
Then the friends of the best friends.
Only Brian is left, still waiting and hoping.

In a very realistic series of scenes, she also clearly depicts, with the use of a narrator and dialogue, how change is possible.


Rendered in pencil sketches painted digitally, the illustrations of Patrice Barton pair beautifully with the story. On the front of the matching jacket and cover, Brian is alone doing what he loves best.  On the back we see him at work in his classroom drawing during Choosing time.  This picture is smaller, circular in shape.  On the opening endpapers everything is white except for an illustration tucked in the lower right-hand corner of Brian, alone, with his piece of chalk drawing a shape.  The closing endpapers glow with the images of six happy children chalk features extending from their bodies.  Brian is busily drawing as Justin looks on holding a piece of chalk too.

Barton alters her image sizes to flow with the text.  Readers are treated to two-page spreads, close-ups of expressive students, smaller visuals clustered together and single pages.  There is a youthful friendliness to her illustrations; drawings may appear on notebook paper or be layered with tape as if in a sketchbook.  For those times when Brian is feeling invisible he is shown in grays, black and white.  As Justin befriends him his appearance is more and more colorful.

Facial expressions and little details like the sharks drawn on Brian's lunch bag or the speech bubbles in Brian's drawings don't detract from the seriousness of the story but add to the realness.  One of my favorite illustrations is of Justin finding the drawing in his cubby.  The classroom area is depicted in softened outlines of bookcases, cubbies, backpacks, growing plants, and hanging artwork.  Off to the right is the enlarged drawing made by Brian.  The kindness in this picture leaves the page reaching out to the reader.


The Invisible Boy written by Trudy Ludwig with illustrations by Patrice Barton is an important book.  It is a book about living in the present, noticing others and reaching out with a single act of goodness for someone else.  I encourage you to read this book and to share it with others.  This is one of those heartprint books.

For more information about Trudy Ludwig and Patrice Barton please follow the links embedded in their names to their websites.  If you would like to see more pages from the book, follow this link to the publisher's website.